When England face Slovakia at Wembley on Monday aiming to take a major stride towards the World Cup, they will find a familiar, imposing figure in their path. Martin Skrtel was deemed surplus to requirements by Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool a year ago but remains as pivotal as ever for his country in his role as captain and defensive totem.
Skrtel is in his second season at Fenerbahce, where he has become a fans’ favourite (and a far more popular player than Robin van Persie, who has failed to live up to expectations). The centre-back plays on the edge and oversteps the mark at times, including with a red card against England a year ago which cleared the way for Sam Allardyce to win his only game as manager, but his leadership will be sorely missed when his international career is over.
At 32 Skrtel is an elder statesman in this Slovakia side but from an early age it was plain he had the makings of a national team captain. Jan Kocian was the country’s head coach from 2006-08, when the set-up was more troubled than it is now. He took charge a couple of years after a teenage Skrtel had won his first cap.
“His solidity and aggression on the pitch were great, and, moreover, he is a leader,” Kocian says. “He was always prepared for a debate and able to be self-critical. He was not thinking: ‘I play for Liverpool and the others play for small clubs.’ In that time, due to playing in England, his status was very high but he never misused it. I could rely on him. When I visited him in Liverpool, we had a lot of things to discuss as the atmosphere in the team was tense.”
Skrtel was prepared to face all challenges head-on. “He never hid somewhere in the corner of the dressing room,” Kocian recalls. “He is a leader and he does not have to prove it by hitting the table or shouting at his team-mates. He builds his reputation in the squad by what he is doing on the pitch.”
There was surprise in Slovakia when Skrtel was allowed to leave Liverpool. The broad feeling there was that the player, even if prone to mistakes, had a lot still to offer to Klopp’s defence and was certainly not inferior to Dejan Lovren, Joël Matip or Ragnar Klavan. The national team’s coach, Jan Kozak, criticised Klopp.
“In my opinion Skrtel is Liverpool’s best centre-back and I don’t even want to know what is going on there,” Kozak said. “He is an experienced player and I am not worried about his performance in the national team. However, it makes me sad what he has to go through mentally. For me, it is unbelievable he is not playing there.”
Skrtel’s unpredictable style and occasional lapses were most likely among Klopp’s reasons. A few months after the move to Turkey came the red card against England. After the match Skrtel’s defensive partner, Jan Durica, criticised the match officials over the sending-off and was fined by Fifa. Most experts agreed Skrtel’s behaviour was daft.
Slovakia were drawing 0-0 in their opening qualifying game when Skrtel stamped on Harry Kane’s ankle in the 57th minute. Adam Lallana scored the decisive goal deep in stoppage time and Slovakia may wonder what might have been given they arrive at Wembley two points behind England, holding second place in Group F, after victory at home to Slovenia on Friday. Skrtel missed that game through his second suspension of the campaign.
Skrtel’s final years in the Premier League featured regular run-ins with Diego Costa and at international level the pair clashed when Slovakia beat Spain 2-1 in Zilina in October 2014. Skrtel played on the very margins of the rules, rushing into hard tackles, receiving and giving a couple of punches.
“Martin’s game is always on the edge,” Kocian says. “He did not have any problems in Britain but when he plays in European cups or in the national team, referees usually rate his game in another manner. He goes into every challenge at 100% and sometimes it works against him as he concedes more fouls and there are more set pieces against his team. He is very good against tall players as he can use his strength and height. When he plays against more agile, smaller and faster players, in those situations he is a little bit slower, comes into the tackle a hundredth of second later and then it can lead to his foul.”
Kocian can understand Klopp’s decision. “Klopp wanted to find a different type of defender: technical, able to pass the ball, good in the combination,” he says. “Martin’s best abilities are in challenges.
“Martin himself would not be satisfied if he was sitting on the bench. Every coach has a different concept. It is not possible to criticise Klopp when he says: ‘Let’s find another club.’ It is a natural thing in football and every coach wants to have his own players in and win.”
Liverpool’s loss has been Fenerbahce’s gain. He may have some way to go before he is adored by fans as much as his old team-mate Dirk Kuyt, but supporters have certainly taken to the defender. “Skrtel has sometimes some arguments with referees but that is a normal thing in Turkey,” says Kadir Onur Dincer, a journalist for the Turkish website Miliyet. “Nobody will discuss that unless he gets a red card in an important game. If he does it more often, paradoxically, fans will like him more. Felipe Melo was the biggest idol in Galatasaray – he fought not only for himself but also for his club. And Skrtel seems to be very similar.”
With Slovakia Skrtel has formed a stable centre-back partnership with the 35-year-old Durica. Skrtel is the more aggressive, tougher player and Durica – while lacking nothing in physicality – provides greater technique and elegance. Having played together for more than 10 years, replacing them will not be easy.
Milan Skriniar, the most expensive Slovak in history after his summer transfer from Sampdoria to Internazionale for €23m, seems a perfect mix of Skrtel and Durica and is prepared to step up. But whatever the quality of Skrtel’s eventual replacement, Kocian believes the loss will be felt in the dressing room. “Marek Hamsik is already 30 and even if he can continue playing, he is a more communicative guy. Skrtel is the type of player who can get impulsive at times and that might be missing in the team.”
Optimism abounds in Slovakia after a successful Euro 2016 and the under-21s’ positive performances at the Euros in June. A generation-change is under way, with a lot of young players, including Skriniar, coming in. But it is difficult to imagine the team without Skrtel.
Lukas Vrablik is a Slovakia-based freelance football writer specialising in Eastern European football. You can follow him on Twitter @LukasVrablik
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