Calzona says SFZ owes one month salary after Slovakia exit

Francesco Calzona states that the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) owes him and his coaching staff one month's salary. He confirms that the contracts for himself and his assistants have ended. SFZ president Ján Kováčik promised Calzona that these outstanding payments would be resolved during November.

Calzona rejected an offer to continue as head coach because he felt his youth development project lacked necessary cooperation from the association. He had proposed sacrificing results in the current Nations League campaign to integrate young talents into the senior national team setup. This strategic disagreement was a primary factor in his decision not to extend his tenure.

The former coach denies claims made by Ján Kocian that contract negotiations failed due to a demand for a four-year deal. Calzona states that Ján Kováčik, Karol Belaník, Ivan Kozák and Marek Hamšík attended his final contract talks. He emphasizes that the length of the contract was not the obstacle to reaching an agreement.

Internal friction also influenced the departure. Calzona claims that U21 staff members secretly filmed senior team training sessions on multiple occasions, including before the Kosovo playoff semi-final. Video analyst Michal Slyšek reportedly apologized for filming the trainings and explained his perspective on the matter.

Despite these issues, Calzona notes that twenty-six players in Vladimír Weiss st.'s September 30-man squad had previously played under his management. Weiss demonstrated mutual respect by calling Calzona upon his appointment as head coach. The current squad includes Hranica, who received a nomination after being previously considered too inexperienced by Calzona.

Calzona worked with the Slovak national team for three and a half years. During this period, Slovakia qualified directly for the Euro with a record points tally and reached the playoffs twice. The team finished second in the last qualification despite injuries to key players including Lobotka, Škriniar, Haraslín, Strelec, Suslov and Schranz.

The coaching staff included Pavol Farkaš, Marek Hamšík, Ján Novota and David Brűnn. Calzona praises Jakub Kojnok and Lenka Gazdíková for their professionalism at the association. He continues to follow the Niké liga every weekend and tracks players previously identified by his staff, noting that Tomáš Suslov played several very good matches on the wing.

Slovakia faced Sweden in the Nations League group during Calzona's tenure. The U21 team failed to qualify for Euro 2023 and exited the subsequent qualification in the group stage, highlighting the developmental challenges that motivated Calzona's proposed strategic shift. Only Martin Škrtel and Róbert Šesták accepted his invitation to visit Senec during his time in charge.