Weiss, the former parakeet who could have been an ice hockey player

On Cornellà-El Prat, the house of Spanish since 2009, it is fondly remembered Vladi weiss, Slovak footballer who this afternoon will start from the bench (he has only played 13 minutes) in the Spain-Slovakia decisive to determine the round of 16 of the Euro 2020. At 31 years old, the winger left his mark on Barcelona with his cheeky game, speedy and dribbling artist, a personality that excited fans more than Mauricio Pochettino, who made him play 19 starting games.

The story of Weiss, who played before joining Espanyol (2011-12) at Manchester City, Glasgow Rangers and Bolton Wanderers, was curious. The footballer belonged to a saga of footballers all of them with the name of Vladimir. His grandfather was born in 1939 and, among other achievements, was a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. His son (the father of the current player) also adopted the same name, played the World Cup in Italy 90 and later was Slovakia coach.

On this circumstance, Weiss, in an interview with AS at that time, explained how he lived football since childhood: “My father did not pressure me to play soccer. I will not deny that, the dream of many parents is for their son to play soccer. I have always lived the atmosphere of this sport, but I never received pressure”, he recounted. In fact, the winger combined his training as a footballer with that of an ice hockey player, and in fact had to choose given the ease he had in both sports: “The coaches told me that in both I could have options to be a professional. I chose football”.

Over the years, and despite his remarkable course at Espanyol (he scored two goals and saw 12 yellow cards, his great handicap was defensive), the player failed to settle in any club. At Olympiakos he was only one season but with great numbers: six goals and seven assists. In recent seasons he has played in the Qatari league, in which he is one of the most decisive players. Between Al-Duhail and Al-Gharafa he has played 119 games, with 48 goals and 21 assists.

In his year in Spain, he always arrived at the Sports City accompanied by his two dogs, who sometimes waited for him in the off-road vehicle that he used as a vehicle. The extreme lived in Teià and he loved to walk around Barcelona with his animals. He also became addicted to Spanish food, a fan of croquettes. Now, a decade after that experience in the League, he faces the last years of a career that, at the RCDE Stadium, left its mark.