Juraj Venglo\u0161 (48) has got a big reason to celebrate. Central Sport Management is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its founding. In the last twenty years he has represented players or clubs in more than three hundred transfers. His clients have included dozens of outstanding Slovak and foreign players.<\/p>\n
Juraj, so how did you become a players’ agent?<\/b>
\nIn the early 1990s I had been working at the international department of the Slovak Football Association for almost two years, traveling especially with youth teams. So people were turning to me and asking about Szili N\u00e9meth, or Vlado Jano\u010dko. I had a feel about the Slovak players and I knew the managers. So in the spring of 1993, I finally decided to become an agent.<\/p>\n
Did you get licensed by the FIFA at that time?<\/b>
\nThere was nothing like that back then. FIFA licenses would only come two years later.<\/p>\n
What was your first transfer?<\/b>
\nKennedy Chichuri\u2019s arrival from Zimbabwe to Tatran Pre\u0161ov. He was the first black player to be successful in Slovakia. Later he moved to Slavia Praha and Viktoria \u017di\u017ekov.<\/p>\n
How did you find him?<\/b>
\nThrough a friend, Patrick Mork of Sweden, who also brought other Ghanaian stars to Europe. For example, Asamoah Gyan and Michael Essien.<\/p>\n
You supposedly did not even have a contract with Chichuri.<\/b>
\nExactly. Only later did we put our cooperation down on paper.<\/p>\n
Have you ever worked with anyone just on trust?<\/b>
\nYes, I have. Sometimes it was just like that: we shook hands and it was done. For example, with Vlado Labant, or with Marek Mint\u00e1l, the contract was a\u00a0mere formality. And that’s only because FIFA requires one.<\/p>\n
Has the player\u2013manager relationship changed in the last twenty years?<\/b>
\nIt was once simpler. Nowadays, it is a much bigger business.<\/p>\n
The reason is that there is a lot of agents on the football field?<\/b>
\nOne of the reasons. The most difficult job is to get our footballers abroad. And their salaries are usually not so high at first as someone who\u2019s been with the club longer. When a Slovak makes a team, the thieves start circling around him. Agents with no license, and even those with one. They promise him the moon. It affects the player and often he forgets how he got outside Slovakia in the first place. Usually when he\u2019s earning more money.<\/p>\n
Have some players disappointed you in this respect?<\/b>
\nYes, they have. I was especially disappointed in the beginning after such cases happened. Over time you get used to it. It\u2019s just business. And you got to be tough. My principle was not to reach out to players who had contracts with other agents. And I was expecting the same from everyone else…<\/p>\n
What does an agent do in a transfer? Does he make a few phone calls and it’s done?<\/b>
\nNo, it definitely does not work like that. The agent pays for plane tickets, hotels. The contract has to be approved by a lawyer. And they don\u2019t do it for nothing… A\u00a0major transfer is a day-to-day thing that sometimes lasts months.<\/p>\n
Which transfers you\u2019ve done do you consider the biggest?<\/b>
\nClearly, transferring Marek Ham\u0161\u00edk from Brescia to Naples. He left for \u20ac5.5 million and now he\u2019s worth around \u20ac30 million. I also have to mention Marek \u010cech transferring from Sparta to FC Porto, which then won the Champions League. Even though Marek had not played regularly for the Prague team. From the Slovak league, I got Miro Karhan to Betis Sevilla and Martin \u0160krtel to St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
How many footballers are you working with now?<\/b>
\nAbout thirty. I used to have many more. I decided to cut down and focus on quality.<\/p>\n
And what about the future of your agency?<\/b>
\nWe\u2019ll be also representing clubs in transfers, not just players. We\u2019ll be pushing them to other countries, especially China, where the market looks good. I\u2019m not just talking about Slovaks, but also foreign players in foreign clubs.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve been a manager for twenty years. How long can you keep doing this?<\/b>
\nOh, until I retire. I\u2019m enjoying this job more and more. I believe that we are still going to be making transfers to top clubs. We\u2019ve got about five players who should be able to get there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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