First Match for Paul Munster in Slavia

21.11.2004

Saturday was a special day as regards Slavia history. Very probably the first ever footballer from Northern Ireland played in the red-white jersey. Paul Munster substituted in the 74th minute of the match. At the end he got into a good chance, missed, but the goal would not have stood anyway as he was offside. So he will have to wait for his first goal for the next time. Paul gave his first post-match interview to our website. We hope we managed to write down everything correctly, as Paul is learning Czech, we will have to get used to his Irish accent!Are you glad you played for the first time today? Yes I am. I had not a game for five or six weeks, that is why I am glad to get fifteen minutes on the pitch.You got into a very good chance at the end of the match... Yes, it was a very good chance there, the guys were saying I was offside, but I still should have scored. The surface was hard, I was trying to keep my balance. The other players came to you, what did they say? They all told me "You were offside, do not worry about it, you will score in the next game." Was the pitch really hard to play? I actually never played on snowy pitch. The conditions, I was not bothered, because in Ireland we also have cold weather, but the surface, I do not think I have ever played on such hard pitch. At the start when I walk in I was thinking I would get used to it, the others were playing. But later I was watching where I was running, I want to play games, not to get injured. But it was good, I am glad I got fifteen minutes of play. Can you compare the Canadian league to the Czech one? It is different, the Czech league is far better. Are there any foreign players in Canadian league? In our team we actually had a couple of ex-Portuguese players, there are some retired players from Europe, some players come to play for a three four months, when they are released from their contracts. In Canada it is not a bad standard, but the Czech league is the standard I wonna be at. I just need a couple of games and I feel better and chances like the one I had today will be going into the net. How do you communicate with the other players? I actually have some stuff with football vocabulary. "Vystrel" is shoot for example. Ty - is you, different things, I have only started learning the Czech language. It is not an easy one. It is actually "vystřel". Do the players make fun of you sometimes, when you try to pronounce something? Sometimes, but this does not bother me, they help me a lot. I help them with English, some guys want to learn some English. Do you like Prague? What do you do in your free time? I like it here, but you know at the moment I am just passing all the sights, my main concern is just football. I train hard, and I want to get into the team and get as much games as I can. In my free time I am trying to do some sightseeing though, because my friends from Ireland and friends from Canada want to come and visit me. Where are you living? I am actually living close to the stadium in an apartment. It just a couple of minutes to get to the training. Did you visit an Irish pub here? Not yet, but I will go, when my family and friends come over.