In this post FMRensie shares with us a FM Wonderkid. 

 

Martin Vitík – the future of Czech defence

The Czechoslovak or Czech football national team always had one of the best central defenders in Europe. I have been on this planet for over 37 years, and I have been following Czech football for most of this time. 

 

Since I was able to sit to watch football, play football, and consume everything related to football. And I don’t remember our national team would not have at least one great central defender. And it was the same even when we were in Czechoslovakia from what I was able to read about that time.  And it looks like we (the fans of the Czech national team) can be very positive about the next generation. Why? Becuase of Martin Vitík.

Background

Martin Vitík has been adding appearances in the Czech top tier since the 2020/21 season when experienced coach Václav Kotal was the first one to allow Martin to show his potential among adults.  He made his debut in the Fortuna League on January 17, 2021, at Baník Ostrava, the match ended in a goalless draw. Interestingly, he played in the Europa League earlier in the Czech top tier as he played against OSC Lille in October 2020 as a sub. He is still only 20 years old but he already is the Czech top-tier winner, the same as the Czech domestic cup winner and he is a member of the Czech national team as he was called up to the national team in October 2023. Thanks to his performances in the European Cups and in the Czech U21s national team in the previous two years, there’s an interest from many European clubs including both Milan clubs, top clubs from the Netherlands and Belgium and a couple of clubs in Italy. Vitík was a member of the youth national teams but the fact he made it from the U17s straight to the U21s speaks for itself.

Creative, strong, fast, fighter

My review of this player can be influenced by real-life slightly in comparison with the FM reality. Martin, despite his age, is a born leader. He doesn’t want to lose and it’s very clear for his passion during training sessions and matches.  This part is reflected in the game just partly in my eyes as his Determination attribute is 19. But if I had the option to change some things in the database, I would lower the “19” to “15” and divide four points to boost his Leadership and Teamwork. But it’s still things he can improve in his game during our/your saves. He has one big advantage within the game, he can play in all roles and he will develop even further. If I would manage him, I would use him as a boring central defender with defence duty and I would hope his Decision attribute will improve to be able to use him as CD(St) in the future of my save. But he can develop into a great BPD, especially as he already has his Vision attribute high.

Labeled next Tomas Sivok

Not many of you may know the name Tomas Sivok and you would have to search for who is he. But it’s a former Czech national team player (more than sixty international matches). He played also for Sparta Prague, Udinese and he is one of the most famous Czech players wearing the Besiktas shirt in the past. And yes, he is now the sports manager of Sparta’s senior team. (Sadly, this is not reflected in the default database during the ‘early access’ as Tomas Sivok is unemployed.  But in my eyes, it’s fine how it’s connected. When Tomáš Sivok was twenty years old, he was wanted by many foreign clubs. He spent the right amount of time with Sparta ahead of his move to Italy. He was the captain of the team when he left Sparta. And what about Martin? He is twenty years old at the start of the FM24 save. He is wanted by clubs like Arsenal, Man City, and PSG. In real life? He is now linked with Inter/AC Milan, Ajax and some more. If he was able to stay with Sparta for two more years, he would end also up as a captain, the same as Tomas Sivok. 

Set pieces power on both sides of the pitch

The last thing I would like to mention connected with Martin is set pieces. Martin is 194cm tall. That’s an ideal thing in combination with Jumping Reach and Strength. For the defensive set pieces, his Positioning will be great.  I decided to create the attribute analyser/polygon based on the new set of piece roles within my custom skin. It contains all the roles of Taker, Tracker, Box Threat etc. All the roles are based on the key attributes for that specific role (you can see them within the set piece creator). And when you check this polygon, you can see at first sight, Martin will be crucial on both sides of the pitch. 

He will be key as your aerial defender while you will defend set pieces. And he will be also a great threat to the opponent. It’s just about selecting the right role within attacking routines. And I’m sure he can develop a lot. I wanted to sign him during the first half of my FM23 save with VVV-Venlo but he decided to join KRC Genk and he later moved to Newcastle so I was without a chance to sign him. I’m sure he will be great both in FM24 and in real life too.

 

FMRensie is the creator of the Rensie Skin. If you’d like to try it you can download it here LINK