This might be the most bizarre trash talk in the history of the game
Slavia Prague have released a video in which it is alleged that Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is overweight and wears a corset underneath his jersey.
Ahead of the Europa League tie between the two sides, the club published the video to their social media channels entitled ‘Leicester loading | Part 1’. The video explores Leicester’s history, and while it is complimentary to the English side in parts, there are many strange digs in there.
Jiri Hosek is a Czech journalist and Deputy Editor-in-chief at Seznam Zprávy. In this video, he speaks about Leicester as a city, describing it as a “a city in England where I personally wouldn’t want to live.” Alright, bit unnecessary but crack on.
“Apart from the cathedral and the surroundings, there isn’t much to do there,” he added.
Did this guy have one terrible night out in Leicester that has haunted him ever since or something?
He goes on to describe their 2015/16 title win as a ‘Cinderella story”, that “defied the logic English football is built on.” Nice. True.
Referencing his relationship with Andrew Hulley, a Chaplain in Leicester, Hosek said Hulley spoke well of Jamie Vardy, “who is not an intellectual.” Again, bit weird.
Speaking more broadly about the club’s structure, Hosek praised Leicester’s “excellent” scouting system, saying it has “surpassed the scouting of clubs like Tottenham Hotspur.”
Hosek singled out James Maddison as a prime example of Leicester’s excellent scouting, but speaking about Kasper Schmeichel, seemed to have mixed feelings about the Danish international.
“Occasionally he makes a blunder, but his overall performance has been extremely good. He’s the glue that holds the team together,” he said.
“He is a goalkeeper who has had problems with a healthy lifestyle.
“A manager who favours athleticism [like Slavia’s Jindřich Trpišovský] would probably want Schmeichel to lose 5 to 10 kilos,” he added, in a bizarre swipe at Leicester’s defensive leader.
“As far as I know, he must be the only player in the Premier League who, underneath his shirt, wears a corset.”
Hosek has since clarified on Twitter what he meant, saying “losing 10kg would make him a better goalie, in my honest opinion,” before emphasising that he was speaking in terms of what the Slavia manager looks for in a keeper.
Still, the assertion that Schmeichel wears a corset seems a very strange accusation to level at one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers.
Well, losing 10 kg would make him a better goalie, IMHO. I was referring to Slavia`s coach Mr.Trpišovský, who puts a lot of emphasis on fitness and would want to see Schmeichel lose some weight.
— Jiří Hošek (@hosekj) February 16, 2021
