• Slovakia handed Milan Skriniar the captain’s armband in June 2022

• Skriniar succeeds Marek Hamsik as the national men’s team skipper

• The central defender plays for Inter Milan in Serie A

Akshat Mehrish “Let's be objective and have the same view as everyone,” remarked a furious Jan Kozak in the aftermath of Slovakia’s defeat to the Czech Republic in a 2018-19 UEFA Nations League match. “(Stanislav) Lobotka played badly, especially in the first half. (Milan) Škriniar didn’t play well either. There’s a lot of talk about millions (in transfer fees), but that needs to be shown on the field.” Kozak’s words were a scathing indictment of Slovakia’s position in the European football ecosystem — a team caught between two generations. On the one hand was the old guard, Marek Hamsik, Martin Skrtel, and the likes, in the twilight of their respective decorated careers, yet still tasked with the leadership of the team.

On the other hand, was the young generation, spearheaded by Stanislav Lobotka and Milan Skriniar, players, who, according to Kozak, were doing injustice to the many millions top European clubs had splurged on them. There was an unmistakable gap, and Kozak decided he was not the man to close it after he caught many of his players violating the national team’s code of conduct mere hours after the Czech loss. He resigned in the aftermath of the debacle. Kozak’s resignation reflected poorly, especially on Milan Skriniar, one of two players he pointed out in his debrief of the defeat to the Czech Republic. Skriniar, since he was young, was viewed as a natural leader; a hard-working footballer who had to overcome several hurdles in his early career to reach the upper echelons. Kozak’s assessment seemed off-character. Milan Skriniar was born in the Slovakian district of Banska Bystrica, the region that produced the nation’s best, Marek Hamsik. He got his start at local club Ziar nad Hronom before being whisked away by one of the country’s biggest teams, MSK Zilina. The central defender spent nearly eight years in Zilina, four in the youth academy, one out on loan, and two-and-a-half with the first team.

The call to take Skriniar away from his native Slovakia did not arrive until the defender was 21, and, then too, Sampdoria’s decision to spend a million on the young, untested centerback was seen as a gamble by many. Three appearances in his first half-season did little to justify the Italian side’s actions, but, Milan Skriniar endured a tough start to life in Liguria to become a Sampdorian stalwart — and a fan-favourite. In his first full season, he made 35 appearances. Before the beginning of his second, he was gone. Inter Milan broke the bank to sign Skriniar in the summer of 2017, making the central defender the most expensive Slovakian in history. The defender, in turn, nailed down a starting spot immediately after his arrival and has not let up since. Elegant on the ball, and destructive off it, Skriniar’s skill set complemented those of defensive partners Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni, enabling the creation of a backline that would break Inter’s decade-long title drought in 2021. He remains a silent leader for the Nerazzurri midway through the 2022-23 season, one of their most important players, as they look to wrestle city rivals AC Milan off the Italian throne. Twenty-seven at the time of writing, Skriniar has the most minutes of any Inter player this season across all competitions (1,725).

In June 2022, Skriniar was appointed the Slovakia men’s national team captain, highlighting what many in his homeland have known about him since his beginnings. The then-head coach Stefan Tarkovic succinctly summed up why the federation had made that choice. “He has leadership skills, all the prerequisites to lead a team. This means not only having a ribbon on his sleeve, but also the responsibility of interpreting the opinion of the cabin, standing up for it, solving moments of crisis, carrying out everything that is connected with this function,” he said.