Slovakia's Falcons have landed
Monday, June 6, 2016
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A one-hour delay at Bratislava airport did little to kill Slovakia's buzz as the newly-dubbed Falcons arrived at their base in Vichy for UEFA EURO 2016.
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The newly-nicknamed Falcons have touched down in France, Ján Kozák's Slovakia making light of a one-hour flight delay as they headed from Clermont-Ferrand airport to their UEFA EURO 2016 base, at the Spa Les Celestins hotel in Vichy.
Children bearing flowers and a sign in Slovakian reading 'Vitajte' (welcome) greeted them at their home from home, with the players eager to get on with it. "We are finally here," forward Stanislav Šesták told UEFA.com after he stepped off the team bus.
"EURO fever is not getting any more severe in my case, to be honest – we still have a few days to prepare for our first game."
The 33-year-old Šesták will retire from international football after the finals, and as one of the veterans of the side that travelled to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, perhaps he knows from experience the importance of keeping a cool head.
Vichy is certainly a place which encourages calm, but despite the city's reputation as a favourite holiday spot, Slovakia know they are here to work as they gear up for their first UEFA European Championship finals since the break-up of the former Czechoslovakia.
As to why their plane was late arriving at Bratislava airport, team media officer Juraj Čurný had no idea. "Never mind, we are here," he told UEFA.com. "And the delay meant we had time to take some nice team pictures before we took off."
