Never Rejected Juventus, Former Czech Football Star Immediately Lakoni Debuted In MMA
JAKARTA - Former Czech football player, Martin Fenin, is preparing to make his debut in mixed martial arts (MMA).
Fenin, who is currently 35 years old, was one of Europe's best prospects when he surfaced in 2007. The player, who plays as a striker, almost brought the Czech team to glory at the 2007 U-20 World Cup.
At that time Fenin and his colleagues managed to advance until the final of the age group tournament. However, in that final match, the Czechs had to admit the toughness of the Argentine team, which at that time was strengthened by legendary striker Sergio Aguero.
In addition to performing nicely with the national team, Fenin was also impressive when playing at club level. He was recorded to shine when strengthening FK Teplice, which at that time was Edin Dzeko.
The stunning performance made him successfully carve a club transfer record of 3 million when he moved to German club Eintracht Frankfurt in 2008.
Fenin said he could have joined Juventus at the time. However, he chose to reject it because at that time the Old Lady was strengthened by big names David Trezeguet and Alessandro del Piero.
"I myself decided to join Eintracht because I became the most expensive signing in the history of the club," said The Sun.
"And at least I have the certainty and hope that I will get playing time. That's certainly not going to happen in Juventus, where David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero are in the team," he added.
However, his football career ended tragically. Fenin is one of several stars suspended indefinitely by the Czech football federation.
According to reports circulating the sentence was due to alleged disciplinary violations. However, the ban was later lifted a year later. "At that time we were punished for no apparent reason," Fenin said.
Despite being raised in the world of football, Fenin now wants to make achievements in the MMA world. He is reportedly going to make his debut in the world of self-defense at the end of this year.
Fenin said his decision was fully supported by his wife. He admitted that his wife wanted to know whether he still had the spirit of an athlete or not.
"When I got home I told my wife and she said I was crazy not to try it and that she wanted to see if I still had the spirit as an athlete," he said.
"He is the main reason I finally agreed to this challenge and I am very happy he did it!" he added.