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Federal captain Marco Rossi called the mental attitude of the Hungarian national football team crucial in successfully winning the European Championship qualifying series.
“There is a saying in Italy: there is no defeat in the heart of those who fight. There is always an opportunity to translate until the match is called off. The boys don’t give in and don’t give up, above all that makes me proud because it reflects my character. I was never a talented footballer, I’m not one of the best coaches either, but I never gave up and fought until the end” – said the Italian professional manager, who also has Hungarian citizenship, on the M4 Sport Góóól!2 show on Monday.
Rossi talked about this in connection with the fact that his team won two of the eight European qualifiers coming from behind, and on two more occasions saved a point by equalizing in the first half, such as in the 97th minute in Bulgaria, where the national team qualified for the continental tournament with a draw.
As he said, he has changed a lot in recent years, primarily in the way he relates to the players, the way he speaks to them. As he said, he has a lot of respect for his students.
“We are united like a family. I could be their father, and the children have to be brought up. If they make a mistake, I let them know. For example, Kerkez Milos should have had a cooler head during his exhibition in Bulgaria, but he apologized to me and his companions, which indicates that he understood the seriousness of his mistake” said the 59-year-old coach, who added that the Bournemouth legend told him that Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal-scoring free kick in the 97th minute “saved his life”.
The master, who celebrated the Hungarian championship title with the Budapest Honvéd in 2017, of course also talked about the leadership of the national team. According to him, Liverpool’s 23-year-old midfielder has become much more mature since the captain’s armband, which he took over last November. He revealed that since he was appointed to the post, they have exchanged many more messages and he shares his thoughts with her.
“He is a special player, but not only because of his talent, because it is a talent and not a merit. He has worked extremely hard on his weaknesses, he has an enormous will to improve. Apart from him, Roland Sallai is the most decisive in the team, but both of them put their talents at the service of the others” – said Rossi, who admitted that in the first half of the match in Lithuania in October, he himself made the biggest tactical mistake by playing Szoboszlai further back.
“He could hold his own in any position, but we had never tested this before, so he was not yet prepared for the role of the number six. On the other hand, he can play freely in his usual position, I basically give freedom to my players in the attacking third”.
On the other hand, Rossi is not so permissive about the team’s defense, as he noted, “this is the obsession of the Italians”, that they do not like to change the formation at the back, because automaticity must develop there, because the players must not think in any situation, because it already delays the defender results in
He revealed that, although Endre Botka played well in Bulgaria, he gave Balogh Botond the opportunity in the last match on Sunday, who wore the crested shirt for only the second time, because he wanted to test him. He was curious about how he performs in front of 65,000 spectators, because when he gets a chance in Parma, he usually plays well.
“I put it to the test and it played the match with a cool head as it should. I am very glad that it stood its ground” – he praised the 21-year-old defender, but he also spoke positively about the most experienced member of the national team, who has been selected 77 times:
“I was also happy with Ádám Nagy’s goal because, on the one hand, he was one of the team’s best against Montenegro, and on the other hand, he has a different role in the field. I’m sorry that many people don’t understand his task, even though if he’s in good shape, he’s indispensable for the national team”.
Regarding his own future, he emphasized that all stories will come to an end one day, but if he escapes from here, he would definitely like to part with the president of the association, Sándor Csányi, and the Hungarian fans in peace.
“We know nothing is impossible. We have already proven that even the best cannot be safe against us. But first let’s get through the draw” – said Rossi about next year’s continental competition in Germany, who would like to have an opponent from the first hat, i.e. the strongest rivals, that his team has not met yet, citing the Spanish team as an example.
The Hungarian national team made it to next year’s European Championship in Germany with five wins and three draws, undefeated and first in its group, so it awaits the group draw in Hamburg on December 2nd.
