9 hours ago, 28/03/2024 16:02
eFootball
photo: Czech national football team
Representation
SURVEY
1. Was it right to try out new faces, or should Hašek play the squad for the Euros?
2. What does the team need to work on the most?
3. Which of the new players has said about an invitation to the EC and who is more out of the picture after this meeting?
Ludek Zelenka
I would try even more
“I think he did well. It wasn’t a test for the Portuguese or Georgia. It was a test for players who are on the verge of nomination and I completely understand coach Hašek in this. He needed to see them in action. To test them in case they needed to be used, I would have done the same in his place. I would have used them in both matches. Certainly at the expense of Tomáš Souček, for example, who does not need to be tested at all, we have all known about his qualities for a long time. I would even go further in this direction. When that’s how I think about it, I’d be even more crazy and test the guys on the verge of nomination even more. There won’t be any other option.”
The team is looking for you on the field
“Especially on teamwork. Even though the cornerstones of the team are probably clearly defined, I expect a slightly different line-up at the Euros, maybe even a new set-up. So you need to practice automatisms. These things cannot be replaced by anything. That’s why it’s always better to bet to a team that has been playing together for a long time. Maybe even at the expense of someone who is individually great. So I see the team’s biggest weakness is that there is a bit of searching on the field, but the lack is completely logical. The problem will be if there is searching even to the Euro.”
A trio of jokers and youngsters
“In my opinion, guys like Ondřej Lingr, Antonín Barák or Tomáš Chorý showed in that double match that they can go to the Euros. Maybe not as first-team players, but certainly as members of the wider squad. All three of them talked about the Euros. He did not disappoint from the complete newcomers Robin Hranáč or Tomáš Vlček, but young Adam Gabriel was discussed a lot yesterday. He showed a lot of effort, but otherwise the match didn’t go well for him. Unfortunately, he looked bad, he probably lost the championship. However, coach Hašek is a reasonable guy and he certainly didn’t curse anyone in the future, not even Gabriela. He knows very well that it was just one match, which sometimes doesn’t work out for anyone. Probably no one cut the branch under themselves like that. Rather, Hašek made sure which players could go to the Euros, even if they didn’t belong to the base.”
Vaclav Nemeček
It was needed
“Obviously it was the right decision, when else should he try them? There’s no other option than in a friendly match. Although I’ve never been very fond of friendlies historically, they are used to test new players. Especially when playing for your country is different from playing for a club. So it was necessary for the new boys to get a taste of it, to get to know the team. The fact that the new coach has no time left until the Euros is of course a disadvantage, but we were counting on it.”
We have to play faster
“On orientation in space, on coordination. So that everyone on the field knows who stands where. But since the core of the lineup remains the same, I don’t think that this should be our biggest problem at the Euros. I say for myself that it is necessary to play faster from the foot. I think Ivan himself talked about it, it just needs to be played faster. And it doesn’t matter who is standing against us. Of course, it will be even more difficult against the Portuguese in this direction, but we have to at least try, otherwise we will get into trouble. However, we also need to work on accuracy. There were too many inaccurate things, especially against Armenia.”
It’s not fair to judge
“This question is the trickiest of all for me. I’m not a coach. I have no idea what holes I would like to fill on the field, and I only watch the players on TV. Even if it sounds a bit alibi, I would probably not like to get into this question. It wouldn’t be fair to the boys. From there, coach Hašek is there to decide. I can’t do it for him.”
Jan Rajnoch
The euro is just the beginning
“I think it’s good that the coach gave more players a chance. There are still two games before the Euros, so there will be plenty of time to fine tune things in the summer. In addition, the axis of the team has been together for quite a long time, so there is no need to keep rotating it. Another thing is that the Euro is only a stepping stone before qualifying for the World Cup, which coach Hašek considers a priority. That’s why it makes sense that the younger players also got the space.”
There is something to work on
“There are still a lot of setbacks in the game, but we have to take into account that this is the first camp under a new coach. It was not easy for the players to perceive what the new implementation team wants from them. The boys will do a lot of work in the training camp before the Euros, and I believe that that it will fit. The gradual passing from the back didn’t work too well for us, we couldn’t keep the ball at the top and we also had a problem attacking. But these are things that simply have to fit under the new coach.”
Pilsen tandem
“In the duel with Armenia, I really liked Hranáč, who looked very confident in the middle of the defense. Chorý also strongly applied for a place in the final nomination. He confirmed that when he comes on the field, he is immediately capable of scoring a goal. I would not like to criticize anyone , because I think that all the boys have the quality for the national team, but in the second duel, the newcomer Gabriel was a bit lacking.”
Roman Polo
He avoided criticism
“I would say that in Ivan Hašek’s position it would have been better to test more players. A new coach always needs to see how the boys behave in certain situations on the field and wants to find out as quickly as possible what he can expect from them. In the double match against Norway and Armenia so he could get a picture of how someone works on and off the field, which is definitely a plus for him. By rotating the squad, he also avoided critical voices that would certainly be heard if the lineup were kept the same.”
The meeting was mainly about getting to know each other
“There is enough, but this meeting was mainly about trying. The coaches needed to get a feel for different styles and the players got to experience what it’s like to play under a new execution team. In the interviews, coach Hašek revealed that he spent a lot of time with the boys watching the video, which only proves that getting to know each other was intense. At the next meeting, everyone will know what and how, so I expect that the adaptation to the playing style will be faster.”
He was impressed by Barák’s return
“We saw that the absence of Tonda Barák was a great loss for the national team. In both matches, he showed that he is a very good footballer, which was missing from the national team. Therefore, I think that the nomination should not be missed. A question mark hangs over Vlček and Hranáč, who also despite occasional setbacks, they played a pretty good match against Armenia. But the competition for their position is quite big. The half against Armenia didn’t go well for Gabriel, but we have Vladimír Coufal in his place, so the nomination probably wouldn’t come there even in case of a great performance.”
Petr Mikolanda
He did it right
“For me it was right. Three players were out for known reasons. The new coach and his implementation team made a player mix where they took into account the present and the future. He made it clear that he would only make decisions based on current form and health. Sure, Euro is coming, but if he didn’t take the new players, there would definitely be someone who would blame him. He did it to the administration for me and the players got the appropriate minutes.”
I liked how the coach responded
“It is clear that the coach had a plan A and then a plan B. He wanted to dominate the matches, bet on attacking football. And it was very difficult to change the player in that moment, when he is used to something else from the club. In addition, there is also the plan with which the opponent goes into the match. For myself, I would highlight how coach Hašek alternated with his implementation team and responded to developments.”
One name: Sick
“That’s a very difficult question. We probably don’t need to talk about players like Souček. I’ll say one name for myself: Chorý. Coach Hašek can take twenty players into the field and three goalkeepers. And if I take players like Patrik Schick, Adam Hložek and Jan Kuchta, so Chorý is typologically different. I would take him to the Euros.”
