He acted like a lion in a cage. During the entire match, he gestured intensively towards the players. He encouraged them to attack more actively. He did not let up in his efforts even when the Slovak footballers were leading by two goals. Slovak coach Francesco Calzona arrived unusually late for the press conference after the 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan.
Photo: Profimedia
Slovak football coach Francesco Calzona.
The reason was an uncharacteristically long press release by the Portuguese coach of the guests, Fernando Santos. Azerbaijani journalists admitted this for almost half an hour.
“I have great respect and admiration for coaches like him. He achieved significant success in football at the club and national team level,” says Calzona about his counterpart.
Was it a challenge for you to compare yourself to a coach of his caliber?
First of all, I have great admiration for him. He led top-level clubs and the same goes for national teams. He won many trophies. He has more than 700 games as a head coach.
Hats off to him. After only a short time, he was able to raise the game of Azerbaijan. We had more problems with them than the result suggests. They played really well.
The second victory in the Nations League without conceding a goal. What were you satisfied with and where do you see the team’s reserves?
I’m happy with the result, but I’m less satisfied with the performance. We defended very poorly in the first half. Our defensive work was very poor. We cannot afford that. I had no problem with the offense.
However, that is not enough. We have to get back to work and improve our defensive game. I am pleased with the result, although the performance was not as expected. The important thing is that we were able to get three points.
What specifically hindered you in the defensive game?
Towards the end of the half, we allowed the opponent a lot. I wasn’t happy with attacking the center players or the strikers. We got our defensive line in trouble because our offense didn’t work at all. When we are not good at pressing, we are very vulnerable. I have to say that playing two matches shortly after each other, when just over 60 hours have passed, is not easy at all. It’s not an excuse, but a fact.
Norbert Gyömbér got the opportunity on the edge of the defense. How satisfied were you with him?
Noro played on the sidelines as we are still looking for a replacement for this position. We have players who are not yet at the level we would imagine. All over Europe we are looking for a Slovak who can play on the edge of defense.
If you have any suggestions, here them. We know it’s not an ideal position for Noro, but he can sacrifice himself for the team. We have other alternatives for this post, but those guys aren’t ready yet.
The national team returned to Košice after 26 years. How did you enjoy the environment of the new stadium itself?
I felt how the city lived through this match. It resembled a football holiday. I enjoyed it very much. It was great to see a full stadium again. I saw great enthusiasm among people. When people are happy and excited, that’s a goal accomplished for me.
How satisfied were you with the changes you made to the squad compared to the match in Estonia?
Peter Pekarík has been training with his club for practically only a week. It was wise not to put him under too much pressure. Juraj Kucka is coming after an injury and is not yet in sufficient condition.
We decided to let him play from the start and although he didn’t have an ideal performance in the first half, he did an excellent job in the second. Dávid Strelec played excellently during the attacking phase when we had the ball in possession. It was worse when we were not in control of the ball.
Photo: ČTK / DPA / Marius Becker
Juraj Kucka Peter Pekarík Despite their older age, 37-year-old veterans Juraj Kucka and Peter Pekarík outperform their younger followers.
In the second match in a row, Adam Obert was given a place. Did he convince you with his performances?
He also got a chance because Denis Vavro had a longer break and was also changing clubs. He had to travel a lot. He flew many kilometers. He was not in 100% form. Ľubomír Šatka also came without match experience, he needs to get into it again. I am satisfied with the performance of Obert and the other boys.
Two years ago, you lost 1:2 to Azerbaijan, this time it was a fairly smooth win. How would you compare the two duels?
They are absolutely different matches and situations. Two years ago, I was with the team for only a few days. I already said then that the last thing I care about is the results. We had work ahead of us to put together a team from the ground up.
A lot of times he only looks at the results, but at the beginning of the journey, from my point of view, it was not right. Much more important were the performances and game expression. They began to improve much faster than I myself expected.
The boys pleasantly surprised me. We started playing at a solid level already in March last year. I felt we were on the right track.
Your closest opponent will be Sweden. Do you want to build on the performance from the opening two games against one of the favorites of the group?
I am pleased that we were able to create a lot of chances in both matches. However, we still have a lot to work on. If we thought we had nothing to improve on, we would be on the wrong track.
Our ambitions do not change. We want to advance to a higher division. We understand that it will not be easy. The Swedes have a strong team. They are high in the FIFA rankings. We expect a very difficult match.
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
