A lump on the left wing. How did you come up with it?
We know that Lukáš Provod needs a few more days to recover, he was a little tired, we already thought about it in the last match, we did it now. Adam is well prepared, the left midfielder is his best position, he gets into shooting, finishing, he has gained dynamism, strength. He is the player of the future.
What is missing for him to repeat such performances?
Every time he was with us, I praised him. I’ve always stuffed him from the left, I think that’s his position. He is honest in defending, he can make the difference with a loop outside and inside the shot. He doesn’t miss much and I think he will continue to perform like this.
How much was captain Souček missed?
It is difficult to replace him, typologically there is no other one like that. Alex Král (King, made the journalist laugh while helping the translator) managed it very well, we watch every one of his matches in Spain, they call him the balloon thief. He did a fair job backwards and forwards, he got it done. Before that, he didn’t get much space, there was still a possibility to use Jirka Boula from Baník, we decided if one or the other. We decided on the King.
How did you like Captain Holeš?
He’s a guy in his place, he can handle these big games. His performance shows what kind of leader he is. You can count on him.
Did you believe after the match in Georgia, where you lost 1:4? What did you change?
He believed. If not, I’ll wrap it up. He believed in the whole realization, I have to thank the guys for how they prepared the videos and the tactics. There wasn’t much time. We played fair football. The boys don’t cheat, they work hard for each other, it pays off. It was a small step towards advancing to the World Cup, which is our main goal.
But there was a lot of criticism after the aforementioned match. What are your feelings now?
When you get a four, it’s clear that no one will praise us. The performance was not good, there were a lot of experts, but that’s how it is. Everyone can express themselves, we have a democracy, we had to swallow it and return to an honest approach. He’s there on the field and on the video, all the time.
I won’t get used to it
Do you value promotion to Nations League A more or an almost certain tie for the World Cup?
It is an intermediate stage of what we want to achieve. The first step was to win Group B to guarantee a play-off for the World Cup. We have fulfilled this, but it is partial. We’ll keep going even if we’re in the championship, that’s why I went in and I’m not going to get used to it.
You have been with the team for a year, how much has it enriched you?
Much. I am very happy to have been given this chance, which I appreciate. Even the guys who work with me. It is not easy to know all the players. I wanted to get to know them as much as possible to know how they behave in training and the like. We had guys here who didn’t get many chances. But they can get it next time, they have a future, we will follow them.
How much did you have to deviate from your original plans and principles, with which you wanted to present yourself at the beginning?
Every coach would like to play a dulcimer that looks beautiful and people will clap. Beautiful to the eye of the beholder. But the reality is a little different. We’re back to what’s our best side, which is the collective way, everyone is pushing hard. If you look at the lineups from the Euros, Georgia had almost the same one, we had a different one. There is a lot of turnover of players, injuries, but we still managed. The guys who didn’t have that much space at the Euros and now they were able to take advantage of it have made a name for themselves.
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One of them is, for example, Václav Jemelka. He broke the curse and the national team won with him in the lineup for the tenth time. What do you think of his performance? See, I didn’t even know he had a curse. Excellent. We already wanted him at the last meeting, but he had health problems. He is an all-rounder with an excellent character. Plus, how many fights will he win. It is a pleasure to work with him.
The way Jan Kuchta stood up for Jan Bořil also resonates among the fans. Does it show the correct settings?
Certainly, although it is not hockey that we should take revenge, but it was within limits, there was no red card, it went well. I’m glad the guys are taking care of each other. When someone messes up, there are two or three who want to fix it.
