Sõna on peatreeneril: mida ootab Thomas Häberli EM-valiksarja loosimiselt?

Häberli kommenteeris nii eelseisvat EM-valiksarja kui sellele eelnevat perioodi:

2024. aasta EM-valiksarja loosimine
9. oktoober on iga Eesti koondisega seotud inimese jaoks oluline päev. Saame teada vastased valikmängudeks. Loosimisele saab läheneda kahe erineva nurga alt. Neist esimene on oodata atraktiivseid vastaseid, teine keskenduda vastastele, kelle vastu võiksime võimalikult palju punkte teenida. Peame suhtuma selliselt, et soovime võimalikult palju mängitavaid, jõukohaseid vastaseid. Me ei soovi nn ilusaid kaotusi. Me mängime selleks, et võita. Tahame ka rünnata, mitte ainult kaitsta. Maailma 20 parima koondise vastu on see väga raske, aga reitingus järgmiste koondise vastu võimalikum. Hoiame pöialt, et loosiõnn meile igast tugevusgrupist võimalikult võidetava vastase tooks! Oleme eelseisva loosimise eel ootusärevad, sest viimane aasta on meid näljaseks muutnud.

Viimane aasta
Aasta tagasi mängisime Walesiga 0:0 viiki ja kogesime suurepäraseid emotsioone, sest kuigi mängisime võõrsil, ei olnud me ainult kaitsele keskendunud, ründasime ja tekitasime lõpus võimalusi ka võiduvärav lüüa. Kuus kuud hiljem olime näost kaamed: kaotasime teenitult Küprosele. Me ei unusta kunagi seda karmi tunnet ja suurt valu. Septembris saadud kindel 4:0 võit San Marino üle tähendas, et kogusime maksimumpunktid, naasime Rahvuste liigas C-tasandile ja sellega lõppes viimaste kuude sõit Ameerika mägedel.

Küpros ja pärast seda
Meie eneseanalüüs oli halastamatu. Kuidas see juhtuda sai? Miks oli 26 mängijast 23 selle kogunemise ajal haiged (koroonaviirus, kõhuprobleemid, külmetus, gripp)? Koondise arst ütles, et pole kunagi varem midagi sellist kogenud. Siiski on see meie lugu. Ei mingeid vabandusi, ei mingit ohvrimentaliteeti. Mängupäeval ei olnud me valmis. Meie vastutame ja seisame olukorraga silmitsi. Võtame õigustatud kriitika vastu ja tõuseme taas. Pärast seda oli meil kümme nädalat aega valmistuda uueks ülesandeks D-liigas. Mängijad on suures plaanis samad. Rahvusmeeskonnana teatavasti üleminekuturul tegutseda ei saa. Pidime parandama palliga mängu, mida proovisime eelmisel aastal ülitugevate vastaste vastu. Samuti pidime meeskonnana muutuma stabiilsemaks ja jagama vastutust rohkemate mängijate vahel. Peame mängus paratamatult ette tulevate tagasilöökidega paremini toime tulema. Selle juurde kuulub soosikuna surve talumine ja samal ajal tulemuste saavutamine. See on uus mängumaa, mis vajab avastamist.

D-liiga
Tulemused ei valeta. Oleme paremad kui D-liiga. Seda võime kindlalt väita. Näitasime mängust mängu edasiminekut. Pidime vastu võtma tagasilööke, näiteks mõlemas kohtumises Maltaga anti meie vastu penalti käega mängu eest. Elasime üle rasked perioodid kodumängus Maltaga ja lõpus aitas meid ka rohkearvuline publik, samuti staadioni teadustaja. Aitäh! Viimases mängus San Marinoga näitas meeskond küpset esitust, mida toetasid taas valjuhäälsed Eesti fännid tribüünidel.

Oleme nüüd C-tasandil?
Oleme D-liigast paremad, kuid kas sellest piisab, et C-liigas mänge võita? Pidime oma koha leidma. Kuhu me kuulume? Nii 2018. kui ka 2020. aastal mängis koondis C-tasemel ja võitis vaid ühe mängu. Jalgpallis on tõde tulemustes, mitte sõnades. Veel selgemalt end väljendades: toona oli tase liiga kõrge. Alagrupp oli liiga tugev. Selge on see, et me kõik tahame mängida C-liigat. Aga need on vaid sõnad. Sellele peavad järgnema ka teod. C-liigas sõltub alagrupi tugevus palju loosimisest: Küpros jäi tugevas alagrupis viimaseks, samas kui Kasahstan mängis selle aasta alguses D-liigat ja on nüüd tõusnud B-liigasse. Keegi peab tõusma ja keegi peab langema, mis on publikule kaasahaarav ja sportlikult nõudlik.

Austame oma jalgpallureid
Tänan oma mängijaid, personali ja kõiki teisi panuse andnud inimesi. Kõik aitasid. Aga platsil on mängijad. Nemad said ülesannetega hakkama. Targa kapteni juhtimisel võtsid nad vastutuse ja sõnadele järgnesid teod. Märtsis saime kõva löögi, aga me ei jäänud pikali. Oleme õppinud ning oleme kogemuste ja edu võrra rikkamad. Need emotsionaalsed Ameerika mäed jäävad meie sisse alles ja teevad meid ees ootavate põnevate ülesannete lahendamisel tugevamaks.

Südame ja palliga. Oleme osa Eestist. 

 

The head coach has the floor: what does Thomas Häberli expect from the EURO2024 draw?

This Sunday is an important day for the Estonian national team, as the draw for the EURO2024 qualifiers will take place in Frankfurt. The head coach of the team, Thomas Häberli, focuses on picking up points from opponents, not on big names.

Häberli commented on the upcoming EURO2024 draw as well as the period leading up to it:

EURO 2024 draw
October 9th 2022 is an important day for everyone involved with the Estonian national team. On this day the  qualifying round draw for the EURO 2024 takes place in Frankfurt. There are two ways of looking at this draw. The first is to hope for attractive opponents. The second is to focus on opponents against whom we could earn as many points as possible. The attitude we need to have is clear: we want opponents we can beat. We are not looking for honorable defeats. We play to win, we also want to attack and not only defend. It's very, very difficult to play against the top 20 nations in the world, but once you get past the 20th position in the FIFA ranking, opponents become more human! Let's keep our fingers crossed that the luck of the draw will bring us the best possible opponent from each pot! We are anxious for the upcoming draw, because the last year has made us hungry.

A short review of the last year
A year ago we drew 0-0 with Wales and we experienced great emotions because even though we were playing away, we were not only focused on defending, we attacked and created chances to score the winning goal at the end. Six months later we were left disappointed when we deservedly lost to Cyprus. We will never forget this harsh reality and great pain. In September, the undisputed 4:0 victory in San Marino sealed our return to League C with the maximum number of points and the end of a dip on our rollercoaster ride of the past months.

Cyprus and after
Our internal analysis was merciless. How could this happen? Why were 23 players out of 26 sick during this gathering (Covid, gastrointestinal issues, cold, influenza)? The team doctor reported that he had never experienced anything like this before. Still, it is our story. No excuses, and we don’t want to be seen as victims of the circumstances. On game day we weren't ready. We take full responsibility and face the situation. We accept constructive criticism and stand up again. After this, we had 10 weeks to prepare for the new task in League D. The players were more or less the same. As is well known, you cannot become active on the transfer market as a national team. We had to improve our game with the ball, which we tried last year against extremely strong opponents. We also had to become more stable as a team and the responsibility had to be shared among more players. We have to cope better with the "normal" setbacks in the game. Learning to deal with pressure as a favorite and delivering results at the same time is also part of it. This is a new territory at national team level for Estonia, never seen before in this form.

League D
The results don't lie. We're better than League D. We can definitely say that. It was a run of progression from game to game. We had to accept setbacks, for example penalties against us in both Malta games. We survived difficult periods in the home game against Malta and at the end we were helped by a large crowd as well as the stadium announcer. Thank you! In the last game against San Marino, the team showed a mature performance, which was again supported by loud Estonian fans in the stands.

Are we at C level now?
We are better than D but is it enough to win games in C? We had to find our place. Where do we belong? In both 2018 and 2020, we played in League C and only won one game. Results are the truth in football, not words. Or to put it more clearly, the level was too high back then. The group was too strong. We all clearly want to play in League C. But these are just words. Actions must follow. The strength of the group in League C depends a lot on the draw. Cyprus finished last in a strong C group. Kazakhstan participated in League D play-outs earlier this year and are now promoted to League B. Someone has to rise and someone has to fall, which is engaging for the audience and challenging for players.

We should be proud of Estonian footballers
I want to thank my players, my staff and all the other stakeholders. Everyone helped. But the players are on the pitch. They delivered. Led by a great captain, they took responsibility and words were followed by actions. We were hit hard in March, but we didn't stay down. We have learned and are richer in experience and success. This emotional rollercoaster will stay in our hearts and strengthen us for the exciting tasks ahead.

We always play with our hearts. A part of Estonia.

 

Foto: Jana Pipar/Jalgpall.ee