MARCO ROSSI
The Hungary coach discusses how his team is shaping up ahead of this summer’s European Championship
How do you reflect on the qualification campaign of your team for Euro 2024?
We had a really good year with very good qualifiers, results and matches. It was a bit unexpected to finish first in our group because we had been drawn with Serbia, who, on paper, are much better than us. In the end, we achieved the most important target – to qualify for Euro 2024. We succeeded, so we are happy for that. But of course, football gives no time to reflect on what you have achieved. There are new targets and we have the desire to play a very good European Championship.
You drew against smaller opposition like Lithuania and Bulgaria. Should your team be more imposing at times?
You know, against smaller teams, you can often face different difficulties – they defend deep, they play on the counter-attack. Every team has some good players that can cause you problems if you are not fully concentrated on your task. Sometimes there are surprises, but if we were able to defeat England, Germany and other bigger teams than us, it’s because we can imagine that it can also happen to us at the hands of smaller teams. In football today, nothing is easy. We have to be prepared. On paper, a team can be smaller, but you can still face quite an organised team. Every match must be played and every match has its difficulties.
How has your team evolved since the last European Championship in 2021?
We have a very good team. We improved smaller details, both defensively and offensively, in transition, in set-piece situations, adding tactical variations and being more cautious in other situations. In every training camp, we always try to add something. That doesn’t mean that we improve every time because we have to take into account our opponent. We are in a process of development and I hope that this process can continue. At Euro 2024, I want to see the maturity of my team in terms of the mental aspect and personality.I would like to see a step forward.
Since being in charge you have played with a three-man defence, sometimes a five-man, sometimes a regular fourman back line. Have you been exploring different systems in the sense of adapting to the level of your opponents?
In 2018 we started playing with four defenders. We went to three and we returned to a back four, playing different systems. I don’t think that the system is making a difference. The principles are what matters. Of course, it’s important for the players that they are comfortable, or at least in a system in which they could be more involved and more confident. We are indeed playing with three central defenders. At the last European Championship, we played a 3-5-2. After the tournament, we introduced the 3-4-2-1 and our players are a fit f
