Hungary coach Marco Rossi on EURO Group A rivals, Dominik Szoboszlai's class and tactical approach – interview
Sunday, June 9, 2024
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"Talent should be unshackled, not held down," says Marco Rossi as he looks to get the best out of Hungary at EURO 2024.
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Marco Rossi seems more than ready for his second EURO finals as a coach. The Italian-Hungarian 59-year-old took charge of Hungary back in 2018, and oversaw the nation's EURO 2020 campaign, where they managed draws against France and Germany in an extremely difficult group that also contained holders Portugal.
Rossi spoke to UEFA.com about what he expects from EURO 2024, his admiration for midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and how he likes his teams to play.
On EURO 2020 reflections
They're beautiful memories. I particularly remember the match against Germany, and I can still feel my soaked jacket, because it started raining at a certain point. In the end we felt like we almost did it [win]. I think there were ten minutes left when [Leon] Goretzka scored the goal to make it 2-2 and crushed our dreams.
I hope it won’t happen again this time, because we always seem to get Germany in our group. We had them in our [UEFA] Nations League group as well. They’ve become our regular opponents. Let's hope that we get the same luck that we had in our last three matches against them [W1 D2].
On his coaching philosophy
I believe that any team must be organised and disciplined tactically in order to have a strong identity, especially when out of possession and right after you lose the ball. There are fundamental principles when it comes to ball possession that you should respect, but my players are definitely free to choose the areas they prefer on the pitch.
I believe talent should be unshackled, not held down. Depending on the choices we make when attacking, when we lose possession and we can’t mount another attack we need to adapt our defence.
On Group A rivals
Germany will be playing at home, and their fans will be keen for them to win. They've historically been used to winning many games. By hosting this EURO they've got a big chance of going all the way. These other two teams [Scotland and Switzerland] are more on our level, in a way. I'm not going to stick my neck out and say how Germany will do, although I don't believe they'll manage to get nine points.
Against Scotland and Switzerland, a lot will depend on where we're at going into these games. But with our individual characteristics, we've got a good chance against both of these teams.
More on Hungary
On Dominik Szoboszlai
Dominik’s future was written in the stars. People have had an eye on him since he was 15, becoming a potential national team player. I think what especially sets him apart is his great self-belief and confidence. It's self-esteem and confidence, not arrogance. It's something that comes from the perception he has of his own talent, and especially from the awareness of the work he puts into it.