The German minifootball team were handed a tough assignment for if they are to win the miniEURO in October – but the coach of the team had a defiant message: Bring it on!
Germany were paired with one of the pre-tournament favourites, Czech Republic when the draw was made last week but far from being daunted Coach Marc Mueller said he is ready for the experience: “At miniEURO everyone wants to compete with the best teams on the continent. The Czechs belong to that group, so it is an exciting challenge for us,” he told us exclusively.
Coach Mueller added that rather than focus just on the glamour tie against the Czech’s it was vital to treat every game the same: “There are no easy games,” he said. “The Cypriots can rely on the support of the local Greeks which will give them a boost. They might have been eliminated in the 2012 event, but that is a year ago, so the minifootball in Cyprus will also have progressed.”
This was a thought echoed by team manager Julia Colter who has already begun the preparation by compiling a report on the other Eastern European team they will face, new boys Russia: “We have to play and win our games and must not underestimate anyone. The Russians are indeed new, but they will also have good football players,” she warned.
German Minifootball President Christoph Koechy (pictured middle) remained philosophical on his teams chances saying: We should be stronger than last year. CzechRepublic’s president Filip Juda did not look too happy when ‘Germany’ was put into the group. Of course we want to get as far as possible. This means that we want to play the last match of this tournament and want to win that one, too.”
Before he finally added: “If you want to win the title, you have to beat everyone anyway!”