Hans Peter Briegel - Albania is moving toward the right direction
Posted: 2005 Nov 23 - 00:05
• The head coach of the Albanian national team gives a rare and exclusive interview to albaniasoccer.com.
He talks candidly about his 3 year experience with the red and black team and what’s to become of his future in Albania that has yet to be determined until February 2006.
Q. Mr. Briegel, You have accomplished some impressive achievements with the Albanian National Team: 13 points total and a placement in the fifth vase in the “Euro 2008” drawing. What does this mean to you particularly being a foreign coach?
A. These are very important accomplishments. After some pleasing scores during the qualifiers of “Euro 2004”, we created a strong group of players for the World Cup qualifiers and had some serious success against some tough teams. Unfortunately, we were also presented with circumstantial obstacles, like injuries or suspensions, so I have had to compromise player’s positions for the sake of the game: i.e. a midfielder has had to play in defense, etc.
Q. As two remarkable scores we would single out the win against Greece- reigning European champions, and the draw with Ukraine-the first European team to qualify for the World Cup.
A. You are correct. They are big successes; they even got the attention of the international soccer press. The win against Greece was huge, because not only was it the very first time the Albanian time had defeated a European champion, but that champion just happened to be the next door neighbor. And the draw with Ukraine came at a key moment in Ukrainian soccer: it was their last game, even though whatever the score would play very little affect to their outcome.
Q. You are an internationally known footballer: key player at Kaiseslautern, twice World Cup runner up (1982 & 1986); once European Champion(1980), as well as Italian Champions with Verona(1985). How does Briegel – the coach see Briegel – the player?
A. There is a big difference between being a player (at a young age) and being a coach. Personally, I feel that a good player has every opportunity to become a good coach. Being a coach was hard for me in the beginning, until I accumulated the necessary experience. I can certainly tell now some of the mistakes I made as a player when I watch some of my games. The point of view of a coach is very different from that of a player, and never mind a hot bloodied one like me.
Q. It was the first time that the fate of three teams for the World Cup finals (Turkey, Denmark and Greece) rested with Albania. It must have been a lot of pressure for you also. How did you feel about it and how important to you was the game against Turkey (0-1)?
A. It was one of the toughest games for us, no doubt. I had to remind myself of the loss in Istanbul (0-2), and at the same time try to focus on the very different situation we had in Albania. Denmark’s fate depended on Albania and Greece was pretty much out. We played a decent and fare game against Turkey and did the best we could, especially in the first half, while during the second half, we grew tired physically due to the game with Ukraine shortly ago. I do however believe that the team did everything they could and they gave it their all in all the games abroad from Denmark to Greece, regardless of the score.
Q. You voted for Oleg Blloh as the best coach in the world for 2005.What are some of his qualities in your opinion, for him to deserve to be the coach of the Albanian team?
A. I remember him as a great player and a great coach. He managed to create a very strong team and accomplish great success against opponents in a very strong group, ultimately placing first in the group. I was obviously proven wrong not to think of Ukraine as one of the strongest opponent in the group, tougher than Denmark and Greece. I always saw Ukraine placing third or fourth, but never first in our group.
Q. Mr. Briegel, You have participated as a player in the two most important soccer activities: World Cup and Euro Cup. How would you like to participate as a coach?
A. Anyone would love that!As you know, there are over 50 European teams fighting for 14 spots in the World Cup and for 16 spots in the Euro Cup. Being the coach of the Albanian team, I am well aware of the desire for the team to be represented in either of events. This must become the objective for FSHF. It must do everything in its power to ensure Albania’s participation in Euro2008 in Austria & Switzerland. It is absolutely critical that we get points abroad; we’re strong enough at home, but still weak away, and we need all the points we can get, in or out. I truly feel FSHF should work harder in this direction.
Q. Some of the players in the current team have been discovered by you, such as defenders Dallku and Osmani or the attacker Kapllani. Are you working on the next generation of the national team?
A. There are always new players coming into the national team, and I totally disagree with the media’s opinion that it is over for this national team. There are at least ten new players in the team now: Elvin Beqiri, Adrian Aliaj that plays in France, Lorik Canaj, Lika, Hidi and others that have joined the team since I started coaching it. In the past three years, we have created a solid base of young players, and I believe this will be a very different team within five years.
Q. The Albanian sports media has been quite skeptic of your coaching and at times even critically aggressive. Do you think you have won some of it back with your “so- far” record?
A. To be honest with you, the press is always prone to criticize the coach right after a game. It’s natural in Germany and the same goes for the press here too.
The difference with the Albanian team though, is that progress has come a little slower and in much smaller steps. One can not fix everything in 24 hours, or start from 0 and turning it around 100% like that. Even though in small steps, I do believe we’ve made progress and Albania is moving toward the right direction. Everyone dreams of being a world or European champion, but it’s not that simple and we must be realistic. When it comes to the press, not all journalists have been realistic in acknowledging Albania’s capabilities or lack thereof; and as for the skeptics- well, they would be like that even if it were one of their relatives doing the coaching.
Q. Everyone involved in Albanian soccer form pros to fans, is hoping for our team to play against Germany in Euro2008. How hard would that be for you, given how it might specifically play out in the German press if we were to win a game against Germany?
A. It would no doubt be interesting! However it’s the draft that will determine the strong teams Albania might play against such as Italy, Germany or Holland.
Albania has always played great against big names like that though!
Q. There are quite a few Germans coaching national teams outside Germany (i.e.Oto Rehegali in Greece or Lotar Mateus in Hungary). Do you keep in touch with them?
A. Yes. I saw them most recently during the game of Bajern/ Munic against Juventus/Torino for the Champions Cup. We congratulated one another on the results of the qualifiers. We also talked about friendly games between the national teams we respectively coach, but I’m not sure if that will work.
Q. Oto Rahagel just renewed his contract with the Greek Soccer Federation, for 2 more years?
A. Martin Olsen of Denmark also renewed his…
Q. Have you thought about renewing yours for two more years, with FSHF?
A. Yes, I’ve thought about it and have had some preliminary talks with the president. We decided to wait until the January 2006 drawing for Euro2008, and talk contract come February 06. Besides, my contract does not expire until May 06, and until then, there is plenty of time for Albania to play some friendly matches with some European team preparing for World Cup finals.
Q. Mr. Briegel, did you ever think that you would be the coach with the most records (7 in total) of all times for the Albanian National Team? (Number of games played; number of wins; number of points accumulated, etc.)
A. Ah, I wasn’t aware of all that! All that is irrelevant though. What’s important is that we create a solid base of the team for the games to come, that we try to succeed in our efforts to reach higher.
Q. You have been in contact with Albanian soccer and its level in the Superior League. Do you see any changes from when you first got here?
A. When I signed up to coach the Albanian national team, the timing wasn’t the greatest; I had to replace another foreign coach and face Russia in the very next game. It was tough for me, but I had faith in the players and some of them played in Germany. We did have some understandable difficulties the first year, but there is a big difference to now days, three years later, since we have established the core of the team.
Q. We understand that amongst following the German Bundesliga or other European leagues, where Albanian players play; you also find time to check the Albanian Superior League (Besa vs. Tirana & Teuta vs. Lushnja).What is your opinion on the Albanian Championship?
A. Even though it is not considered one of the strongest leagues in Europe, I think that Albanian soccer has advanced a lot. It is still sometimes very physical, but yet enjoyable (for example, Tirana-Besa, wasn’t the best game, but a lot of fanes came to see it)
There are a lot of foreign players here. In my opinion, if the foreign players are not better that the domestic ones, then there is no need for them to even be here. It makes sense to encourage and support domestic players; after all it will be their responsibility to ensure the ongoing success of the National Team, as it is my duty to stress just this.
Q. Any thoughts on the fact that some Albanian players are doing excellent in foreign leagues?
A. Kapllani has been playing great this season. He scored a super goal in his last game, and if he continues to keep this up, we will soon see him in Bundesliga 1. The same goes for Cana of OM. And let me not forget Bogdani of Siena. It is important for these players the opportunity of friendly matches with the national team, so they can get accustomed to playing together. Equally important is bringing in new talent, and FSHF is doing a good job here through offices throughout Europe to discover the Albanian talent abroad.
Q. Thank you for your time and good luck!
A. Thank you, as well!
