© EuroFootball.com
Recently, the Latvian national team surprised the football world by unexpectedly qualifying for the European Football Championship in Portugal. Here is an exclusive interview with the team's manager, Aleksandrs Starkovs, made by uefa.com.
Uefa.com: After qualifying for the Euros, are you receiving extra attention?
Aleksandrs Starkovs: Yes. Every match causes a big stir. Neither I nor my players can have a quiet cup of coffee in Riga anymore - we are always asked for autographs or photos, but we don't feel any pressure.
Uefa.com: Could this success be not accidental - will you qualify for other tournaments in the future?
Starkovs: To be honest, this victory was a very unexpected win, we have to work very hard for such things to become routine. We lack infrastructure, finances, but I believe success will force the government to act. We are really doing well - we have a good team, we perform well in matches, all that helps us achieve impressive results.
Uefa.com: Do you think that the draw for the championship was cruel to you?
Starkovs: Time will tell. During the qualifiers, we thought Turkey would be one of the weaker options, but the opposite turned out to be true. So it's easy to make mistakes in predictions. However, our opponents have everything - the biggest titles, great self-confidence, experience. They are stronger.
Uefa.com: Which of the opponents in Group D would be the best, the most comfortable to meet?
Starkovs: None of them. It would be best to play against Luxembourg!
What will be your strategy in Portugal?
Starkovs: We need to be optimists, but also realists. Our best chance is still the same - to play and wait for mistakes. We have very fast players - Andrejs Rubins, Maris Verpakovskis, Imants Bleidelis, Jurijs Laizans, who technically control the ball. Therefore, we need to use a tactic that would force the opponents to leave a lot of open spaces on their side of the field. Whether we will take advantage of this or not, will be revealed in the summer.
Uefa.com: In your opinion, what is the key to Latvia's success?
Starkovs: Our football history is not rich, but Janis Gilis, who was the first Latvian coach, certainly did a great job. Then there was Revaz Dzodzuashvili, and later Gary Johnson. Every coach gave something, but it's very hard to say who gave the most.
Uefa.com: You seem to look at your work quite calmly. Why is that?
Starkovs: Coaching is simple! I like the idea of the famous Russian coach Konstantin Beskov: "The task of a coach is very easy - select good players and send them onto the field to play." That's it. They will do everything else. Or at least that's what we hope.
