© EuroFootball.com
Before the start of the 2008 European Championship qualifying matches with the national teams of Georgia and Italy, the official website of the Lithuanian Football Federation interviewed the team captain Tomas Danilevičius.
- How do you assess some of the national team players' statements regarding lack of attention from the coach's side, will such disagreements harm the team's preparation for the upcoming matches?
- Personally, I am not invited to the national team either, by that I mean we all receive invitations to clubs and we go. I can say straightforwardly - the national team is not a kindergarten. It is absurd to publicly complain that the coach does not call or ask how each of us is doing, whether we sit at the same lunch table. I have played for many clubs, so I can say that it is the same all over the world. Players have their own interests, the coaching staff has theirs, ultimately what unites us is football, the Lithuanian national team. We always talk about how each of us is doing, but those everyday topics for us and the coaches, naturally, are different, we are not peers. We communicate sufficiently with the coach during training sessions, team meetings.
- What atmosphere do you personally feel in the training preparation camp?
- Imagine 30 footballers arriving at the national team camps. I think it would be physically difficult for the coach to approach each one and spend half an hour talking. We are not girls gathered in a group demanding exclusive attention. We have professional relationships and that is normal.
I personally do not like it when players personalize their and the national team's problems. Our goal as national team players is to win, not to demand attention. There is no place for such things in the national team. We are a group of different people, we have to adapt to each other, create a beautiful and cohesive team. Football is a team sport. Some friction can naturally occur among us. We cannot all be best friends, the most important thing is mutual respect.
- What do you think about the "misunderstanding" between A.Liubinskas and E.Česnauskas?
- Utopia. Someone felt wronged and offended. It seems that we have all finished sports schools, we are not children anymore, we have gone through that age. The coach publicly invited Edgar to the national team. The coach's words should be respected, we are professional footballers, we should learn to accept criticism. The coach invited him, and we as team members also want to talk to Edgar.
Personally, I have been in such situations - I would arrive at the national team, sit on the reserve bench, not get into the starting lineup, return to my club where everyone already knew I didn't make it into the main team, this certainly does not add any pluses for us in our clubs.
Similarly, analyzing the coach's personal life in the media - what he does outside of his national team head coach duties, where else he works, what positions he holds, etc. Does everyone suddenly care today what our coach is doing? We, as footballers, also play in other clubs, we don't just play for the national team, we earn our living by playing for our clubs - but isn't that normal? In Lithuania, in my opinion, there is too much distorted view on this issue. We all know the football situation, why look for slander, black spots, maybe it's time to waste on better work and plans?
