Courtesy: UEFA.com


Tesko silent on Slovenia strategy

Wednesday 3 December 2008

by Martin Pavcnik from Ljubljana

Slovenia may not have the pedigree of some of the nations in the UEFA European Under-21 Futsal Tournament which begins on Monday, but they have the element of surprise and coach Zoran Tesko is happy to keep his cards close to his chest.

First finals
The only previous Slovenian appearance in a final tournament in this sport was in the 2003 UEFA European Futsal Championship, where they lost to hosts Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic. However, having defeated Georgia, Bulgaria and Belgium to qualify for the first U21 finals in St Petersburg, they will be matched with Italy and Russia again before facing Croatia in their final Group A fixture.

Coy
Former Slovenian international Tesko, who took charge of the U21 team last year after success at club level with KMN Svea Lesna Litija and Bronx Koper, has come up with a strategy to combat their group rivals, but is staying quiet for now. "Let's keep that a secret," Tesko told uefa.com. "I don't want to reveal our strategy. We have some plans that will remain a secret."

Spirit high
Tesko, 38, has been preparing with his squad over the last couple of weeks, a camp which included two friendlies against Belgium, matches they won 4-2 and lost 3-2. "The result of those two matches against Belgium was totally unimportant for us," Tesko said. "The main reason for the good mood in our team is the recognition of our preparedness. We are ready for the tournament. Our motivation is at the highest possible level. As the tournament in St Petersburg gets nearer, the players have been getting more and more impatient. They want to prove themselves to the European audience, that they know how to play futsal. We have done everything possible to get in shape before the first match in Russia."

No stars
Although Tesko is coy about his strategy, he is clear about the importance of the squad's collective spirit. "We have 14 players that are ready to play for each other," he said. "It would be unfair to point out any individuals. Qualification and friendly matches have made that clear. We don't have a star player. We had different key players in different matches. Slovenia are strong as a team. That should be our main philosophy."

Opposition
He does have mixed feelings about the draw, however. "It would have been better for us to face Ukraine instead of Russia in the first part of the tournament. We are not afraid of Italy, as we are familiar with the squad and their style [from two 3-1 friendly defeats in March]. They are probably stronger opponents, but with some luck we will be able to surprise them. We also know a lot about Croatia [who also beat Slovenia 1-0 and 3-1 in February]. All our matches will start at 0-0. We are also aware that there are no easy matches in a final tournament. To be honest, I am counting on a battle with Italy and Croatia for second place in our group."








Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com