Overall, the course with the games against Luxembourg, Northern Ireland and Norway was not easy, according to Foda. “With some players you could feel that the freshness was missing. Nevertheless, you can behave differently in one or the other game situation. Bad passes have nothing to do with tiredness. But you can tell when you move backwards. The ball works, but if the ball is lost it becomes problematic, ”explained the German.
Although the entire course was not on the playful level that Foda imagines, the team boss asked to see the full spectrum. “The players wanted to join the national team. You want to play well and successfully. Nobody makes mistakes on purpose. But the burden is extremely high with all the trips. You shouldn’t underestimate that, ”said Foda.
ÖFB team saves a draw against Notelf
In the last international game in 2020, Austria’s national team disappointed. In the empty Happel Stadium in Vienna, head coach Franco Foda’s team had to be content with a 1-1 draw against Norway’s Notelf.
Only one team had something to lose
To make matters worse, the ÖFB team met an opponent who had absolutely nothing to lose. A psychological advantage that showed on the lawn. While the thrown together Norwegian troop was liberated and inspired by the thought of creating a sensation, the stake was much more for the Austrian team. The pressure distribution could not have been more different.
This is one of the reasons why you shouldn’t go too hard with your team, demanded Foda. “It was an extraordinary situation for Norway, which also inspires a team. It was clear to us that there would be an aggressive team that would try everything to create the sensation, ”said Foda, who also pointed out that the Norwegian players called up at short notice are also of great quality. “They were all legionaries who are also regularly deployed and play important roles in their teams.”
Not all autumn was bad
Foda vehemently resisted speaking badly all autumn. “It’s just not a fact. You could see that the team has quality. We played very well in Norway. Although we couldn’t win against Romania at home, we were good in the first half. In Northern Ireland we were very, very good in the first half. We had very, very good phases in the game, but we just couldn’t show it over 90 minutes, ”said the team boss.
According to Foda, not everything was bad against Norway either. “We didn’t finish some switching situations well. But we also had some clear chances to score ourselves. But in the end we achieved our goal. We wanted to take first place. The point was that we got promoted to League A. And we deserved promotion, ”clarified Foda.
Draw the right conclusions
It is now up to Foda to draw the correct conclusions from this course. “It is a consideration to rotate more. Our idea was not to change too much in this game. We didn’t want to disrupt the processes and automatisms, some of which we have already perfected. We just don’t want to completely change the team. That was our intention, ”said Foda, sticking to the system and mostly to the staff. “The insight is that we may have to rotate more when the players are overused.”
On this point, however, Foda also has concerns about the future. The burden on the players does not decrease. “Especially the players who play internationally have a very high intensity. There is hardly a winter break, then they play for almost a full year. It’s going to be extremely intense. You could say that it affects everyone, but there are already national teams where many players play internationally and are more exposed to stress. “
“There is a lot to do”
The team will continue in March 2021. At this point in time, qualifying for the World Cup will start, and less than three months later the European Championship is on the agenda. In between there are numerous games at club level. “One can only hope that the players all stay healthy and survive these intense phases healthy,” said Foda, who will allow himself and his coaching staff a maximum of two or three days to switch off.
“After that we will watch players again as far as possible in this difficult situation. On December 7th is the draw for the World Cup qualification. We’ll see which teams we meet. Then we will prepare the World Cup qualifying and European Championship games. There is so much to do. We have a goal in mind. We will do everything we can to be there from the start, ”said Foda, who promised to find solutions against deep opponents. “We will deal with that too.”
