Between 2001 and 2008, the press room at the Stadion am Bruchweg in Mainz had Jürgen Klopp as weekly presenter. With innovative ideas, he had made 1. FSV Mainz 05 a feared team in Germany. Around twenty years later, the enclosure has been transformed into a training center and there is another strategist who is bubbling with ideas: Francesco Calzona, the Italian coach of Slovakia.
His plan to surprise the Devils on Monday in Frankfurt has been in his head for weeks. And he has become more refined in recent days. With his eleven already ready in a core without any injuries. “Every day, the coach shows us Belgium’s weak pointsconfides Lukas Haraslin, the left winger of Sparta Prague. He tells us the recipe to win.”
gullThe Belgian defense is good, but we know that there can be a speed problem.
”Speed is keycontinues Leo Sauer, the little prodigy of Feyenoord (18 years old). There are a lot of big names in attack among the Belgians but this is less the case behind. They are good players but we know there can be a speed problem.”
The Slovak goalkeeper has faced almost all the Red Devils in the Premier League: “Lukaku? He is not a God”
The plan is not just tactical. Calzona insists on the mental aspect to strengthen a group whose collective is already a strength. In Mainz, it is not uncommon to come across Slovak players strolling along the Rhine. “We share the same values in this team and that gives us additional strength on the pitch.says Haraslin, the man in form with a goal and three assists during the two preparation matches. Our goalkeeper Dubravka tells me that if I don’t score twice against the Belgians, he will slap me (laughs). But I know what he means: we have to play with confidence, even if we don’t start favorites. We all believe in it.”
The probable eleven of the Slovaks: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Vavro, Hancko; Duda, Kucka, Lobotka; Schranz, Bozenik, Haraslin.
