Hungary head coach Leekens: Talent alone is not enough; we need to battle hard!

On Hungarian Football Day on Friday, Hungary head coach Georges Leekens talked to mlsz.hu about his most important current issues in the job.

On October the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ) has appointed Belgian trainer Georges Leekens, 68, as coach for Hungary’s national eleven.

First impressions

I see there are things for us to do. A tough task awaits us in the coming 8-9 months because we need to be totally prepared for the start of the Nations’ League which is in front of us. Having watched the players, I can see that there is enough talent to take a step forward. At the same time, it is important to emphasise that talent on its own cannot win a match. On its own it’s only enough to make it close. With effort, belief, desire, fight, a suitable physical condition and appropriate intelligence, supposedly stronger opponents can be defeated. Our most important task is to step up a level and develop in the coming period.

Basically, for this, the current system and already-proven circumstances are suitable, but there is need for change and finetuning in all areas for us to become good enough.

Which types of players he counts in the national team

So far, I’ ve rather had the chance to become more familiar with the squad members who faced Luxembourg and Costa Rica in terms of how they work in training sessions and matches. It is my vision that in a national team every player must produce a bit more than they do at club level and that for them the national team is more important than themselves. I need to feel and see in a player that they always want to win whatever the circumstances. As some have said many times, footballers are modern-day gladiators and I want to see such fighters on the pitch, players who will fight for each other, for the team, for Hungary. They break up play, they go to win one-on-ones and I can say they have the killer instinct and there are some who hate losing, even in non-competitive contests in training. The most important players are those who as well as being talented, are prepared to suffer in order to gain success and to win! I therefore judge them to be the most important because the best, most talented players are not always the most useful players from the team’s point of view.

The tasks over the next few weeks

Naturally, I’ll go to matches as often as possible. For as long as it is possible to watch such matches, I would like to observe as many players as possible. Besides this, there are various discussions to be had and plans for next year’s tasks to be made, of which there will be many. We can only move forward though in this way and if we all work hard.

Photo: mlsz.hu

Source: mlsz.hu