[ad_1]
2: 6 against the Czech Republic! The simple result of Thomas Häberli’s debut as Estonian coach is staggering. But in these crazy general conditions you have to enjoy it with great caution for once.
What Häberli experienced in the days leading up to his debut, the 46-year-old describes simply as “insanity.” When BLICK approached the former Lucerne coach in his hotel room after losing the first World Cup qualification, he implemented the crazy match preparation procedure: “It all started with the fact that we had a lot of positive players in Estonia. Some were still in quarantine when they moved in, so at first they were out of the question. “
Dodged Poland for a short time
Also: Due to Corona’s situation in Estonia, the authorities have not given the green light for the World Cup qualifying match. “We were not allowed to play in Tallinn, we had to go to Poland, to Lublin,” Häberli said: “That in turn meant that certain players were not allowed to enter because they were still positive.”
When the team then retested in the national team, the following shock came: Corona found himself again in a player. The consequence? All equipment, including personnel, must be insulated!
After all: since many of the Estonians have already had a corona infection, those players are exempt from the measures. “From an initial list of 40 players, in the end there were ten who were eligible for the Czech Republic game,” sums up Häberli.
Squad nomination in night and fog action
The isolated coach of the Polish team has to summon another 13 players almost overnight. These include those who have never played for the national team. “Of course we don’t get to everyone on Monday night.” In the center-back position, for example, Estonians are ultimately very, very thin….
A troop briefly launched against the Czech Republic on Wednesday night, which is also trained by entirely new personnel. Häberli himself follows the game from the hotel, intervenes during the break and in the second half when it comes to substitutions.
“Of course it was an incredibly exceptional situation,” said Häberli, “but I would still like to congratulate the team! He fought very well! “
Bitter: Häberli now has to remain isolated in Poland until April 1, so he also missed the World Cup qualifying match against Belarus and the test against Sweden.
“This is not exactly how I envisioned the first three games,” says Häberli: “But we can certainly make up for the real debut!”
Published: 03/25/2021, 11:55 am
Last update: 25.03.2021, 12:15 pm
