Ivan Buchel: EMF EURO at home will be a great experience

Ivan Buchel has been representing Slovakia in Minifootball since 2017. He got into this dynamic and attractive sport thanks to his friend and teammate from classic football 6 years ago.

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Thanks to his personality, he carried the captain's armband in 2018 at the EMF EURO in Kyiv and as a captain, he will lead the Slovak team at the domestic championship in Košice.

How can you describe your team before EMF EURO 2022?

I firmly believe that the coaches did their best this time. I hope that it will work for us in Košice and we will get a great result. It will not be easy, in addition to good performance, we will definitely need a bit of luck, but we have to work hard to get the trophy.

Who will be the biggest star of Slovakia in the tournament?

It's hard to pick up one player. I think we will benefit from teamwork. Everyone has a role. Someone makes a dirty job, someone is in charge of more tactical things, but every single player on the field is important.

What are your duties and responsibilities as a team captain?

My job is communication. I am like an extended hand of coaches in the team or a link between coaches and players. Of course, I also try to guide the guys and also help the younger players on the team.

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What would you personally like to achieve with the Slovak team at EMF EURO 2022?

It would be a lie to say that I don't want a medal. We will definitely do everything we can to get the best result. But we will go from match to match. The first goal is to advance from the group, which I believe we will succeed. We will see the quality of our opponents. However, we will try to advance to the playoffs from the first place.

Playing in front of a sold-out Steel Arena will be a life experience for you, right?

First of all, we believe that the Steel Arena will be sold out at each of our matches. I don't think any of our boys have ever experienced such a backdrop. Even though some of them also played football in higher competitions or also represented Slovakia in futsal.

Do you feel nervous about the upcoming championship?

I don't know if I'm nervous, but lately, I've been thinking about it more and more. It will be a great experience to play at home. I'm already looking forward to the championship.