After the training in Citluk, U-19 team coach Toni Karacic has started forming the new team to compete in qualifications for European championship.
You had new junior team training in Citluk, are you satisfied with the conditions?
"We are satisfied with the conditions here in Citluk. I'd like to thank FFBIH's executive board for providing us this camp. I'm sorry not everyone could attend considering it's not in the FIFA's official timetable, but we have enough time to prepare for qualifications in October. We'll give a chance to everyone to prove themselves."
France, Macedonia and Lichtenstein await us in the qualifications. How well do you know their qualities?
"We had a chance to play against France in the Elite qualifying round. Realistically, they are our strongest opponent. We watched Macedonia play against Montenegro, and they posess certain qualities, not to mention they're hosts which could be unpleasant. I'm not familiar with Lichtenstein's team, but no one should be taken lightly these days."
What can we hope to achieve?
"Considering we are in the first pot with France, we can go for Elite qualifying round."
Can you count on the players from Citluk or we can expect some new names?
"We'll keep an eye on these guys. This is just the beginning, and we'll test those who are interesting to us, and those who perform admirably in their respective clubs."
Some of those players are regulars in their teams. Is it important for young players to compete with seniors?
It's desirable to play in senior teams, and that shows one's quality. It's also important to play continuosly, not just sit on the bench, even in junior teams."
There's a lot of players in your team from Premier league; does it indicate the importance of domestic competition?
"Anyhow, all teams should have at least 70% players from the domestic national league. Although it's not exactly high-level league, we should support it in order to improve it. We also shouldn't neglect all those players in foreign clubs. Our goal is to pick out the best players from best clubs and competitions to play for our national team. FFBIH made an excellent "open doors" project enabling young players from abroad to show their qualities. So in order to make a good result, this team needs all the good players it can get."
You had new junior team training in Citluk, are you satisfied with the conditions?
"We are satisfied with the conditions here in Citluk. I'd like to thank FFBIH's executive board for providing us this camp. I'm sorry not everyone could attend considering it's not in the FIFA's official timetable, but we have enough time to prepare for qualifications in October. We'll give a chance to everyone to prove themselves."
France, Macedonia and Lichtenstein await us in the qualifications. How well do you know their qualities?
"We had a chance to play against France in the Elite qualifying round. Realistically, they are our strongest opponent. We watched Macedonia play against Montenegro, and they posess certain qualities, not to mention they're hosts which could be unpleasant. I'm not familiar with Lichtenstein's team, but no one should be taken lightly these days."
What can we hope to achieve?
"Considering we are in the first pot with France, we can go for Elite qualifying round."
Can you count on the players from Citluk or we can expect some new names?
"We'll keep an eye on these guys. This is just the beginning, and we'll test those who are interesting to us, and those who perform admirably in their respective clubs."
Some of those players are regulars in their teams. Is it important for young players to compete with seniors?
It's desirable to play in senior teams, and that shows one's quality. It's also important to play continuosly, not just sit on the bench, even in junior teams."
There's a lot of players in your team from Premier league; does it indicate the importance of domestic competition?
"Anyhow, all teams should have at least 70% players from the domestic national league. Although it's not exactly high-level league, we should support it in order to improve it. We also shouldn't neglect all those players in foreign clubs. Our goal is to pick out the best players from best clubs and competitions to play for our national team. FFBIH made an excellent "open doors" project enabling young players from abroad to show their qualities. So in order to make a good result, this team needs all the good players it can get."
