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Interview with El_Sportfreund, winner of OPC8

Written by Asthfghl

We now present to your attention the winner of the Omani Prediction Contest VIII, El_Sportfreund from Germany. In his first participation in the contest, he stormed to the winner spot on the final standings, after giving a series of remarkable predictions on the contest. He now earns his place in the Omani hall of fame, as well as a friendly game with an Omani team.

Interview taken on 26.04.2010.

Link: (http://leeukop.livejournal.com/266512.html)

1. Hello El_Sportfreund! And thank you for agreeing to this interview. Once again congratulations, you are the winner of the Omani Prediction Contest VIII. First of all, could you tell us a bit more about yourself? What is your name, where do you live, what do you do, what is your family like? Do you have some hobbies?

Hello everybody! My name is Michael and I live in Taunusstein. Taunusstein is a small town in Germany near Frankfurt. My girlfriend lives in Cologne, which means we can only see each other on weekends. But we will move in together this year when she gets a job here. That would be great because we want to marry next year. I am a social worker and look after people with a mental retardation. I really like my work, it never gets boring and we have good conditions and a very well organized team. In my free time I spend a lot of time watching soccer on television or in stadiums. I am a big fan of Bayern Munchen and of my hometown SV Wehen Wiesbaden (playing in 3rd league in Germany). I am also doing a lot of stuff in the internet, like Facebook, the Oman Prediction Contest and things like that... ;-)

2. It's amazing that you won the predictions contest in your first participation! Could you share your impressions about the Contest? This game has been in place for a long time, and you may already have some good idea about the people who participate and the system of the game?

I really enjoyed the OPC because I had to do some match analysis and got to know the Omani HT-Community. I got impressions of the Omani teams and when reading in the Omani forum I got to know what's going on at the moment. I also liked the balanced ranking system, which gives you the possibility to get up to 8 points for a correct predicted score. It's a good working system, I wouldn't change things.

It took some time predicting all the matches and scouting the teams, but in the end it worked out pretty good for me, also I never thought that I could win this contest... ;-)

3. Are there some things in the Omani Prediction Contest that you would like to see improved? Something in terms of communication with the participants, and in the way new participants are being recruited? Or maybe some propositions about new innovations that could be included in the game, to make it even more interesting?

As I said I would not change anything about the system. I like the OPC because there are not that many participants, which makes it a little familiar. Another good thing is to predict the matches of the participants, so you can see how other managers see your team. You are doing a really great job here, so once again thanks a lot for all your work!

4. What do you think about the Omani HT community? Oman is a tiny country, but I'm sure you can find some extraordinary things about it. And what about its NT and U20 team? How do you like them?

The Omani HT community seems to be a small, but proud community and (at least) a couple of managers are very well informed. I noticed that there are always managers from other countries who think that they should tell the Omani managers how Hattrick works. But they always get the right answers... ;-)

I don't really care about the national teams in Hattrick, so I can't say anything about Oman NT. I can't say anything about the German NT either.

5. Is there some secret strategy that makes you so successful in the Prediction Contest? You always seem to give some of the best match predictions! It shows some talent. You must certainly understand a thing or two about the game. Is it something about the process of investigating the teams, or something else? Can you share some tips with the rookies in the game?

I play Hattrick for more than 5 years and 17 seasons, that's why I have some experience and know how the match engine works. My strategy was to take a look at the teams and their ratings in the last home and away games. Then I tried to guess which ratings they would probably get in the game and compared the ratings. I usually picked the stronger team as the winner (surprise, surprise ;-) ). The prediction of the goals depends from the compared defense/offense ratings of the teams. So it's pretty simple. You should take some time for the predictions and have a closer look and then you need to be a little bit lucky... ;-)

6. Your club has shown stability throughouht its ascent within the German league. You've just earned a promotion back to the VI division now. What's your philosophy about leading a HT team through the league? Where do you focus the most - training, strategy, youth academy, trading, or elsewhere?

My philosophy is to have fun in the game. Hattrick is not a science for me, that's why I probably never gonna play higher than league V... ;-)

I play Hattrick because I love soccer, so I try to keep it close to the real soccer world, also I know that there are differences. So Trading is not an option to me. Of course I try to improve my team and my ratings are getting better. I have a youth academy, but I focus on the strategy for the matches, my federations, press announcements and flag chasing. I try to have a balanced team to have the possibility to change my tactics during the season and that's why I need at least one good backup for each position.

7. Despite a somewhat slow start of the new season, your team looks capable of holding its ground in the upper league. What are your aspirations about the future of your team? Where do you see yourself in, say, 5 seasons? Are you ready for promotion even further right now?

My team had by far the best ratings of the league in the first match and I think that I have the best team of the league. Also I lost my first match I think it should not be a problem to compete for the 1st place. In 5 seasons I probably play in League V or VI, which is okay to me.

8. You've been around for quite a while, so it's obvious you're very dedicated to Hattrick, and moreover you have a good long-term look on the game. Do you like the way it has evolved, and which innovations are the best, and which are the worst? Is there something still missing from the game, which could make it a lot better?

I am definitely dedicated to Hattrick, that's true. What I really do not like is that there are so many changes made in such a short time. And I also do not like that there are too many matches where the weaker team wins that should not win. That's definitely very annoying. If that happens sometimes it's okay, but it happens so often that it makes me wanna throw up. I think that this should be changed.

9. Back to Oman, I'm sure such an experienced manager like yourself might have some ideas and advices for the NT and U20 coach about improving the way the team is performing? The WC qualifications are now knocking at the door, and we're hoping for some good performance there. How do you estimate our chances in this group?

As I said I do not really care about the NT in Hattrick. That's why I don't think it's a good idea to give advices to the coaches who are much better informed than I am. Because of the OPC I will see how the Omani teams will develop and perform. I wish the Omani NT and the Omani U20 all the best! It is not easy for the coaches in small HT countries to get a good team together.

10. And lastly, but not least important, are you a football fan, outside HT? Do you have a favourite football club? Do you go to matches, or do you watch them on TV? And how was the World Cup in 2006? :)

I am a big football fan!

I am a supporter of Bayern Munchen and saw a lot of matches in the good old Olympiastadion and in the new Allianz Arena. I have tickets for the German cup final in Berlin for this year, Bayern is playing against Werder Bremen. I saw Champions League home matches in the stadium against Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea London and of course a lot of home matches in the German Bundesliga. I also traveled to other cities and watched Bayern play in Juventus Turin, Prague, Schalke, Dortmund, Cologne and other cities. I have a season ticket for Bayern, but I have to admit that I haven't seen a match this season. A friend of mine who lives in Munich has the season ticket and represents me. I watch every match of Bayern on television! Bayern can win all 3 titles this season, so my fingers are crossed! I hope they win it all, or at least 2 titles!

I am also a proud supporter of SV Wehen Wiesbaden, my hometown club that plays in Germany's 3rd league. I saw nearly all home matches in the last 4 seasons and from time to time travel to away matches. It's always fun! ;-)

During the World Cup 2006 I had one of the best times of my life! The weather was great, the German national team played fantastic and I had tickets for 3 matches. It was really wonderful. I have a 2 week holiday during the upcoming world cup in South Africa, so I hope I can enjoy the tournament!

Cheers, Michael