Interview with U-20 Golden coaches

One can say that, being the coach of a U-20 National Team, requests a lot of responsibility about touching your goal/limit and making sure the community is happy about their country's results. But, the real hero is the user who manages to receive the gold medal at the World Cup.

How does it feel to succeed? We asked it to the "Golden coaches", the managers who won the World Cup: the elite of the elite.

Here are the replies of the gold medal winning U-20 Coaches:



kontravass (106853) / WC IV / Norge:

I followed the players since they were 17y.o., so I was very dedicated at the time. The rules were very different back then and gold was the only option. Even though I couldn't be sure I was elected. It meant a lot at the time, but no one remember now, so I only think about it when someone asks questions like this.
The game has changed a lot since then, so there will be no 2nd try for me. I'm a lousy coach :-)

Our team was not the favorite till the final, so I had no pressure and was playing one match at a time.
About the final: I was taking a bus from my parents home town to the university I was attending.
I remember the adrenaline when I saw the clock in the front of the bus turning to 21:00 (local time when the final started).
My friends were waiting me (with some beers) in a park and they were sending me messages when something happened in the match. I guess I joined them in the beginning of the second half, but I dont recall anything particular about the winning emotion."

First of all it was an honour to get elected. Secondly it was a big pressure from the community, but even more from my older brother, kontravass (106853), who won the World Cup two years before. The feeling I had when U-20 Norge won the World Cup Final, with counter attack and as big underdogs, was overwhelming.

Leading a national team is the ultimate experience in HT. Getting to communicate with so many different users and carrying the expectations of thousand (or tens of thousands) is something that cannot be described in words. Winning the gold medal was then the top of the iceberg and I can still remember (7 years later) how I was walking down the streets of Philadelphia, smiling/laughing (even a few days after the game). These are the moments one can never forget.

Although we are speaking about a small part of an online game, I felt myself very proud when I managed U20 Italy; I was in charge to manage the team and the focus of the attention of U20's followers (many more than today) was on me.
When I won the gold medal, I was really happy for Italy but also for myself, because I had been the first to win it in Italy and I thought: "Wow, I realized a dream dating back to a lot of time ago!"

It was so much fun to work in a team and try to find the right tactic. The championship was the confirmation that we were the best .... or maybe just the luckiest :)
The feeling I had after the final night was a mix of relief and euphoria. The semi-final and the final were so thrilling and still the most exhausting games of my whole Hattrick career. Only 5 minutes between total disappointment and frustration facing the sure defeat, finding new hope and finally celebrating an unbelievable victory.

It was a very fascinating but also exhausting time. Thankfully, many people were supporting me during the campaign. The discussion about the tactics for the final was very amusing because we were clearly superior to Hungary so that we even thought about playing PIC just for fun.
Eventually, we played MOTS (of course) but we passed up a golden opportunity to win the final by playing it cool. At least, we had found a player with a perfect name for a world champion so the final was Bendix Best's (249456313) first and only match for the German national U20-team. After the match we paraded in our cars through the city, honking and singing. Nobody else knew why we were celebrating but we had so much fun. :D

I compare it with a good F1-driver who -with help of a great team behind him- manages to become a world champion.
Elleke (5009724) and his U17-scouting, Purple_man's (1981103) dedicated training teams and assistants like Strobbe (3888748), blaerie78 and Pettachi (2125885) who where there every week helping to find the perfect line-up. These are the things that lead to the most beautiful moment in my HT-career.

National teams are a game inside the game. For me it is obvious to compare them to real football: to be immortal, to legitimize yourself, you have to win the World Cup. If you do, you reach the Olympus. The main difference consists that you do this pretty much by yourself in HT and not with the help of twenty team mates. To be the one and only in history who has won two World Cups (U20 and NT), in two different nations, just states the obvious: I am the number one.

Leading one of the biggest nations involves mostly a lot of hard work. Hard work in analyzing opponents, but also in communication to owners of the players and trying to optimize training schedules. Winning the World Cup was just as much of a relief as it was satisfying. It was a reward for hard work and a chance to give something back to the community of which so many people contributed to this success.

Managing the Italian team has been a great honor for me and I've been lucky to be able to do so in 4 different times, guiding both NT and U20 team.
I was full of emotions when I won the U20 gold medal and a personal revenge for the bad luck I had during my first NT run (Sweden NT crushed me because of a 12 hours unplanned downtime) and in the third one (an abysmal semifinal loss against Slovenija).

To be honest, I felt exhausted/empty but very happy. The night after, I was a bit restless. ;)
It was very time consuming to deal with the U20 and it is not always easy to justify your behaviour towards people on the forum and managers training prospects. However, it was a pleasant time with a lucky end on my side. :)

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Special thanks to the following Editors involved:

Editors
‑Atharos‑ (12010908)
Allmidy (8843629)
Antoine_de_le_Tellec (3308938)
Dovco_HandF (7865524)
Flatron330 (11528071)
HPE‑Pajovic (13052456)
HPE‑relu_ (7533491)
HT‑Tasos (10800601)
LA‑keebak (9793408)
melga (9724196)
Mod‑kirjakas (7249130)

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