Arnold Hügelsattl has a clear goal in mind

Arnold Hügelsattl, how are you feeling 3 months after the accident? Arnold Hügelsattl: “I am on the mend. I do physiotherapy 3 to 4 times a week at the Merano Hospital. My big goal is to be able to return to my job at the Mals Sports High School when school starts at the end of August or beginning of September. I’m confident that this will work.” You have been responsible for football at the high school center in Mals for 7 years. What was initially a tentative attempt with a class has turned into a success story, hasn't it? "That's correct. We started 7 years ago with one class, and now 5 classes are overcrowded. There is great demand; 30 to 40 students want to come to us every year. But only 20 are accepted after an entrance test. There are currently 6 girls there and the number is increasing.” “Word has gotten around that we are doing good work.” Some of the girls who attended or are attending the soccer class in Mals have really taken off... “That’s true, they have had a great career. Nadine Nischler now plays for 1. FC Nürnberg, Elisa Pfattner and Eva Schatzer play in Juventus' Primavera team and are among the greatest talents in Italian women's football. A girl from Nonsberg who attends school with us will soon be moving to Inter or Hellas Verona. We have had an increasing number of visitors from neighboring regions for some time now. The word has gotten around that we are doing good work.” How big is the coaching staff in Mals? “Manuel Horrer and I started 7 years ago, so there were two of us. We are now 5 trainers. I am the responsible project manager, I am joined by Giampaolo Morabito (former youth coach at FC Südtirol), Daniel Ortler (was at Mezzocorona, Cittadella in his youth, among others), Stefan Federspiel (at FC Südtirol in his youth, among others) and goalkeeper coach Rainer Dengg, who is also the 1. Schludern’s amateur league team trained.” Let's come to the European Championships: After just under a week, all teams have played at least once. What is your impression? “The favorites showed what was expected. Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Holland and even France played to the best of their ability. Spain found it more difficult against an extremely deep opponent. What is striking is that it is a two-class society. 6 to 7 nations clearly have more quality, the others base their tactics accordingly. Look at Sweden, who went extremely deep against Spain and cleverly narrowed the spaces. A high percentage of ball possession is not crucial. It is extremely difficult, even for good teams, to find the necessary gaps against a five-man defense chain. The tactics are hugely important.” “The top players are being completely squeezed out.” The European Championship suffered a shock on the second day of the tournament when Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed. Is this also a possible consequence of the many games between the championship, the cup, the Champions League and now the European Championship? “It wasn't a direct consequence, but probably an indirect one. The game calendar is extremely exhausted. Anyone who is not mentally and physically fit risks serious injuries. There is not enough space for regeneration. There's a new game every 3rd or 4th day, and of course the best of the best always have to and should play. The top players are being completely squeezed out in the interests of the football business.” Who will be European champion? “There are so many strong teams. You have to look at the constellation from the quarter-finals onwards, when there will be the first hits. I can imagine that the semi-finalists could be France, Italy, Belgium and possibly Portugal. England also has enormous potential. Italy have an extremely balanced team, but they don't have the quality of the Belgians in attack. Of course I would begrudge the Danes that after the Eriksen incident. I think France will win the European Championship. She needs to be beaten.” Note: Arnold Hügelsattl (46), who grew up playing football at Passer Meran and Atalanta Bergamo, played in his professional days at, among others, 1860 Munich, Admira Wacker Mödling, LASK Linz, DSV Leoben, Vorwärts Steyr and FC Südtirol. He will be writing a regular EM column for Sportnews and Dolomiten readers over the next few weeks.

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Arnold Hügelsattl has a clear goal in mind

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