Radoslav Latal for “Wprost”: This is Poland’s advantage. Santos has a different vision for the game

Karol Osinski “Wprost”: This is your second season as the coach of “Termaliki”. You survived your demotion and are now on your way to a direct promotion. Your contract expires at the end of this season. Do you think his renewal will depend on promotion?

Radoslav LatalA: That’s how it was established. If we manage to move to PKO BP Ekstraklasa, the contract will be extended for another year. I firmly believe that we can achieve this because I have a good team and we will fight for it. We have very important and difficult matches ahead of us with Ruch Chorzow, Puszcz Niepolomice, Chojniczanka Chojnice and LKS Lodz, so it will depend on them whether we will be able to achieve our goal - promotion.

Do you think you are favorites for promotion? If not, who would you point to?

Four teams from the top of the table will do everything until the last round to win promotion to PKO BP Ekstraklasa. At the moment I think that Wisla Krakow is very determined, who has a series of five victories in a row. There have been a lot of changes and they play really well, but I feel the same way about everyone because everyone wants the same thing.

This is your second adventure in Poland after the Piast Gliwice. You have also worked in the Czech Republic, Belarus and Slovakia. You have led clubs at the highest and lowest levels. So, can you identify which of these countries has the most dedicated footballers for the work they do?

I think that when I was in Slovakia it was the best period of my coaching career. Then we entered the European competition with the lowest level of qualification. In terms of preparation for matches, in the Czech Republic there is much more attention to physics, players run more, while in Poland they mainly work with the ball and run less. True, we run a lot in Thermalik, but it takes a little more time to fully prepare for the matches.

Let’s move on to youth issues. You have dealt with many players at a young age, but I wonder if working with Polish players is similar to working with Czech players?

In the Czech Republic there is no such rule as in Poland that a young man must play, so there were definitely fewer of them. It is very good for me that I have three or four young players in my team. A good example here is Dawid Kocyla, who came to Termalika on loan from Wisła Płock, where he barely played, and has already played 12 matches for me. I think it’s good to have young players in the first team.

Jaroslav Silhavi called up most of the players from the Czech Ekstraklasa for the matches against Poland and Moldova, although there are also such stars as Tomas Souk, Jiri Pavlenko and Patrick Szyk who will not play in the first leg due to injury. In your opinion, are they capable of fighting the Poles on an equal footing?

We know very well the value and strength of the Polish national team, so we must play the best match. All the players called up to the Czech national team are in very good shape. In fact, most of the called players are m players. from Sparta or Slavia Prague, both of which are looking very good this season. In addition, I must note that the team of Jaroslav Silhavi has a winning attitude and the desire of the players to win. This is a really strong team.

Our problem as Czechs is that we don’t know what to expect from the new Polish coach. However, on the other hand, Fernando Santos knows what to expect against us, as he has played in the Czech Republic twice, so this is a big plus for the Polish team.

If so, do you expect an attacking game from Poland?

Looking at the previous two matches of Fernando Santos against the Czech Republic, despite the victories, they played in a defensive style. I think that now the coach will focus more on the offensive and his vision of the game will be a little different. He wants to play as much as possible.

The Czech coach said he had 50 players on his long list. Most of them are teenagers. Do you think these talented players have a chance in the future to equal the famous team of 2004 with Baros, Koller or Nedved?

Yes, this is a difficult question, but looking at their potential, this cannot be ruled out. They are talented players, but the most important thing is that they avoid injury and play as much as possible. On the one hand, it is clear that they play in good clubs, but without minutes and regularity, they will not develop properly. An example is Patrick Schick, who moved to Bayer Leverkusen and although he does not always play, he makes progress.

There will be no chic, but there are still a few strikers who score in their clubs. Do you expect Jaroslav Silhavi to bet on more than one striker?

This is often unknown because in previous matches Silhava’s coach has bet three or even four ahead. In the last game against Portugal, we played with a three-man team that was more defensive. We really have a lot of good strikers like Kuchta from Sparta Prague or Jančar. The offensive strength of the Czech national team is at a very high level, but I think we have shortcomings in defense.

Robert Lewandowski in recent weeks has not shown the form he presented before the World Cup. In your opinion, at the moment he is the strongest weapon of the white-reds, or would you indicate someone else?

For us, the most important thing is that Robert Lewandowski will be on the field. You have to keep an eye on him at all times, whether he has a form or not. The fact that he will play is not good news for us. He is the best in the Polish team and causes huge problems.

And if you were the coach of the Czech Republic in the match against Poland, who would you advise your players to pay special attention to, except for Robert Lewandowski?

The Poles have a team of players who play in great foreign clubs. They are really good, so it’s hard for me to choose one player, because the whole team is very strong.

You mentioned that Patrick Schick is a key player in the Czech national team. When he’s gone, who will take his place?

Yes, his absence will be felt, but lately he has been catching a lot of injuries. However, I think I’ll point to Thomas Souk here because he’s the driving force behind our team. He plays in a great team, trains well, and the Polish players should pay special attention to him.

Finally, let’s play some predictions. What are your bets on the score and who will score the goals?

To think about further successes, the Czech national team must win both matches with Poland and Moldova, but if I have to bet, I think it can be 1:1, and Tomas Soucek will score us from a set piece, and Robert Lewandowski for Poland.