Montella's comments on Arda Güler ahead of Austria match

In the 2024 European Football Championship hosted by Germany, the A National Football Team will face Austria in the Round of 16 tomorrow at 22:00 TSI at the Leipzig Stadium.

Speaking at the press conference held at the stadium before the match, A National Football Team Head Coach Vincenzo Montella said, "We had a match against Austria a few months ago.

They are a good team; I think they might even be the best team. They are a very aggressive team that presses well. They have excellent transition play. I made a comment a few days ago that they remind me of a club team. They are a complete team in every sense."

When reminded that he is the only Italian head coach remaining in the European Championship, Montella said, "I wish all 4 Italian coaches could have continued this far."

Stating that Kenan Yıldız is a good player, the Italian coach said, "He is someone who strives to improve in every training session. His speed, tempo, technique, and skill are all qualities I admire. He can make progress in terms of being consistent throughout the full 90 minutes. He had a few chances to score, but he was unlucky."

"ARDA IS A VERY TALENTED PLAYER"

Vincenzo Montella gave the following answer to a question asked about young footballer Arda Güler:

"If you are good enough, your age is sufficient. If you are talented, you can be talented at 15. Arda is a very talented player. This is obvious for everyone to see. There are some areas in his game that need improvement. When a player like him is not on the pitch, you feel his absence. He is a young player; he needs to improve himself in certain areas. He will do that."

"THAT IS ANOTHER MATCH, THIS IS ANOTHER MATCH"

When reminded of their 6-1 loss to Austria in a friendly match last March, Montella said, "The first half of that match was extremely even. It could have ended with any other score. Based on the first half, both teams could have won the match. In the second half, we suffered a psychological dip and couldn't recover. It was a heavy defeat. I don't remember losing a match by such a large margin as a player or a coach. That was another match, this is another match. Ralf knows this. The opposing coach also mentioned this. I hope the result will be different this time."

"WE ARE A PRODUCTIVE TEAM"

Emphasizing that they are a productive team, Vincenzo Montella said, "In UEFA statistics, we are in 3rd place in the group stage with 5 goals scored. We are 3rd in total shots taken. Our average shots per match is 16.67, the number of corners won is 21, and we are 3rd in the group stage. We are 5th in offensive actions with 161. We could have been a bit more clinical given all the actions we produced."

I can say this as well. We are happy with the moments we have possession of the ball. Because we are a very productive team. We could have done more. We are 5th in dribbling. We attempted 53 dribbles. When you look at the data here, I can say that we are a productive team. Depending on the game plan and the flow of the game, we can produce different solutions. Because we have two strikers who can play with their backs to the goal; Bertuğ and Cenk Tosun. We have options depending on the course of the match."

Stating that receiving many yellow cards in matches is not a tactical situation, Montella said, "I always want everyone on the team to be suspension-free. Tomorrow we will take the field without our captain. He is an irreplaceable player. After two yellow cards, you naturally become suspended. While I am not 100 percent sure how to interpret it, it is a situation that bothers us to some extent. We have players ready to fill those gaps."

"WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF"

Stating that they should not let emotions hinder their work, the Italian coach said, "The first issue, I think, is not to let emotions get in the way of our work. You cannot get caught up in a desire for revenge. Because it prevents you from thinking clearly. We know what kind of team Austria is, and what kind of team we are. We know what we are capable of. This should be our way of thinking."

Finally, regarding the fans, Vincenzo Montella concluded his remarks by saying, "Of course, we expect the stadium to be filled with red-and-white flags. Our fans have supported us beautifully until now. They have stood behind us even when conditions were difficult. We expect a very lively atmosphere with our fans tomorrow."

News Source: İHA