Hungarians hoping to end exile

By Márton Dinnyés

Hungary are hoping to clinch one of the two remaining berths on offer in this summer's UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament, but the Elite round Group 4 hosts must first overcome Armenia and 2003/04 final qualifiers Italy and Belgium.

Lengthy absence
Having not qualified for the finals since 1996/97, when the tournament was an U18 event, Mihály Ubrankovics believes that home advantage could prove crucial. "In the qualifying round we had to travel to the Faroe Islands but still came through, despite looking very tired in our first two games," the Hungary coach said. "Now we play at home and must make that count."

'Unique team'
Nevertheless, Ubrankovics expects other factors to ultimately determine who progresses, saying: "We have a unique team in terms of skill, and therefore our biggest weapons must be team spirit and the right mentality. We must find the right balance in our team, and select players who are in good form at the end of the season."

Scoring hopes
The mini-tournament hosts will be hoping strikers Róbert Feczesin and Ádám Hrepka can repeat the scoring success they have recently enjoyed with their clubs. Újpesti TE's Feczesin has managed four goals in eight league starts this season, while Hrepka found the net twice for MTK Hungária FC in April. Charlton Athletic FC goalkeeper Szabolcs Kemenes could be another important figure.

Armenian dedication
Armenia are bidding to reach the finals for the first time, but are aware a formidable task awaits. The Football Federation of Armenia has paid particular attention to grassroots football in the past few years, and that is beginning to bear fruit. The U19 team reached the Elite round a year ago, but will be hoping to perform better than they did on that occasion when all three games were lost.

Thorough preparations
This time out Armenia have planned for every contingency, with the majority of the players having progressed from the U17 side while the team began preparing for the mini-tournament two months ago. With AFC Ajax striker Edgar Manucharyan the side's most potent threat, coach Samvel Petrosyan is certainly optimistic, saying: "We were able to gather together all our strongest players. We will play some of Europe's leading countries, but we should still produce some fine performances."

Rising stars
The 2003 winners Italy, meanwhile, have a number of players with Serie A experience, with defenders Lino Marzorati and Romano Perticone both making their debuts for AC Milan recently. Coaches Paolo Berrettini and Massimo Piscedda have a number of other rising stars at their disposal, including Juventus FC defender Andrea Masiello and Marco Andreolli of FC Internazionale Milano.

Juve trio
Juve also provide the attacking trio of Michele Paolucci, Rey Volpato and Francesco Volpe while former AS Roma midfield player Raffaele De Martino has reportedly attracted the interest of several of Europe's top clubs.

'Extremely satisfied'
Belgium are bidding to reach the finals for the fourth time in five years, having finished top of qualifying round Group 8, and Marc Van Geersom believe those experiences, coupled with the team's warm-up matches, will be extremely beneficial. "I am really satisfied about the programme we have followed," said the coach. "These tough matches against strong countries are helpful in terms of building a solid team who can qualify for the finals."

'Beautiful achievement'
"Italy are obviously the favourites and as always they have a very strong squad, but we certainly are not weaker," Van Geersom went on. "We certainly have a good chance to qualify, and that would be a beautiful achievement."

Additional reporting by Khachik Chakhoyan, Paolo Menicucci and Berend Scholten