Hungary heart gives Sisa confidence

Hungary coach Tibor Sisa is hoping to draw on his side's "good hearts" as he counts down to their first UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in the Czech Republic.

'Good generation'
The Hungarians have never before qualified for this event, but saw off Lithuania, Cyprus and Portugal to win Elite round Group 2 this time round and Sisa is eager to build on that achievement. "Hungary is a small country, and not too rich but we have good hearts," he told uefa.com. "This is a good generation, we've got many decent players – I'd pick out Krisztián Németh and Vlagyimir Komán, they are very, very intelligent players. As a team we can adapt to any tactical system or movement, in defence or attack. They're very good boys, but this squad's main strength is being together – they think and work hard together. They're good friends as well and as a coach I try to bring all that out of them."

Development rates
This squad reached the European U17 Championship in Luxembourg two years ago although Sisa is unwilling to draw too much on that experience, explaining: "There's a big difference between U17 and U19 level; the gap is very big. At 17, players are in youth football; at 19 everyone is playing senior football. That's a big difference for the players, coaches, everybody. Players develop at different rates; some develop very quickly, some take longer. Look at Russia; two years ago they were U17 champions, and now they are not here. A team is not always going to be good – you always need new ideas and new ways of working but I congratulate my team, they've done very well."

'We will see'
The finals draw has put Hungary in Group A alongside holders Spain, 2007 semi-finalists Germany and opening opponents – and fellow first-time qualifiers – Bulgaria. "All eight teams in the finals are very good and there'll be no easy games, but our team is strong and we have a good chance of doing well," said Sisa. "It won't be easy for us, but every young player likes to play against strong teams and good players. That's how you develop. I know Bulgaria well and they're a very good team; strong, well-organised and difficult to play against. We played Germany recently and they're very strong with many quality players – and everyone knows how good Spain are. It's a tough group but the other group is the same – it's eight good teams. Everybody has a chance, some more than others, but we will see."

'Chance for the future'
Sisa believes these finals could prove to be a crucial landmark for his country, adding: "This is very important for Hungarian football; in the past we had a series of very strong teams, but then we lost our way. Slowly we've picked up again; now there are five or six football academies in Hungary and slowly we are improving again. We don't know where that will take us but we hope to keep getting better – and this team gives us hope for the future. The players feel this is a good generation and we have the chance to do something – so let's hope we do."