2019 Euro Cup Team Previews: Part Four
Not long now until the 2019 AFL Europe Euro Cup, this year the tournament will be held in Norrtalje, Sweden for what is set to be a thrilling day of football as national teams from 16 different European countries field their nations best players and over 350 players battle it out for the Cup.
This year’s edition of the Euro Cup will see all the games take place on Saturday the 29th of June. As part of the buildup, AFL Europe will be previewing all the teams competing. In our fourth edition of the team previews, we will be taking a closer look at the Czech Republic Dragons and the French Coqs in the men’s side of the competition and in the women’s, the German Eagles.
Men’s Competition:
Czech Republic Dragons
What has your preparation been heading into the 2019 Euro Cup?
Getting the basics right and ensuring everyone knows their job on the field. With a wide variety of experience and skills, we need to get as much structure as possible to how we play, and getting players to take ownership of their role in the team.
How many clubs are represented in your national team?
Only one, the Czech Republic only has one team – the mighty Prague Dragons!
How many of your players are going to be making their Euro Cup debuts?
Four new players will be making their Euro Cup debut who all bring different strengths.
What can we expect to see from your team this Euro Cup?
Players giving it their all and of course heaps of Jesaulenko like marks being taken!
What does competing in the Euro Cup mean to your team?
With no other teams nationally to compete against, this is, of course, the main tournament for our team each year and thus an opportunity to show how much we have developed and grown.
What are your expectations for the Euro Cup?
I’m not sure we will win the cup this year, so to be competitive against the lower-ranked teams is what we expect from ourselves.
Who are the players in your team that we should be watching out for?
The biggest man on the park, our ruckman Vit Krcmar. Also Jan Nowak, our outside midfielder who has plenty of run and carry.
Do you have any extra bits of information about the team, like past years funny/interesting stories?
During a friendly match this year, one of our players, Chris Marais, was caught in a tackle around the waist. As the tackler’s arms then slid further down his legs, Chris’s shorts and undies were subsequently pulled down to reveal his true colours. As the ball went loose (not penalised for holding the ball…), he continued to scramble for the ball with his ankles fastened together by the shorts & undies combo and managed to knock the ball onto a teammate who then scored a long-range goal. Chris was unable to join in on the high-five celebration but he did try…
The Czech Republic Dragons will be remembered in the 2019 Euro Cup for…
Having a decent crack, having the best team jackets and showing everyone how to drink beer.
French Coqs
Coach: Andrew Unsworth
Captain: Sylvain Maylie
What has your preparation been heading into the 2019 Euro Cup?
As we are one of the few winter leagues in Europe, we are fresh from a closely fought championship in France. It will be interesting to see the difference as the Euro Cup is usually pre-season for us, not post-season.
How many clubs are represented in your national team?
All CNFA clubs are represented. We have four players from the ALFA Lions in Lyon, which would have been five if it wasn’t for a late change due to injury. It has been great to see the rapid development of the team there.
How many of your players are going to be making their Euro Cup debuts?
We have four players making their Euro Cup debuts. Of those, two are exciting youngsters and two that have previously represented France in international fixtures.
What can we expect to see from your team this Euro Cup?
We are coming off a strong performance on ANZAC Day against the Australians, so expect to see cohesion from the group and a more attacking brand of footy.
What does competing in the Euro Cup mean to your team?
Euro Cup is always a great chance to mix with our comrades from throughout Europe. On the field, it is also an important benchmark of where we are with the development of our skills and game style.
What are your expectations for the Euro Cup?
Over the last few years, we have played some great footy but have not been able to sustain it for the full tournament. If we can apply ourselves for long enough, the sky is the limit!
Who are the players in your team that we should be watching out for?
One of our most experienced players Anthony Girard has been in career best form of late. Also, youngsters Clement Decaux, Thibaut Sorin and Julien Lefebvre all impressed in their first ever ANZAC cup earlier this year.
Do you have any extra bits of information about the team, like past years funny/interesting stories?
It has been a dramatic few weeks in the CNFA with the final ladder positions decided by percentage and then both semi-finals were won in the dying moments by Paris Cockerels against Paris Cockatoos and Stade Toulouse against Lyon. Then the Grand Final was washed out over the weekend when a storm that caused widespread chaos and flash flooding in France forced the final to be rescheduled in September.
The French Coqs will be remembered in the 2019 Euro Cup for…
Kicking a goal after the siren to win the final. That’s every footballer’s dream, right? And of course the celebratory Pacquito!
Women’s Competition:
German Eagles
Coach: Emily McKie
Captain: Theresa Kresse
What has your preparation been heading into the 2019 Euro Cup?
After the national team players were chosen by our coach at the selection day, the squad for the Euro Cup and an additional development squad went to a training camp together. The program involved activities to get to know your teammates, team bonding and tactics for the games in Sweden.
How many clubs are represented in your national team?
Four out of six German women’s clubs are represented in the National Team. Those clubs are the Berlin Crocs, Frankfurt Redcats, Hamburg Dockers and Rheinland Lions.
How many of your players are going to be making their Euro Cup debuts?
Seven players will make their Euro Cup debuts this year.
What can we expect to see from your team this Euro Cup?
Throughout the last year, when the Australian Football League in Germany for the women really took off we have seen a massive increase in the quantity of ladies willing to play this sport, but more importantly the quality too. This increased quality obviously translates into the selection of national players. Therefore it is safe to say the overall skills and technique is at a much higher level than it was last year.
What does competing in the Euro Cup mean to your team?
Having the chance again to play in the Euro Cup presents itself as another opportunity to proliferate us as a relatively “young” team in Europe. This means that it is equally a tournament for us to give everything we’ve got but also to learn.
What are your expectations for the Euro Cup?
The expectations of the girls are very diverse. But as a team, we have the expectations to deliver a good quality of the game and be able to demonstrate on what we have worked on the previous months. Moreover, having the chance to play against “more experienced” teams like England, Ireland and Sweden with the possibility to grow as a team and challenge ourselves physically and mentally.
Who are the players in your team that we should be watching out for?
I think everyone on this team deserves to be mentioned here. We have a terrific mix of girls with a fantastic set of skills and ambition. However, I think it is pretty clear that the other teams and coaches should look out for Theresia Meißner (Tinna) who went to Dublin just a few weeks ago for the Cross Coders. Jennifer Englisch, who is new to the sport, but convinced everyone with her abilities that partially come from her time in the Judo National team and then there are some of our more “experienced” players like Elisabeth Maxeiner, our Vice Captain and Elisabeth Zengerling, who are not just sharing the same name, but also the same eagerness for the ball.
Do you have any extra bits of information about the team, like past years funny/interesting stories?
In our team, we have quite a few girls with the same or similar names. We´ve got two Annika´s, two Elisabeth´s, who happen to have the same nickname too (Elli), and one Theresia and Theresa. This was a conscious decision by our coach in order to confuse the other team when calling out instruction during the game and to simplify the process of giving orders while being at Starbucks as a team!
Germany will be remembered in the 2019 Euro Cup for…
Bringing home a medal.
Liam McAllion – AFL Europe
