Willi Orbán: We were close to defy the odds in the group of death

– If you had to highlight one moment from the European Championship, which one would you choose?
– It's not easy to answer – told our newspaper Willi Orbán, the 28-year-old Hungarian national team defender. – If I can mention only one moment, then it would be singing the national anthem with the fans after the draw against France. We experienced something similar after the meet against Portugal, but the second group stage game meant the biggest euphoria. It was a full house, and we scored against the defending world champions in front of tens of thousands of Hungarians. Then, we marched in front of our fans to celebrate the success together. After the closed-door games, I expected there to be cacophony at the Puskás Aréna, but the atmosphere that welcomed us against the French is hard to find words for.

– Did the Hungarian national team do their very best?
– We gave more than 100 percent, we outperformed ourselves during the whole tournament. We possessed the ball less than expected against Portugal, but we improved in that respect as well. There were no complaints about our performance in the second and third games, even though we were facing the strongest teams in the world.

– When did you first feel the plan was working?
– Around the 10th minute into the match against Portugal. We'd talked a lot about how to build up our game and how we can make our defense as solid as possible. When it comes to proving against the strongest elite teams and classy attackers, a solid defense is the foundation of everything. After 10 minutes, you could tell our calculations were working.

– At what match did the team play the best?
– I wouldn't be able to choose between France and Germany because both draws are incredible. The only regret is that we led twice at the Allianz Arena, we were close to making something remarkable, but we couldn't advance. We could've won against Germany with a little bit more luck, but there's nothing to be ashamed of.

– Didn't you feel unlucky? Against Portugal, the ball bounced off your heel before the first goal. Then, after your save against France, the ball went right in front of Antoine Griezmann who equalized.
– We were really unlucky in these situations, and the ball even bounced before Leon Goretzka's equalizer. We left very little space and opportunity for the opponent, but unfortunately, such shifting and bouncing shots are part of the game. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a perfectionist against myself, I'm the biggest critic of myself, and after each game, I re-watch the situations where I think I made a mistake. It was the same now, but as far as I could tell, we didn't have positioning or technical errors in those two situations; we were just unlucky.

– You were born and raised in Germany and even played for the national youth team there. After all these, how did it feel to represent Hungary at the Allianz Arena?
– Before the game, I was only focusing on reaching our goal. Maybe the game was different in that I talked to the opponent's players more, I knew them better; that's all. When the team took the lead twice against the German national team, I wasn't preoccupied with my own story. In the moments after the game, I was more overwhelmed with emotions, but not for myself but the team. I was sad because, based on our performance, we deserved more than a group stage farewell. We were very close to refuting the paper form in the death group.

– If we look at the matches against Portugal and Germany, what was that little plus that was missing in the last five or six minutes to keep the score?
– Against Portugal, we were too tired and didn't possess the ball often. If the opponent forces us to defend for 90 minutes, the muscles and brain get tired by the last stage of the match. We expected Portugal to dictate the tempo, but it would've been important to attack more, to get out of their grip at times, and for the opposing players to run after the ball. Against Germany, I think there was a difference in quality that was reflected in the depth of the squad. After all, the Germans could produce two starting lineups of the same strength.

– What do you think about the international opinion mentioning catenaccio in regard to the Hungarian national team?
– For me, catenaccio means organized play and stable defense; it doesn't carry any negative connotation. Moreover, everyone could see that our football wasn't just about defense, and we weren't trying to recklessly attack with balls that were kicked forward.

– What did you feel when you saw the German national team playing on home grounds plays for time in overtime against Hungary?
– Nothing exemplifies more the respect we've earned for ourselves by the last group match. The German players tried to play for time by steering the ball towards the corner flag. It's something a team only does when they're afraid of their opponent. As I read, the other national teams also acknowledged our performance, and our participation was good for the prestige and perception of Hungarian football.

– After the last European Championship match, what were you talking about with your Hungarian father?
– On the one hand, he said he's proud of me and the team, and on the other hand, he admitted that he didn't expect us to perform that well either. He didn't think we would be equal partners with the strongest national teams in the world, but he was happy that we showed Europe what we are capable of.

– Was this the experience you were hoping for when you decided in 2018 to play for Hungary?
– I shed blood, sweat, and tears to represent Hungary at the European Championship or World Cup and make the fans proud one day. We've had fantastic success over the last year; it's clear that we are on the right track. We have to continue fighting in the same spirit in the World Cup qualifiers.

Translated by Vanda Orosz