I have always felt like one of you - said Marco Rossi at the press conference after the Hungarian victory, which we show uncut.

The Hungarian national football team defeated Serbia 2-1 in the Puskás Arena on Saturday night, and thus confirmed their place at the top of Group G in the qualifiers for the 2024 European Championship and came within arm's reach of a sure exit. After the match, national team captain Marco Rossi held a press conference and evaluated the extremely important victory, answered the journalists' questions.

The national team captain started by saying that two more points are needed to qualify for the European Championship, so the time for celebration has not yet come.

"Our team fights with heart, with great humility, everyone from celebrities to lesser-known players. Both those on the pitch and those sitting on the bench."

"We put our whole hearts on the pitch."

"Of course, anything can happen in football and there are times when we get lucky. I found myself saying to President Sándor Csányi, I aged two years today, but maybe there was a similar example in the stands as well."

"We suffered from the opponent's physical superiority and they proved to be strong even in the fixed game situations, we were not even outmatched in the quality of the game, but it was a triumph of the heart. We saw guys tonight who pushed their limits, both physically and technically, and that has to be acknowledged."

Rossi was also asked what he thought about the fact that Serbian captain Dragan Stojkovic congratulated him on the victory in the seconds before the final whistle.

"It was clear to him that the triple whistle was about to sound, he is a very sporting opponent, he acknowledged that we played excellently. I still see that technically and tactically, Serbia is the strongest member of the group, but we managed to beat them back there, which required a lot of heart and a bit of luck."

"It was a beautiful match," he added.

Regarding the replacement of the injured Willi Orbán, he said that Ádám Lang performed flawlessly in the middle of the defense and praised Attila Fiola, who entered the three-man defense as a starter, and Endré Botka, who replaced him as a substitute.

Loic Negó, who provided two assists in the match, revealed that he did not want to lose even when he was benched in Fehérvár.

"I have a mistake that I first look at my players as people, then I pay attention to their role. I never use a player, I use it. Nego must have had difficult moments, but think about what he would have gone through if I had left him out of the national team. Respect is due to everyone, I, as a coach, must first of all show respect to my players and see what situations they are going through, and obviously I have the interests of the national team in mind first and foremost."

Regarding Roland Sallai, the author of the bomb goal that ultimately marked the victory, he said that he does not understand how another top team did not confirm him, because he is a top player.

"All my respect goes to Freiburg, not disparaging them, but Roland could also play in a more serious club team.

In Tuesday's qualifier against the Lithuanians on Tuesday, qualification for the European Championship may become certain, but Rossi drew attention to the fact that their 2-0 victory in Bulgaria reminds them to be careful, and they also have to deal with the cold weather.

"If we win, maybe I'll get back the two years I lost today"

he remarked with a smile.

In response to Zsolt Kalmár's exhibition, he said that he could have avoided it, he was rightly given his second yellow card, and that he is annoyed that he picked up a red, so he cannot count on him in Lithuania.

Rossi was asked how different it was to sit on the bench of the national team for the first time as a Hungarian citizen.

For the first time, he answered in Hungarian: "Yes, we did it!"

He then added that he still felt at home in Hungary and that he had been playing at his best so far, so he experienced this match in the same way as the previous ones, because:

"I always felt like one of you."

M4Sport

Featured image: Marco Rossi, the captain of the Hungarian national football team, at a press conference at the Telki Training Center of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ) on October 13, 2023. In the European Championship qualifying series, the national team will host Serbia in the Puskás Arena on October 14. MTI/Koszticsák Solid