After parting ways with Veszprem, the experienced goalkeeper coach Haris Porobic was in charge of the goalkeepers in Cegled, and he continued his work in the Hungarian national team.
You’ve been working with teams that have been in the Champions League for over twenty years, don’t you feel a little weird as the coach of goalkeeper Cegléd whose goals are much different?
Not at all. The story of Veszprém ended because Árpád Sterbik took my place. My first thought was to go home to Szeged. In the meantime, I spoke with federal coach István Gulyás, who recommended the young Cegléd team to me, and sat down with president Róbert Keys and head coach Károly Nagy to talk, to decide if it was a challenge: with different goals, expectations and perhaps less pressure . The latter is not entirely true, because in the last two decades I have always had to perform under load – I am trying to convey this approach.
What did you say to your players at the presentation?
That I have high goals and that we go high. I want to do the same job with them as with the goalkeepers who defend in the Champions League. When I saw the shining eyes, I knew I had won them. Of course, that is also true, everyone gets a personalized program from me, I treat everyone differently. The job, on the other hand, is the same, tasks should be done with the same intensity, and mistakes should be corrected in the same way. Watching the matches so far, my guys are not ashamed, they are on the right track.
Do you still have a scar from the Veszprém procedure?
No, CEO Zoltán Csík was honest with me from the first moment, I always knew that Árpad, when he retires, will be the coach. I am happy that I have worked in one of the world’s biggest handball clubs for the last six years, but now I am fighting for survival in the NB and I am focusing only on that specific task. My top is the Hungarian national team anyway, I am proud to be able to prepare our goalkeepers for the next World Cup. As for Cegléd, I feel like I’m back to my roots. Here, survival is almost equal to winning the championship. I am grateful for the years in Veszprém, I would like to continue to start a business, especially with Vladimir Cupar, who has a huge opportunity, as well as Márton Székely.
How can you follow them from Cegléd? “
I watch a lot of matches, if not from the recordings, then on the spot. It would be ideal, of course, to see Hungarian goalkeepers in international matches, but unfortunately that is not the case. The biggest headache is how we can replace thirty-six-year-old Mikler. There are two world classes before Márton Székely, and there is a big difference after Mikler and Székely. László Bartucz from Tatabánya was injured before the season, Ádám Borbély is defending against NB I rookie instead of a team in the Europa League. In addition to them, we have young emerging talents, such as Ando Arián from Balatonfüred, who is able to really surprise me sometimes, Xavér Deményi from Ferencváros and routine Mihály Tóth from Gyöngyös. The biggest question is: what will happen if Mikler is absent from the national team? We took Anda with us to the European Championships in January to get used to the atmosphere, to go through a baptism of fire, so as not to make his first representative trip to the next World Cup in Egypt …
How would you describe Mikler Roland?
A bloody professional who always knows what he is doing. „He is a real role model who also works a lot during the break, because technically and tactically he wants to be the best. I love his work ethic, we met completely during the nine years we spent together. During the match, he only looks at me when he needs help, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and not just because of his smile.
How much do you consider yourself Hungarian?
My thinking is South Slavic, but my home is in Szeged, so as a true Hungarian, I always return to work at any time. On the other hand, the first thing in me means that no matter who is in front of me, I want to beat him. That mentality must be adopted by Hungarian players, and then there will be no problems. I always tell Marcia (Székely) to just keep working, and one day the result will come. Rodrigo Corrales, Piotr Wyszomirski, Mirko Alilović, Cupara – they all put something on the table internationally, they didn’t just get where they are.
