When took his Czech Republic to the finals of the 2007 Under-20 World Cup, it was thought he would do at least as good when he arrived here to coach the young Pharaohs. But in the U20 World Cup which Egypt hosted last month, the would-be future stars were embarrassingly knocked out in Round 16. In an exclusive to Al-Ahram Weekly, and just 72 hours before leaving Egypt, perhaps for good, Soukup explains to Ahmed Abu Ghazala what went wrong You came to Egypt knowing about the high hopes, especially after you got second place in Canada 2007 with the Czech Republic. Why couldn't you meet those expectations? I knew all the Egyptians were waiting for results because Egypt is the host country, and I knew that all the people wanted a significant achievement in the championship. We were unlucky not to score against Costa Rica. We had bad luck during the match. According to the statistics, the match was played in the same way we played the previous matches that we won in the championship. We possessed the ball most of the time, launched many attacks, and had some goal opportunities that we didn't seize. In the previous three matches we scored nine goals, but we couldn't do that with Costa Rica. The main reason Egypt lost in the U20 World Cup was bad luck against Costa Rica. We lacked only one thing -- luck. Other than that, we performed well. Did you have some requests that, if made available, would have helped you achieve better results? The federation provided most of what I asked for. I can't say there was anything wrong in that part because the federation made everything OK for me. So, the main reason for the loss was that we were unlucky? When you are playing in a World Cup, you should have everything on your side in the matches you play, because it is not like the league, in that if you lose a match, you can recover because you will play other matches. We were dominant against Costa Rica; we just didn't score. What I am telling you are facts. I have the statistics of the match. Of course, we didn't perform the same like we did while confronting Italy (Egypt won 4- 2), but we beat Italy because everything was on our side, while everything was against us while facing Costa Rica. The U20 team is supposed to play in the qualifications for the 2012 London Olympic Games. What's your advice? I can't advise anyone to do anything. Many people are shown on TV giving statements, so there are many smart and good people in Egypt who can give advice. According to what is said on TV and in the press, I think they don't need any advice from anyone. They should advise themselves. They see they have enough experience. Everyone on TV is saying that I am the one who made the mistakes, that I'm the one at fault, and that I am responsible for everything that happened. So all the others are good and know what to do, and I ruined everything and I was wrong in everything I did. So I can't advise anyone because I am the one at fault. I can't recommend how to achieve success while I couldn't achieve it myself. I just wish good luck for the person who is going to coach the team next and to achieve better results than mine. Do you think there are players who are future stars? Can they play for the senior national team? I don't know anything about the future. I am not a magician. The only thing I can say is that the players will face the hardest period in their life after the U20. What I am saying is certain, as only one of them, Salah Suleiman, plays regularly on his team, while [Mohamed] Talaat has played only five minutes in league matches. Not one of them has gotten the opportunity to play for his team, and when they don't play with their senior teams in the league, their performance will deteriorate after two months. Of course, some players are better than others and have a better chance, but this period will be hard for all of them. What were the main points in the report you submitted to the Egyptian federation? The report is directed to the federation, not the media. If the federation wants to publicise its contents, it is the federation's responsibility to say what is included in the report. During the two years you coached Egypt, what was it like? There is a proverb, "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." For me, this was a big and good experience to coach the Egyptian team for one and a half years, and to know about life in Egypt. It was the second straight time to coach in the U20 World Cup after my experience with the Czech team. We played 55 international matches here, and this was good experience. What's the difference between Egyptian and European players? Egyptian players lack early preparation. If you compared the youth leagues, you will see in Egypt they lack vitality and liveliness. In youth football leagues in Europe, you find the matches more organised, and the football is better. They deal with the youth sector better. This should be implemented through cooperation between the clubs and the federation. The clubs raise the players to play for their teams, but they also raise them to play for the national team. That's why it is important to have cooperation between clubs and the federation because when the clubs produce strong players, the national team will in turn be strong. What about Egyptian fans? I think the fans made a very good atmosphere in all the matches that the team played. It doesn't happen many times that a team plays in front of between 70,000-80,000 supporters. I think they helped the team a lot by their support and enthusiasm. What was your relationship with the Egyptian media? It was professional, not one of friendship. I respected the work of the journalists and media people, but in many instances they did not respect other people's work. I don't have friends from the media and I don't want to. Did you like living in Egypt? Were the people friendly? I liked life in Egypt. Basically all the people here dealt with me as a friend. But what I didn't like were people who wouldn't say things to your face but behind your back. Have you learnt any Arabic? Shweya (a little bit). Will you continue studying Arabic? If I get a job in the Arab world, certainly I will learn more Arabic which has become much easier for me. Will you miss Egypt? Will you return to visit? I think I will miss Egypt. I will remember the nice weather here, especially that now it is cold in the Czech Republic and it is going to get colder. I will remember that here I was wearing, throughout the whole year, just shorts and T-shirts. The weather here is nice throughout the whole year as opposed to Europe. I think I will come back as a tourist. I visited most places in Egypt, but not all, like Marsa Alam. I feel bad though because I thought that I will have many friends here in Egypt, but after the loss, everybody gave me their backs. Did you receive any offers from Egyptian clubs? Until now, I didn't receive any offers. I am leaving and I don't know what I'm going to do in the future. What's next? If I don't find work, I will take courses to improve my English and other languages. I will not stay at home and sleep. Surely I will do something. How do you rate Egypt's chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup? They have a chance and I think they will qualify. The team has a better chance [than Algeria] although they were lucky against Zambia (Egypt won 1-0). They had only two shots on target and one went in. They had luck in this game and won.
