My game for my country!
Peter Gulacsi (34) is part of a football-obsessed family and his childhood home was a mere 200 meters from a football ground. He started out kicking about as a field player, but became the first of his friends to get a pair of gloves. The rest was left to fate.
How he manages to shield himself from football’s fast-paced life, where does he spend most of his time in Leipzig, and how he values Hungary’s odds at the Euros, in this video!
What are your best memories from the last Euros?
- “I remember the two home games the most. It was just after Corona, when we were playing behind closed doors for so long. In Hungary, we were already allowed to play in stadiums at full capacity. Those were my first two games at our new Arena in Budapest, in front of 65.000 fans.
My entire family was there. They were two really good matches against Portugal and France. The second one, a 1-1 draw against France, is still one of the most meaningful games I’ve been a part of.”
How do you think Hungary will fare? What do you think of your rivals, Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland?
- “I think it’ll be an interesting group with different approaches to the game. To me, Germany is the absolute favorite in the group, especially if you consider their recent evolution.
Switzerland always does well in tournaments. They have plenty of quality and experience in their squad. Scotland is an uncomfortable rival, physically strong, and with several players from the Premier League. It’s the second time in a row they qualify to a major tournament. So it’s not an easy group.
But we do have your strengths and have had our share of success recently. I think things will come down to the last detail. Our goal is to make it out of the group stage. I think it isn’t farfetched, but it certainly won’t be easy.“
Is there something Hungary can surprise their rivals with?
- “I believe it’ll be hard to properly surprise someone now, since they’re all familiar with our style of play. We’re a particularly uncomfortable rival that is hard to play against. We don’t allow many goals, we’re strong in defense, and we’re well set up front.
We have Dominik Szoboszlai, Roland Sallai, and other good players that always have the potential to shock you. As a team we’re really good. We have a strong team spirit and along with our fans, who are extremely supportive, we can have a successful tournament.”