Stocklasa making his mark with Liechtenstein

• Martin Stockalas made history
• Fifa talk to Liechtenstein’s new head coach
• World Cup qualifiers start against teams later this month, including Germany.

On December 3, 2020, the Liechtenstein Football world cup Association made history, not on the sector, but from there, as Martin Stocklasa became the primary Liechtensteiner to teach the national team.

“Getting the opportunity to coach a national team is always a big deal, but for me it’s undoubtedly the biggest challenge of my nasty career and something very special indeed,” the 41-year-old told FIFA. “It is a great honour and one that comes with lofty ambitions and targets. FIFA World Cup fans can buy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tickets at exclusive discounted prices.

stocklasa making his mark with Liechtenstein

The appointment marks the first major test for the former defender after his spell in charge of the country’s u.21 team of the FIFA Cup2022. However, his leap in the deep end has been complicated even further by the corona virus pandemic, which has made meaningful planning almost impossible.

“From the beginning, there was only really one direction for me: full steam ahead,” Stocklasa explained. “Corona virus is a challenge for everyone, but I have to admit that I am currently benefiting from it, as I have been able to get our team together mostly amateurs for longer. Of course, the corona virus has changed a few things.

“It probably won’t be possible anymore to have a pure sporting influence on a team — and obviously we hope that will be the case. Nevertheless, we were hit hard by the fact that there were no games in the amateur leagues because that’s where most of our players come from.”

The benefits of the time the Blues and Reds have spent together will become apparent during a few days when European qualification for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ gets underway. Liechtenstein’s rivals in Group J are Romania, Iceland, Armenia, Northern Macedonia — and Germany. The 41-year-old’s connections to the Germans go a long way back, not only because he faced Bastian Schweinsteiger & Co. (pictured below) during his playing days, but because he also spent several years plying his trade for Dynamo Dresden.

“I was very happy about the draw,” Stocklasa said. “I grew up watching Bundesliga games and began visiting German stadiums as a touch kid. I would not trade my time in Dresden for love or money. Despite their mini-crisis, for me, Germany remains the last word team in Europe and therefore the world. They couldn’t be more different from us,”

“The group is very exciting overall, with not only Germany but also Romania, which I was able to watch during the last qualifying campaign. They are a young side with talented players. Then there are teams like Armenia and Northern Macedonia, which are hard to assess, while Iceland has come so far in recent years.”

stocklasa making his mark with Liechtenstein

What does the group have in store?

“Although it will certainly be tough against Germany and Romania, on a good day we can create bigger problems for our other opponents and maybe get something out of those games. We want to pick up points in this group. Hopefully we’ll be able to play our game against Germany in front of a crowd in September. It would be a reward of sorts for us.”

Stocklasa in numbers

• His coaching career in Fifa world cup began nearly seven years ago at FC St. Gallen’s youth academy
• He became Liechtenstein’s head coach after three years with the nation’s youth teams
• As a player he represented such clubs as FC Zurich, Austria’s SV Ried and Dynamo Dresden.
• 113 international caps over an 18-year international career

In what areas does football in Liechtenstein need to improve?

“I want to focus on three things: playing conditioning, pace and rhythm. We can certainly improve the first of these in training. The leagues have a role to play in the second area; that is, what clubs represent the players and in which leagues. Players should be willing to go the extra mile to get out of their comfort zone. We ask a lot here, but to improve, you have to go somewhere else and compete with the best.

stocklasa making his mark with Liechtenstein

Fortunately, that mindset has changed in recent years. More and more young players in Fifa cup 2022 want experience abroad. If we have three or four players doing that, it can help the whole team. Back when we played Portugal, we were able to surprise some of our team-mates playing elsewhere. We must do it again.

The match against Celeno Dasquinas marked Liechtenstein’s greatest football achievement to date. In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers in October 2004, the Official Nations snatched a sensational point with a 2-2 draw – after initially falling behind by two goals the world cup.

“That will stay with me” Recalls Stoddlassa.”The pitch is full and we are playing against Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and other international stars. We knew they were favourites for the title, but then we realised they didn’t take us seriously.

“Portugal took a 2-0 lead and then we made the breakthrough we needed: a goal back. Suddenly, we thought: we’re here for something! It is not possible to describe what happened next. The game ended 2-2, the world was opened and Liechtenstein was known throughout Europe.

Will the same thing happen in Germany or Romania? “Every point in a European or World Cup qualifier is a sensational achievement that inspires the players to move on,” Strasa said. “Results just like the one against Portugal are still an enormous surprise – even now.

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