Ronaldo in Stožice: For Adam Gnezda Čerina, playing against the Portuguese is a great honor, while Miha Blažič emphasizes that it’s also stressful
Photo: Vid Ponikvar / Sportida
Slovenia’s national football team gathered at Brdo pri Kranju on Monday, gearing up for their first official matches in the year that includes their participation in Euro 2024. Their opening opponent will be Malta, whom Slovenia will face on Thursday at 9 p.m., followed by a home spectacle against Portugal on Tuesday. The tickets for the matches at Stožice Stadium are sold out, with many attending (also) because of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I’m glad that the Stožice Stadium was sold out so quickly. The Portuguese are fantastic players, and Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers in history. It’s a special feeling because these are players who have marked a good part of our lives. I think it’s a great privilege to compete against them on the field,” confessed Slovenian national team midfielder Adam Gnezda Čerin, adding about the upcoming matches: “We are facing two different opponents, which also require completely different preparations. In any case, both matches are very important for us, as we see them as preparations for the European Championship. We still have some time, but every match is valuable.”
Defender Miha Blažič is also looking forward to facing Portugal, having played against Ronaldo in the past. “Of course, you want to play against such players, but fundamentally it doesn’t change much because playing for the Slovenian national team alone is motivation enough. Personally, I won’t have any special treatment for Ronaldo, who is a true goal-scoring machine. I’ve played against him before, and I can say it’s stressful because you have to be a hundred percent focused at every moment,” says the defender from the Polish club Lech Poznań.
Miha Blažič played with Ronaldo when he was still a member of the Hungarian giant Ferencváros. Ronaldo played for Juventus at the time, and the Turin side won both matches in the Champions League group stage, with Ronaldo scoring one of the six total goals. However, regardless of Ronaldo, Portugal will only be the second opponent in the March schedule, and both matches need to be taken seriously.
“First, we have to think about Malta, where it won’t be easy. We need to continue with what we’ve started. We see that we’re doing something that works, but we must realize that it hasn’t been perfect yet, and there are certain things we can still improve,” acknowledges Miha Blažič. Gnezda Čerin, who plays for Panathinaikos in Greece, concludes: “We have a big thing ahead of us, something we’ve been working for all these years. By qualifying for the European Championship, we’ve achieved our goal, but we don’t intend to stop here and want to show something in Germany as well.” Therefore, it’s crucial to make the most of the time remaining until Euro 2024…
This text was automatically translated using AI.
Author: editorial Football Planet
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