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Norwegian coach desperate for victory
Monday 13 October 2008
The future of Åge Hareide
as coach of Norway's national soccer squad may well
hinge on the results of Wednesday's now all-important
match against the Netherlands.
After Saturday's disappointing
tie against Scotland, Hareide's team must win to keep
any World Cup dreams
alive.
Aftenposten
sports columnist Robert Veiåker Johansen wrote
Monday that Hareide seems to be so afraid of the lack
of interest now surrounding his team that he talked
up a torrent during an interview after the Scotland
match.
He was keen on reminiscing about
earlier career highlights and memories of exciting matches.
He seemed keen on simply building up some excitement.
It's been four years since Hareide
took over as coach of Norway's fotball landslag, storming
in from Trondheim's Rosenborg to lead his men to victory.
It hasn't gone his way, and the
results have been disappointing, especially compared
to the glory days of the 1990s when Norway made it to
the World Cup.
Now Hareide worries that his team
will lose its sense of purpose, especially if they lose
on Wednesday.
They badly needed a victory over
Scotland on Saturday, but missed opportunities left
the score
0-0.
Just like the disappointing (and
even embarrassing) result after a match against Iceland
a few weeks ago, and against Wales before that.
Hareide wants what he calls a "big
scalp," and that's what he'd get if his men beat
their Dutch counterparts on home turf at Ullevaal Stadium
Wednesday.
They already face some unexpected
challenges, like an injury suffered by Morten Gamst
Pedersen. Pedersen said he's optimistic, and hopes to
play on Wednesday.
"It will be exciting,"
Hareide declared, like a fighter, Johansen wrote, who
hasn't heard the gong yet.
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