He is not happy with his numbers this season ("strives for more") • After seven years abroad he misses mostly his mother ("because I got where I got") • and has an insight from Germany: "Here either you win or you learn, there is no such thing as losing.
If we do that in the national team as well, in the end we will go up to a big tournament "
Dabour in team coaching.
"Everyone is waiting to start and there is full of optimism"
Photo:
Udi quote
Last Sunday, Israeli striker Monas Dabour and Danish midfielder Robert Scobe sat together on the bench for Hoffenheim (against Mainz).
Tomorrow they will be on the grass, rivals for all intents and purposes, when Israel hosts Denmark for the first game of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Dabour thinks otherwise.
Although he knows the balance of power between the teams, with the launch of a new campaign, there is a new belief that beautiful things can be done.
"It's a great feeling to start a campaign, everyone is waiting to start and there is full of optimism," he said in an interview with Israel Today while still at his home in Hoffenheim, "Obviously I want to win every game, probably at the beginning of a campaign."
What goals are set when only one team leaves home? After all, it is unrealistic.
"It is impossible not to set goals, it is part of our profession. Those who do not have a goal - do not go up to play. Of course we have a goal, and football is a competitive sport. If you have no passion, then waste time. The goal is to go to a big tournament sometime "That's why we come, fight and want it very much."
But for the World Cup?
"It will be very difficult, but we will not take a precautionary approach."
Corona, injuries - what fitness do you get on the team?
"I'm going through a not-so-smooth year. Like you said - Corona, injuries, not easy, but every time I play I do good things. That's how it was at Hoffenheim, and I want to bring my ability to the national team as well."
You finished the Euro qualifying campaign with four goals, what is the goal this time?
"My expectations of myself are much higher than I did last time. Goal here, goal there - it's not me. I want to be involved in everything positive in the team, to conquer a lot, and for that I play in the team and be in this sport. I sure want more than four goals." .
In the German league you are doing well with ten goals in all competitions, are you satisfied with that?
"No, I'm not happy. I have an average of a goal every 160-150 minutes, which is an excellent figure, but I'm not happy. I'm worth between 12 and 15 goals in the Bundesliga and I'll see it again. "From a place of whining, there were just times when I was on the bench in top form. Again, it just means being strong. I know I'm in the top of the league in terms of league level, but ten goals? I aim for more."
On the face of it, the offense was good in the previous campaign, the problem was the defense. You play today in Germany, where the striker also has to make a defense.
"I bring it to the team too. I make defense on the team no less than on the team, maybe even more, and do it with fun, not whining. The defense starts with me. I studied in Salzburg and in every team I played for in Europe I am the first sign of the defense. Offensively, no We have a problem with the team and I am sure that we can also improve in defense. "
The players on the team went out in public and supported Willy Rotensteiner as coach, some spoke to the association chairman about him.
"You can clearly see how good the atmosphere is with Willie and how much each and every one of us is waiting for gatherings and fun to get on the team. He is a very optimistic person, he has full knowledge and experience and we learn a lot from him. Like everyone in the country has a feeling of optimism. We play, even if it is not reflected properly in the results yet, so we players also have a feeling that we are on the right track with Willie. "
"The girl's smile forgets everything"
Although Dabour now lives in Hoffenheim, a small town in Germany, in his personal mobile photo he puts his mother in front of him and clarifies: "My mother is the thing that made me get where I am and become what I am today. Even if I thank her every day 24 hours, it will not be enough. Obviously I miss her and just wait every time for the moment I see her and hug her, she is my strength.
"I do not have my mother's food here, but fortunately I have the best woman there is, who does everything on the best side there is, and my girl, who has become the most important thing in my life. When I come home disappointed, sad or nervous and see the smile "I forget everything. Family is the most important thing to me."
You are very connected to the family and the city where you grew up, Nazareth. Now, in the Corona period, it is also impossible to visit. How do you handle this?
"I am so connected to my family and the city, and I miss it very much. I have been abroad for more than seven years, and with how much I have become accustomed to, I still miss every day the warmth of the family and of course the city of Nazareth.
I know how proud I am there and how happy I am with my success, and I want to make them even happier and proud in the years to come.
I hope that everything that happens because of the corona will end soon, and then I will be able to visit again and they will come to visit a lot. "
What is the most important thing you take from life in Germany?
"The most important thing I learned is not to give up. Here, even if you fail - you are conveyed that you just did not do things right. Here either you win or you learn, there is no such thing as losing. I always try to teach you every loss or sometimes I do not. "Conquering games. We are not the most successful in the team either, and we need to learn. If we do that, we will eventually advance to a big tournament."