Hungarian national team: The fall season behind us proved that there is always more! – Dibusz

– After the Honvéd–Ferencváros match on Sunday, with what did you welcome your Kispesti colleague, Péter Szappanos, in Telki on Monday?
– We hardly talked about the match in the training camp because we discussed the events on the pitch in the heat of the match – Dénes Dibusz, the Green and Whites' and the Hungarian national team's goalkeeper with 22 caps, who won 2–0 in Kispest, told us. – We talked about the fact that we had a few matches against each other that were exciting until the last minute, and Peti came forward for a header in the hope of equalizing. It was no different this time: when Honvéd had a corner kick in extra time and I saw him in front of our goal, we smiled at each other. He keeps saying that he'll head a goal against me one day - I'm glad he hasn't done it yet.

– Apart from not conceding a goal from Péter Szappanos, you've had a great season. Maybe it's the best ever?
– Fortunately, this question has come up again and again in recent years, and I'd say, maybe it is. It has been a memorable season, that's for sure, and like my teammates, I have a lot of good memories. I'm happy to have experienced great successes, and I think I've had my share of them. But this fall season has also shown that there is always more. What we have achieved on the international stage is great progress. Perhaps finishing first place in the Europa League group stage is even better than the Champions League group stage participation two years ago because it gave us more experience of success.

– Since July, you have played 25 matches, this week, as a member of the national team, you will be in action in two more. Can you keep up the pace?
– I can, yes. I've also prepared myself mentally so that I have energy left for these days, and so that I'll be on point if I get a chance from Marco Rossi. We indeed had a busy schedule, there's hardly been a week where we haven't had two games, and they've all been high stakes. However, we're now looking at the end of the season, and until we get there, there's nothing left to do but give it our all against Luxembourg and Greece. A win against Honvéd would have been a nice way to end the year, it would have been a complete story, but with two more good results, we can make it even nicer.

– Has the „division of labor” been discussed?
– Not yet. With the unfortunate injury of Péter Gulácsi, a new situation has arisen, and I'm the only goalkeeper with any significant national team experience at the moment. Of course, the scenario could develop in such a way that the head coach votes in favor of Péter or Balázs Tóth. There's still a long way to go before the European Championship qualifiers start in March, and if something happens to me, it doesn't hurt others to experience some national team matches, too. I make it no secret that I'd like to be in the goal for both games, but so would two of my goalkeeper teammates. We'll see how the professional staff decides, but the most important thing is that whichever one of us is in front of the net, he gives the support from the back that the team needs.

– Assuming that two of your goalkeeper teammates are still waiting for their first national team participation, can we say that you are the boss among the goalkeepers?
– Not at all! We work in the same way as always, helping each other as much as we can, because our aim cannot be anything other than to make sure that whoever is defending is useful for the national team.

– After a wonderful performance in the Nations League, can defeating Luxembourg and Greece be definitely expected?
– I don't think so. I say this despite the fact that we obviously want to win both games. Luxembourg football has come a long way, and unfortunately, we experienced this first-hand in 2017, when we lost 2–1. The Greeks have always been of a high standard, and although they had a bit of a dip, they have found themselves since then and are a threat to everyone. Even if Luxembourg and Greece are not the quality opponents that Italy, Germany, and England were in the Nations League, we can't talk about an easy win nowadays. We have some absentees, but whoever is here can do a lot to be counted on in March by the head coach. So, we want to say goodbye to this year nicely, and, as well as thinking about winning, we want to prove that we are still on the right track.