“The third and fifth innings decided the result. I would prefer to delete those. Even in the unfavorable situation, I still believed that we could still do something with the game. Especially Martin Schneider fought like a lion. He gave a heroic performance. Unfortunately, we were unable to correct the score. However, the end result is very cruel for us. I would say that the amount of defeat is undeserved,” Chadim opined.
He revealed that there was considerable disillusionment among his charges in the cabin. “The boys probably take the defeat in the crucial quarter-final match even worse than I do. As a player, I have already experienced it three times in the past. This was the thirteenth attempt of the Czech baseball team to advance from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals at the European Championship. Unfortunately, he failed again. It hurts a lot. Of course, nobody wants to lose,” he claimed.
Photo: Václav Šálek, CTK
The Czech Republic team after losing the quarterfinals.
Chadim immediately added that he will take the experience with him for a lifetime. “After all, the European Championship takes place at home. And the fans really encourage us. I’m happy to be there. It’s a celebration of baseball,” he appreciates that after the matches in the Ostrava group there was also a great atmosphere at the Brno stadium, which was created by 2,365 spectators.
However, the domestic championship for the Czech baseball players does not end with the quarter-final failure. On Friday and Saturday, they will have two matches in the group for fifth to eighth place, which they will enter in a duel with the French. “They were within reach of advancing to the semi-finals. The Germans squandered a three-point lead in the end. Our mutual match will therefore be a battle of disappointed teams. We need to manage him and lighten up the mood a bit. And of course we also want to please the fantastic fans,” Chadim planned.
He confided that he probably won’t sleep much from Thursday to Friday after the loss in an important match against the British. “I’ll be scratching my head for a long time. I’ll close my eyes around two o’clock in the morning at the earliest,” he estimated. “Then at ten in the morning we will have a meeting before the match against France. I believe that we will be well prepared for it,” he added.