Paternal influence guides Koman

Paternal influence guides Koman
(FIFA.com) Monday 5 October 2009
Print
Email my friend
Share

On target in the 2-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates that took his team through to the Round of 16, Hungarian midfielder Vladimir Koman had plenty of reasons to smile after the game. Making his father proud no doubt featured high up the list.

"What a fantastic feeling!" he exclaimed to FIFA.com following the encounter. "We know we're writing football history for our country. No Hungarian U-20 team has ever made it past the first round before. It's really a beautiful moment."

The sensations were doubly intense given the Magyars' calamitous start to the competition, in which they suffered a 3-0 loss to Honduras. Following that blow, the players had to dig extremely deep to bounce back with two consecutive successes.

In Koman's case, the timely revival came via some paternal advice. "I've only got one role model and that's my father," he said. "He's always honest and fair with me. After our opening defeat, he told me straight away that I'd been bad. He was right. It's also for him that I'm proud to have shown another side to myself since then."

Born in Ukraine on 16 March 1989, Koman is one of several players to have followed a footballing father into the game. Volodymyr Koman was a Ukrainian professional during the 1980s but plied his trade in an era before mass-media coverage of the game had permeated every corner of the globe - something his son hopes to make up for.