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Interview with HPE-regia5 and Maidichtling, NT and U21 India coaches I/II

Written by Florinescu

Dear friends, during this period India has two world champions leading the national teams, two of the best managers in Hattrick: HPE-regia5 (911825) and Maidichtling (9702339). I asked them a few questions and I invite you to read what they shared for the community.

1. Please tell us a few things about yourself, maybe something special, that you would like the community to know.

HPE-regia5:
My name is Fabio, I'm from Italy, and I deeply love this game, playing it since... who can say? It seems like I always did it!
One ironic thing? The evening I lost my last World Cup final (81% chances to win it, according to 100 replays) I was away with my girlfriend, who broke up with me. Can you guess what I was more sad about? :)

Maidichtling:
Well, I did start this very game way back in 2003/04. But I found it too difficult to understand and gave up quickly. When a friend tried to convince me to play his game in 2008, he really needed to force me back. This was when I fell in love with the art of hattrick. All those managers out there, stick around and educate yourself about the game mechanics - it will pay off!

2. What other hobbies do you have besides hattrick?

HPE-regia5:
I work as a Wrestling Promoter, and it's something that I deeply love

Maidichtling:
I am mostly a family guy, enjoying my time with the children. I started to play when I was staying alone, now my youngest of three is in school... which takes time off other hobbies but I play "real" football at least once a week.

3. What are the best moments you've had in this game?

HPE-regia5:
Winning my first World Cup with Norway was very much special, as we were an average team in a time where average teams were usually trashed by the top ones. Being a U20/NT coach was anyway all the times special, just in different ways.

Maidichtling:
There were a few already which are rather unforgettable. I remember that my unpredictable goalkeeper played a long-pass which led to a goal in the German Cup quarterfinal. This guy was great as a keeper but the spec was useless in that era although I always hoped for the special moment and it was finally there. However, I lost that game anyway... not the making of a hero.
Years later I got involved in national teams and the campaign with U20 Germany was a complete team game. The group I was able to motivate to support U21 India nowadays was the core and we really stood together. The schedule is hectic and I cannot commit to hattrick every week. Being able to give full responsibility to kallekalk or muchacho relieved me of a lot of pressure. The German community demands a lot and questions get raised every time the result is bad no matter how good a line-up was or how unlucky the result.
Nonetheless, the best moment in this game came when winning the Hattrick Masters as I was the first "german" manager to achieve it and there was lots of talk about it all the years. It felt special and the amount of congratulations made me feel honored. I want to thank all my supporters for making that campaign as special as it was but I am pretty sure the best is still to come with U21/NT India!

4. Can you name a player (or more) you are most proud of, that you trained and that came to play for a national team?

HPE-regia5:
Ciro Verdolin. I trained him in the youth academy and he went to play for both U20 and NT Italy. Unlucky he appeared only on friendlies, when he was a contender he was constantly out of form :(

Maidichtling:
Surely I can. My homegrown star Ravindra (my grad-fathers name) Singeetham (391510978) made it all the way from U21 to NT India to Masters. He is the number one player of my hattrick career. There is no one like him and maybe never will. He ended with an experience of 40+ and made 100 caps for NT India. Fittingly he played his best game in a CA match in hattrick Masters (626400937)!

5. What goals do you have in hattrick, in the medium and long term? How long do you think this game will last?

HPE-regia5:
No specific goal. I just play the game to train some U21/NT talent, focusing on U21/NT management.

Maidichtling:
Well, nothing lasts forever and I had thoughts of stepping away. I am pretty sure that will happen before the game shuts down.
I am not playing for personal goals any more which is easy to say, having won everything but the NT World Cup. I'd say winning the World Cup with India is the most important motivation concurrently. For that to happen we need to strengthen our community and make the manager educated and play this game for a long time. Thinking about it a bit more, I guess I want to add a 13th I-League title in another era. But results for my teams don't bother me too much nowadays, those unlucky losses with U21 India pissed me off though!

6. What do you think about the new achievements, are you interested in getting them?

HPE-regia5:
Yes, I am! I love achievements, and I just restored my place in the Italian top 5, who's very competitive!

Maidichtling:
I have never been after those achievements but with the new system it looks much more interesting. If I decide to compete with my teams, I will definitely have an eye on those as well. I encourage all managers out there to challenge themselves to better their rating and raise their level of hattrick.

7. Is there anything you don't like about this game, something you'd like to change?

HPE-regia5:
I think the training system is quite obsolete, and also the youth academy currently has no real competition, you just train players. I'd make it competitive in some way, and I'd also try to think about some U17 competition for National Teams (quite simplified compared to U21/NT, as it would have far less importance) :D

Maidichtling:
I don't like how close games at the top have become. The ratings are simply too high. At lower levels the teams can manipulate the odds with good tactics very well but at the top you can squeeze out a percent or two, if the opposition doesn't mess up. I would like to make my own choices of tactics make more impact and slowly get towards an equilibrium where more strategies can lead to success. I would say that hattrick has taken a good step towards that with the new SE system. Now we need to look at the contribution of different positions on the field towards ratings, man marking, set piece events. Slowly and thoughtful, no drastic changes.

8. Do you think there is any type of formation that dominates the hattrick world during this period? Or is there an antidote to each of them, like rock-paper-scissors?

HPE-regia5:
352 is always the best, especially at high level. There are other tactics, of course, but that's it. And powerful FW are too much overpowered, imho they need to be less effective.

Maidichtling:
Many formations are strong and can be played in given scenarios. I am no guy to advocate that 352 rules the World! 253, 343, 442 and 5xx are all valuable. Being flexible is a better weapon than maximizing ratings with a 352 - but this opinion may be challenged by some possession loving game experts.

Link to the second part of the interview: (22497)