Kökény: Slagelse Were Expected to Win

After the surprising Ferencváros victory in Denmark in the last round of the Champions League group stage, Eurohandball.com interviewed Beatrix Kökény, the manager and former player of Budapest Bank-FTC. The victory meant that the Hungarian team reached the third spot in the Champions League group and continue in the Cupwinners’ Cup.

Eurohandball.com: You caused a great surprise last weekend by beating Slagelse on their home ground. What do you think were the key factors in your success?

Kökény: We played fine handball and we were highly motivated. Our defence was tight and efficient, and goalkeeper Haris also showed a fine performance. Our strongest side is wing play, which our opponent was probably expecting to see again, but this way our centre court players got a little more opportunity and they utilised it, too. I am especially happy that our young left back, Zácsik – even though she had had some bad matches recently – got her act together this time and could contribute greatly to our triumph.

Eurohandball.com: Two Slagelse key players, Leganger and Popovic, were not nominated for this game. How do you think it influenced the chances?

Kökény: They are key players all right, but Slagelse was still the favourite of this match on home ground, even without Popovic and Leganger. I am sure everybody, fans and management alike, expected them to win. They could have beaten us with this line-up, too, had we let them play their own game, but we managed to control and dominate the match most of the time.

Eurohandball.com: You are going to continue in the Cupwinners’ Cup, and meet GOG of Denmark in the quarterfinals. What do you think about the draw?

Kökény: I would have preferred the Norwegian club, even though it is more costly to travel there. We know that GOG have lost one of their key players, since Kareeva returned to Russia. However, they still have several Norwegian and Danish internationals, so they are a strong team. On the whole, I think we have better chances, and I am also happy that we are going to play the return leg at home.