Viborg in the CL

Viborg HK left absolutely no doubt, as they qualified for the Men’s Champions League group stage for the first time ever. After winning the first leg of their qualification tie against Turkish champions Besiktas JK Istanbul 35-23 at home, the Danes won with even bigger difference in the return match in Istanbul on Saturday. This time the result was 45-22 for Viborg that qualifies for the first group stage with a 80-45 aggregate win.

“We are going for another win, we are not just going to Turkey to defend our 12 goal lead,” Viborg coach Søren Hildebrand told Eurohandball.com before the Viborg delegation flew to Istanbul and his players definitely appeared to have understood the message. Viborg dominated the match from the start, taking a big lead soon. It was 10 goals already at half time and the Danes were leading by 22-12.

After the break the Danish continued to dominate and the spectators could see the visitors increasing their lead until a 23-goal difference at the end.

Well prepared

“We felt a little insecure before the return match because of the unusual conditions. Our preparations were extremely thorough, we analysed the first match and our opponents very carefully. This was the most important reason for our big win this time. Furthermore, it was obvious that the Besiktas players gave it up in the second half,” Viborg coach Søren Hildebrand told Eurohandball.com after the huge win.

“As the match progressed and it was obvious that we would not get in any kind of trouble, I could allow some of our key players to rest and give all players time on court. Now we are obviously happy to reach our first goal this season, to qualify for the Champions League,” Søren Hildebrand added.

Hungarian backcourt player, Gábor Császár, was Viborg’s top scorer with 9 goals, while Büyük Oguzhan and Ercan Asikioglu scored 5 each for Besiktas. The Turkish side will go on to the EHF Cup now, while Viborg are preparing for German runner-up, HSV Hamburg, Russian champions, Chehovskie Medvedi, and Ukrainian champions, ZRT Zaporozhye.

The Danish Champions League debutants´ first challenge in the competition will be HSV in the Color Line Arena of Hamburg on 27 September. This match, the Viborg players will meet their former team mate Hans Lindberg, who is currently playing for Hamburg.