“Totally satisfied”
HSV Hamburg made their way to the quarterfinals. Coach Martin Schwalb and President Andreas Rudolph are very satisfied with this season in the international competitions. In an interview with Eurohandball.com they talk about the next stage and what they hope for the future.
Eurohandball.com: Your team had to work hard to beat Chekhov 32:31 in the last and decisive main round match. Did you expect such a game?
Schwalb: The match was full of power and tension – and we fought well against a very strong Russian team. Chekhov gave everything, so it was very hard for us to win.
Eurohandball.com: But now your club finished on top spot. Are you satisfied?
Schwalb: Of course, I’m totally satisfied. We belong to the eight best teams in the World; which is a great thing for a club like HSV.
Eurohandball.com: Mr. Rudolph, do you share this opinion?
Rudolph: Yes, I’m satisfied with our balance in the Champions League. We lost only one match, but in Portland our performance was disappointing. If we would have played there like we played against Chekhov, we would have won all our matches.
Eurohandball.com: What do you wish for the draw? Which opponents would you like to meet?
Rudolph: I don’t mind. As we want to reach the semi-finals, like we did last season, we have to be up against any opponent. And all teams we could meet are very strong.
Schwalb: I agree. From now on, we will only meet world class teams. Any team that will meet us will meet a world class HSV. I believe that any wanting to win the Champions League will have problems to beat HSV. In the quarterfinals we have a great advantage: as we won our group, we will play the second leg at home. This might be a decisive factor.
Eurohandball.com: When you take a look at last season (HSV reached the semifinals), what’s changed ever since?
Schwalb: I think we play with more consistency. We leave our mark in the competition with every match we play. Our quality improved – not taking the last two games in consideration. However, the situation is quite different. We have to play without a real right back and I hope that one of the two injured Lijewski brothers will return until the quarterfinals.
TEXT:
Björn Pazen