Andersson with mixed emotions

FCK Håndbold did not make it further than the main round in their first Champions League campaign ever. However, being third in the Danish league, they still have a chance to get another opportunity next season.

Eurohandball.com talks to FCK´s coach, the former Swedish international and THW Kiel playmaker Magnus Andersson.

Magnus Andersson: We reached our main goal by qualifying for the main round. Here we could and should have played better in some of the matches. For instance, we played well for 50 minutes of our home match against Chehovskie Medvedi, but lost due to a poor finish. We showed a terrible performance away against Portland San Antonio, where we lost by 11, but managed to get revenge at home.

Of course it also influenced our chances in the main round that we lost a seven-goal lead in Hamburg already in the group stage.

Eurohandball.com: What did it mean for your performances that you were missing goalkeeper Ege?

Magnus Andersson: Anyone who has seen Steinar Ege will know what an important player he is for our team. However, our team also includes other players and we simply have to realise that we were not consistent enough. We also have to realise that it takes some physical strength to defeat teams such as Hamburg and Medvedi. We can forget about our game in Portland as we simply played a terrible game there.

Eurohandball.com: Was physical strength your most important shortcoming?

Magnus Andersson: It was not our only problem, but of course against teams such as Hamburg and Medvedi it was obvious that there was a difference of a few kilos between their players and ours.

Eurohandball.com: What did the victory against Portland mean for you?

Magnus Andersson: Of course we go for a win in all the matches we play, but it was particularly nice to get kind of revenge for our poor performance in our first match against them. Not least, because they still had something at stake…

Eurohandball.com: You decided the outcome in the group. Was it important?

Magnus Andersson: Obviously we did not care about the qualification of other teams, but we certainly felt an obligation to show a fair attitude to all the teams – including Medvedi. So we did our best until the last moments. No one should speculate afterwards that we might not have done all we could. In addition, this win was a boost for our confidence now that we have to focus on the Danish league alone. Peter Bruun