Schefvert: GOG will be back

GOG Svendborg TGI has been key player in the Champions League in the last couple of years. Last season it was just a point that divided them from semi-finals. This year, however, the team from the south of the island Funen were not even close to the quarter-finals. Nevertheless, Swedish coach Ulf Schefvert was not too unhappy when Eurohandball.com talked to him about his team.

Ulf Schefvert: Well, you might say that we reached our main goal by going on from the group stage. Of course we hoped to grab some points in the main round too. You have to remember, however, that we were up against really tough opponents this time. I am sure that if nothing unforeseen happens in the meantime, we will see Ciudad Real and THW Kiel in the final again, just like last year.

I still think we did quite well. For instance in the first half of our away match against Kiel and in the first half of both Barcelona games.

Eurohandball.com: What did the injuries mean?

Ulf Schefvert: Of course it meant a lot that players such as Snorri Gudjunsson and Kasper Nielsen are only beginning to reach their usual levels now. We had to integrate several new players in the team. After all, we lost four players last season – two of them, Mikkel Hansen and Magnus Jernemyr, playing for Barcelona now – and it took time to fit their successors in.

Eurohandbal.com: Your team is not doing too well at home. You are 9th at the moment. Did it have an influence on the CL performance?

Ulf Schefvert: It is obvious that when you lose matches, you lose confidence too. This is inevitable. In the main round, for instance, we had three home games in the Danish league – all against top teams such as FCK, Skjern and Kolding. We lost all of them narrowly and they could all have gone either way. Such things harm the players´ confidence, but I think that we have done well in the main round. For instance, the result of our last match, 29-35 against FC Barcelona, gives a correct picture of the difference between the two teams.

Eurohandball.com: GOG is far away from the next edition of the Champions League at the moment. Will we ever see GOG in this competition?

Ulf Schefvert: Yes I am sure you will. Though it may take some time and GOG may not be there every year as in the past four years. I don’t know how many Danish teams will be there next year, but I believe that GOG will be back one day.

Whether GOG would be back or not, Ulf Schefvert will not be on the bench of the team for sure. The Swedish coach will take over the female team of the club at the end of the season. His successor will be Icelandic national coach Gudmundur Gudmunsson.