Hypo: top team again

Eurohandball.com talks to coach András Németh who will be leaving Hypo NÖ at the end of the season. Németh says that it was not luckily to play against a Hungarian side in the semi-finals.

András Németh: Fortunately, all players are fit for the game on Sunday. We prepare in the usual manner: two trainings per day at the beginning of the week and then one per day. I cannot see any particular stress on the girls, we are preparing as we did for the semi-finals last year. In a nutshell: we live the usual Hypo life.

Eurohandball.com: What’s your opinion about Győri ETO?

Németh: I have been watching them the whole season. They are in an interesting situation. Bradeanu, for example, has left the team for her pregnancy and Rotis could not replace her as she was expected to. Dokic, who left for Podravka before the season, was also a key player, nevertheless, Győr are still above their league in Hungary. The arrival of Amorim will mean a lot. I believe that she is a great player and next year she can also play in the CL for them.

Eurohandball.com: Is it going to be easier to prepare your team against Győri ETO knowing that you have plenty of information about them?

Németh: This is one side of the coin. However, I wanted to avoid playing against the Hungarian team.

Eurohandball.com: After losing the Final last season, is it the minimum expectation to qualify for it again?

Németh: This is always the expectation; what’s more the final success would be expected. The team – though our budget is not in the top 10 – has returned to the European elite after a couple of years.

Eurohandball.com: What is the secret in your view?

Németh: Partly that Hypo opened up the Korean and Brazilian player market and remarkable players arrived from there. On the other hand, it is close to Hungary, so it was ideal for us to come here.

Eurohandball.com: What experience did you collect in these two years leading Hypo that you will be able to use in the future?

Németh: There are a number of them. Some of these I would like to learn and apply later, others I would like to change in the future.

Eurohandball.com: What are the positive sides of the Hypo life?

Németh: The way the club is running its daily business. Gunnar Prokop is trying to bring the players close to each other and it works despite being a very heterogeneous team.

The girls are still together 20 minutes after training: stretching, chatting, practicing, none of them hurries away. I also needed time to get used to it.

There is a social room next to the playing court. We often come here to have a word, watch the videos, and also the masseur works here. There is refreshment here, players can read or have a rest. This is a good thing and brings people closer to each other.