“We won’t give up”

Győri Audi ETO will travel to Aalborg via Bratislava on Friday morning to play the most important game in the history of the club against Viborg. Eurohandball.com asks Csaba Konkoly about the atmosphere inside the team.

Eurohandball.com: How does Anita Görbicz feel after her injury?

Csaba Konkoly: I met her yesterday and she wasn’t feeling too well, her leg did not heel. She needs to have a rest now and I believe there is only a minimal chance that she can play the second leg. This opinion was confirmed by the doctors as well. She will travel with us to Denmark – it goes without saying. She is the captain of the team and I’m terribly sorry that such an athlete will have to skip the Final.

Eurohandball.com: What does her presence mean for the team?

Konkoly: Definitely much. We are a team and I always emphasise it. The fact that world class players belong to this team indicates the strength of this club, but they also work and play as the others, young or non-national team players, do.

Eurohandball.com: How do you feel about the determination of the team? Do you believe that losing Görbicz may give more strength?

Konkoly: I hope so. We won’t give up the two games at all. We keep on working the same way and we did not even adjust our schedule. The tasks of Görbicz will be divided between three or four players. We have to perform at a similar level even without her.

Eurohandball.com: How much influence had on the game of Viborg when they lost Popovic and Reiche?

Konkoly: They have been injured for a longer time and the team played several Danish league and Champions League games in their current structure. We have been preparing for this structure.

This situation is new for us, but we must not forget January and February when Görbicz was also missing. We have solutions for this and we will try to apply them.

Eurohandball.com: How strong are the Danes?

Konkoly: There are no major differences between the best four teams of the Champions League. For instance, Valcea have lost by six at home, but then made a draw in Denmark. Every team have better and worse days: the result depends rather on this factor.

Eurohandball.com: Though Viborg lost Popovic, they still have Grit Jurack, a world class back player, a real “hammer-thrower”. Can you stop her?

Konkoly: We must learn from the mistakes we made on Tuesday at our domestic league game against FTC. We must not be so passive in defence and we must not let the opponent get their will across.