Respect for Leon

After a 13-hour travel by bus, the German TBV Lemgo starts their CL quest. From Friday on, they want to qualify for the group phase from the Wild Card Tournament in Leon, Spain.

“It’ll be a very tough tournament as all our opponents can win,” Lemgo coach Markus Baur said.

Only the winner of the tournament will qualify. Baur believes that especially the matches against Leon and Celje will be the most important ones, “but we have respect for Schaffhausen, too. They have a very experienced team”. The Swiss team will be the first opponent of Lemgo.

Lemgo signed Swedish goalkeeper Jesper Larsson for a short period – for the tournament in Leon – as their usual number one, Martin Galia, was banned for doping until the end of September.

The Icelandic backcourt player, Logi Geirsson, will miss the tournament due to a shoulder injury.

World champion Florian Kehrmann and the new player Ferenc Ilyés (from Veszprém) are ill, but they will play in Leon.

Club CEO Volker Zerbe has special respect for the fans in Leon:

“They create a great atmosphere and will push the Spanish team to their limits.”

The winner of the tournament will meet Kiel, Barcelona, Kolding, Zurich and another QT winner.