Bøhn: “We can beat them all or even lose”

“Where women win” – this is the slogan of Larvik HK. And so far the Norwegian champions played in this spirit by winning two CL matches this season. Eurohandball.com talked to head coach Karl Erik Bøhn about his team´s successful start in Group D.

Eurohandball.com: You won at a place that you described as the most difficult away court in Europe and you also won against a team you considered to be favourites for the Champions League…

Karl Erik Bøhn: As it turned out, we did not have so much to fear from visiting Buducnost after all. We were welcomed in an extremely friendly manner in Montenegro; the hotel and the food was excellent, the referees did a great job and the atmosphere in the hall was fine too. Under those circumstances it is pretty easy to play good handball.

At our home match against FCK, Tonje Larsen and Lene Rantala played a decisive role in the second half that we won by seven goals. Those two veterans really proved that they are still among the best handball players in the world.

Eurohandball.com: Are you surprised by your start?

Karl Erik Bøhn: Not exactly surprised, but very satisfied! I knew what our team was able to do, but so far we may have performed a little better than expected. I’m not really surprised though.

Eurohandball,com. You next challenge will be at home against HC Dinamo. What do you expect?

Karl Erik Bøhn: Already when I saw Dinamo against FCK, I saw that they were much better than I expected and hoped. I also watched their match against Buducnost and I had the impression that they have a very good team. Even at home, this will be a tough task for us. However, if we can win that match we will practically be in the main round, so obviously we will go for a win.

Eurohandball.com: Have the first two round changed your view on the group – do you still consider FCK to be favourites?

Karl Erik Bøhn: No, not anymore. Now I see the battle for the first place as a very close race between Dinamo, FCK and us. Things will probably be decided right after Christmas, when both FKC and we are going to Russia to play against Dinamo. Those matches will be the deciding tests, I believe, as no team wins easily in Russia!

Eurohandball.com: After your fine start, will we now have to consider Larvik to be among the favourites to win the Champions League?

Karl Erik Bøhn: No, we are still not favourites to win anything. However, the way I see it there are five or six teams who can win the Champions League this season. I definitely consider our team to be among those five or six. We know that we can beat all the other teams – but we also know that we can lose against all of them.