"That will cost a lot of power"

THW Kiel’s French goal scoring machine Daniel Narcisse talks about their road to the EHF FINAL4, the pity of a French team missing and the necessary special preparation for this extraordinary tournament.

ehfFINAL4.com: The Quarterfinals of the EHF Champions League was a thriller. After 120 minutes THW Kiel finally defeated Rhein-Neckar Löwen with two goals. What made the difference?

Daniel Narcisse: We fought very well in both games and knew that we had to win the second game against the Löwen. But we constantly had the goal of reaching the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne in mind.

ehfFINAL4.com: After the first leg nothing was decided. Was the atmosphere tense in the last week?

Daniel Narcisse: It was good that there was no Bundesliga match during that week. Instead we had a lot of training sessions together. Somehow it was a strange feeling, because in our preparation nothing would work perfectly. It still was enough to find a better game play.

ehfFINAL4.com: This finally takes THW Kiel to the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. What do you expect from the new format?

Daniel Narcisse: First of all, I am very pleased to be able to go to Cologne, it is a beautiful city. I had a lot of nice experiences there when I used to play for VfL Gummersbach. In the Arena, one of the biggest in Europe, we can expect an incredible atmosphere. I look forward to a fantastic event.

ehfFINAL4.com: There will be no more home and away game in the semi-final. How do you see this modus change?

Daniel Narcisse: All teams have to adapt to that, it means a totally different preparation. It will cost a lot of power if we win the semi-final and then have to play the big final 20 hours later.

ehfFINAL4.com: In the squads of THW Kiel and BM Ciudad Real some French Olympic champions take part at the EHF FINAL4th, while French champions Montpellier HB remain missing. Does that make you disappointed?

Daniel Narcisse: Of course, I am French. Montpellier’s participation would have been good for French handball. The league in France is not as strong as the Bundesliga and doesn’t have as many spectators. Their qualification might have meant a boost, but unfortunately it went wrong for Montpellier. But they have a young team that will continue to work and try again next year.

ehfFINAL4.com: Chekhovskie Medvedi is the fourth team at the EHF FINAL4. Do you think that the Russian surprise team could beat Kiel, Barcelona and Ciudad Real?

Daniel Narcisse: At the EHF FINAL4 there are no favourites and no outsiders. The Chekhov team has a lot of international experience. Obviously, as for years the team is more or less identical to the Russian national team.

EHF Champions League FINAL4, Semi-Final
BM Ciudad Real (ESP) vs THW Kiel (GER)
29 May 2010, 18:00 hrs, LANXESS arena, Cologne (GER)

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