All eyes on Hamburg

All eyes are on Hamburg: Even KIF Kolding and Montpellier HB will be viewing the current leader of the German Bundesliga leader this weekend, as all are wondering if the Germans can end the 6-game winning-streak of MKB Veszprém.

HSV coach Martin Schwalb is optimistic that his team will be able to stop the Hungarians, as he says in this interview with ehfCL.com. His team needs the points if they are to improve their position.

ehfCL.com: How much do you regret losing an important point in Presov?

Martin Schwalb: Yes, we lost a point there, but such is handball.

Presov are a team which has a great fighting spirit, as they had already shown in the first match and also two years ago.

We’re annoyed about the result, but due to the close match schedule we cannot look back, but must look ahead.

ehfCL.com: Three victories, a draw and two defeats after six matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League – what’s your reaction to that result?

Martin Schwalb: We’d hoped to have taken some more points, but the VELUX EHF Champions League is not a bowl of cherries, as only the best teams are involved. We had to be realistic after starting with three away matches.

ehfCL.com: In the German Bundesliga, everything is running smoothly for you. After beating Kiel, Flensburg and Löwen, you’ve opened-up a four-point gap to Kiel. Can your team gain some inspiration from these results that will help it in the Veszprém match on Sunday?

Martin Schwalb: Since our victories against Kiel and Löwen we’ve had to play a lot more matches. Nearly one match every three days, in fact. So each time we must only focus on the upcoming match. This is what we’ll do until we meet Veszprém.

ehfCL.com: You lost the first match in Hungary 30:33 – what conclusions did you draw from that game?

Martin Schwalb: Our defence wasn’t stable enough on that day, but we’ve worked on this. We also missed far too many clear chances. This is what we must change in the return match.

ehfCL.com: Marko Vujin was the outstanding player for Veszprém when HSV lost in Hungary. Will your team play any special tactics against the Serbian shooter?

Martin Schwalb: It would be a mistake only to concentrate on Vujin. Of course we’ll have to keep an eye on him, as he’s the top scorer of the first half of the VELUX EHF Champions League – but Veszprém is not only Vujin.

ehfCL.com: Did you expect Veszprém to be so strong?

Martin Schwalb: They had the advantage of playing four out of six matches on home soil, and they are traditionally very strong in front of their spectators. They had real drive from those home matches.

ehfCL.com: Will it still be possible for HSV to finish first in your group or is the distance to Veszprém too big?

Martin Schwalb: I’m not interested in working out all the possibilities.

Our immediate objective is to win the next match, and then we’ll see what happens from there.

ehfCL.com: Could you give a brief‚ end-of-year view of the whole EHF VELUX Champions League? Did you expect these results, or has something surprised you?

Martin Schwalb: All of the teams that are playing in the VELUX EHF Champions League are deserving participants. Only the best teams and the best players of the World meet in this competition.

Maybe not every team has the possibility of beating all opponents, but many close matches depend on the form of players on the day.