Amorim: "My semi-final candidates"

After four victories in four games, including the most important one in Norway against direct opponents Larvik, the Hungarian champions Győr are currently on first place in the Main Round Group 2 of the EHF Women's Champions League.

They have already qualified for the semi-finals, so in an interview with ehfCL.com the Brazilian back player Eduarda Amorim talks about her scenarios and about the upcoming match against Dinamo Volgograd.

ehfCL.com: Győr is currently leading in Group 2, will you be able to maintain on this position?

Eduarda Amorim: For sure we can stay on top. Now that we have reached the semi-finals, our motivation has doubled. First place would give us the advantage of playing the second leg match at home, and as any other team we play better at home.

ehfCL.com: Which four teams do you expect in the semi-finals?

Eduarda Amorim: Besides Larvik and us, who are already qualified, I think it could be Buducnost and Itxako from the other group. I somehow do not believe that Vâlcea can recover from all the changes quickly. But we never know...

ehfCL.com: Which team would you like to meet in the semi-finals?

Eduarda Amorim: I always answer questions like that in a similar way: for me it makes no difference who our opponents are, because we have to win anyway. And in the current stage of the EHF Women’s Champions League there are no "easier" teams left.

ehfCL.com: On Sunday you will play against Dinamo. How do you remember the first match against them, when you won with two goals in Volgograd?

Eduarda Amorim: I remember that we did not play very well there, but it was very positive anyway because we kept fighting until the end of the match. And by that we managed to gain the two points in an away game.

ehfCL.com: What do you expect from the return match on Sunday?

Eduarda Amorim: In Győr I expect our team to show a better performance than back there, and of course I expect us to win. But as their squad now is complete I reckon it could also be a harder match.

ehfCL.com: How do you get on with learning the Hungarian language?

Eduarda Amorim: "Jobban egy kicsit." I have no clue whether that is correct, but it is getting better. In the training sessions I already understand a lot of things. I have difficulties to understand when someone speaks very fast or uses not too common words. But yes, I still attend Hungarian classes, so it is improving.

ehfCL.com: Brazil is the hosting nation of the World Championships in December. What are your expectations? Are you very excited? How popular is your national team in Brazil?

Eduarda Amorim: I am very excited; it will be really nice to play at home. I already experienced this in the Pan-American Games, the support was amazing. We look forward to finishing the competition in a better place, maybe between top five. Even if this is hard to achieve for our handball team, we believe we can perform very well this time. In Brazil handball is not so popular. For example, I heard that the event organisers won't even charge for tickets. Because if they do, no one besides the player’s relatives would show up. It is a bit sad, but in Brazil most of the supporters prefer soccer and volleyball.