Oltchim puts troubles behind them

After signing top players such as Alexandrina Barbosa, Amandine Leynaud, Silvia Navarro, Katarina Bulatović and Allison Pineau this summer, Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea is preparing to be one of the top contenders for this season’s Women’s EHF Champions League.

But the Romanian champions’ preparations have been hampered by a financial crisis at main sponsor, Oltchim, which meant they couldn't support the team financially because of outstanding debts of nearly 700 million euro.

However, the club’s officials managed to find several new sponsors that were able to help the Romanian champions survive this season, and club president Petre Berbecaru said: "Oltchim is a huge brand in Romania and I couldn’t think that the team was close to folding. It would have been a pity because we have the best team in our history and our objective is to win the Champions League this season."

But neither the players nor head coach Jakob Vestergaard were affected by this news.

"The club was working very hard to secure its financial future and I could only focus on what I could have an impact on," said Vestergaard. "We are professionals and we can only concentrate on what we are trying to achieve here. Of course, the situation is not perfect, but I focus on the things I can change in this team. We are working very seriously towards the start of the Champions League and we will give everything on the field."

The Romanian side will make its debut in this season’s Women’s EHF Champions League on Sunday (19:00 hrs local time), in a match against Austrian champions HYPO. The home game looks set to be a sell-out as the fans show their full support for the players.

"We want to put the financial trouble behind us. We want only to win and we are thinking only about the game at hand. Personally, I just want to win the Champions League after 15 years as a Oltchim player," said Oana Manea at a press conference this week.

Further information
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