'We must beat Celje' says Buricea

After seven matches played in Group B of the VELUX EHF Champions League, HCM Constanța sit at the bottom of the group with only four points.

However, the Romanian champions are tied with the fourth and fifth-place teams, Celje Pivovarna Lasko and IK Savehof. This leaves the “Sailors” with everything to play for in the last three games.

They begin their final push on Saturday, against Hungarian champions MKB Veszprem KC, with their most important match on 16 February against Celje Pivovarna Lasko.

With a win against the Slovenian side, Constanța will give themselves an opportunity to go through to the Last 16.

Even if the situation is far from perfect, spirits are high in the team. George Buricea, Constanța’s 33-year-old left wing, is confident that his team are able to achieve their objective and qualify for the Last 16.

ehfCL.com: After seven games, you are last in the group, but still in the hunt for fourth place. How would you describe your chances to qualify?
George Buricea: The battle in this group is far from over. There are still three matches left, therefore everything is open. We must focus on the task at hand.

In my book, if we win the match against Celje, we are 99% qualified for the next round. It’s a do or die match for both teams and the one who slips, will lose everything.

ehfCL.com: Speaking about Celje Pivovarna Lasko, in last year’s VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase, you played against another Slovenian opponent, RK Cimos Koper. Is Celje stronger than Koper?
George Buricea: Yes, it was a tough match. We were up by five at half time and we had the game in our hands. However, things got out of control early in the second half and they managed to win by four goals. I think that last year’s Koper and this season’s Celje are at the same level. But last year we had another coach, another playing style and another mentality. We are better now and we can beat any opponent during a good day.

ehfCL.com: You still have to worry about another team, IK Savehof, who are tied at points with you. Do you think that they can shock Atletico Madrid or THW Kiel in the last matches?
George Buricea: Make no mistake, at this stage of the competition, there are no easy teams to play against. But Savehof lost a key player in Fredrik Larsson, who left for German side VfL Gummersbach. He was their most important player, who scored nine goals against us in Sweden. Larsson will be sorely missed and his leaving will affect the Swedish side’s game.

ehfCL.com: Constanța managed to reach the Last 16 three years ago, but was dead last in their group in the last two years. What can your team improve in order to qualify again?
George Buricea: Well, it’s a tough competition. We need to be better mentally, in the first place. Then, I think we need a bigger budget. Last, but not least, having some foreign players really helped us.

It is the case of Javier Humet and Alberto Val Sancho, two Spanish players who were very important this season. The Romanian Federation needs to understand that the larger the number of foreign players in our championship, the better the level of the Romanian teams will be.

ehfCL.com: You had a two-month break after the last games in the competition. Do you think that this will affect the teams involved?
George Buricea: I have no doubt in my mind that this break will be very important for the teams. It’s always easier to play on a weekly basis.

We will have played only three matches, two in the Romanian league and one in the Champions League, until the one against Celje.

Celje had four players in Slovenia’s roster which came fourth in the World Championship in January, so they may be tired. But Slovenia had a great competition and they could be fired up. It’s a two way street, but we need to find the strength to win.