Champions collaborate and collide

Women’s EHF Champions League winners Győri Audi ETO KC and Olympic champions Norway have been preparing together for a week.

Thorir Hergeirsson and Ambros Martín lead training sessions for each other’s team. It was a very useful period for both as they exchanged ideas and tactical elements.

Norway arrived in Hungary with a young and talented team and was without Anja Edin, who had to leave early for private reasons.

About 1,300 fans enjoyed a spectacular test match at the end of the training week, when the teams took the court for a 3 x 20 minute game. It was a strange situation for Norwegian internationals Heidi Løke and Katrine Lunde, who played for both of their teams during the match.

It was Ágnes Hornyák's first match in a year after her having a child in the spring and also a debut for Györ’s biggest signing of the summer Katarina Bulatović.

"The style of play and the tactics are still a bit new for me, but I'm sure I will adapt to the attacks soon.

“I was surprised with the number of fans, as it was just a preparation match. There was a full house and it's a great honour for us," said Bulatović.

The final score was 28:25 to Győr and Ambros Martín was happy after the match.

"It was an enjoyable match, but I see the tiredness in my girls. We had some very hard days with many physical trainings and it's also hard because of the heat.

“It was nice to see my team are still very enthusiastic. I see the same ambition in them as last season," concluded Martín, who took his team to his birth place of Lanzarote to continue their pre-season training.

Photo credit: Márta Kállai