Reactions after the EHF Cup draw

Statements of the clubs' representatives after the EHF Cup Qualification Round 3 draw:

Füchse Berlin/GER (vs. HC Meshkov Brest/BLR)

Manager Bob Hanning: “Again we are unlucky at draws. Brest is one of the highest possible hurdles for this competition and additionally travelling there is not easy either.”

Coach Dagur Sigurdsson: “We will have a tough task first in preparation then on the court. I do not know that much about Brest, but in contrast to some others in our club I like to have matches eastwards though travelling to Brest is a bit of challenge.”

HC Meshkov Brest/BLR (vs. Füchse Berlin/GER)

Coach Pavel Bashkin: "For the second year in a row we were "lucky" to get the strongest possible opponent. Last season it was Göppingen, now we have another team from German bundesliga. The only positive thing is that we play the first match away. In any case - there is a chance. All will be decided on the handball court."

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf/GER (vs. Kadetten Schaffhausen/SUI)

Manager Benjamin Chatton: "We have to face a top opponent which has proved their strength in the VELUX EHF Champions League in the previous seasons. It will be anything but easy for us to proceed to the Group Phase."

RK Nexe/CRO (vs. Reale Ademar Leon/ESP)
 
Coach Zdenko Kordi: "We are satisfied with the draw and happy to play against such a great opponent. Although Ademar Leon is maybe stronger than us at the moment, we'll do everything to reach our goal – the group stage. I really believe in our team."

Rukometni Klub Porec/CRO (vs. Sporting CP)
 
Coach Sasa Ilic: "To be honest we hoped for our opponent to be from somewhere closer but if that's the price we have to pay to reach the group stage we will do it. We now have to prepare for them and do our best to win."

Tatran Presov/SVK (vs. RK Branik Maribor)

Coach Peter Hatalcik: "Maribor are a high-quality team, what they proved by beating Bregenz by fourteen goals in the previous round. But I am satisfied, we have a tough and attractive opponent. It could have been much worse.”

OIF Arendal/NOR (vs. Sporta Hlohovec/SVK)

Coach Leif Gautestad: “We are pretty content. If we had run into Füchse Berlin or Montpellier, we would have got a great experience, but probably not the chance to reach the group phase. Against this Slovakian team (HC Sporta Hlohovec) I think we have a fine chance to qualify for the group phase, although I expect two close matches.”

HC Sporta Hlohovec/SVK (vs. OIF Arendal/NOR)

Coach Martin Liptak: "I see the result of this draw optimistically. Norwegian handball is on higher level than Slovakian, but Arendal does not belong to their top teams. I can admit, it was on my TOP5 wish list for the draw.”

Mors-Thy Haandbold/DEN (vs. HCM Constanta/ROU)

Coach Jan Pausen: “That was definitely no fortunate draw, and we are far from happy with it. Constanta have a really strong team, we are in for a long journey for the return match, and on top of this we are even going to start at home, so it really could not have been much worse.”

Aarhus Haandbold/DEN (vs. HC Zomimak-M/MKD)

Coach Erik Veje Rasmussen: “I do not know a lot about this Macedonian team (HC Zomimak-M) but we could have got worse opponents. Personally, I feared an all-Danish meeting with Skjern, but with this draw I think we have and okay chance to qualify for the group phase which would be really big for us.”

Skjern Haandbold/DEN (vs. RK Vojvodina/SRB)

Right back Kasper Søndergaard: “They are Serbian champions, so obviously we can expect a couple of difficult matches. Honestly, I do not really know them, but I expect us to go on. I have played in Serbia before, where we won relatively comfortably. However, the atmosphere was great, as it always is on Balkan, so I am looking forward to that again.”

IFK Kristianstad/SWE (vs. Stiinta Municipal Dedeman Bacau/ROU)

Coach Ola Lindgren: “I expect a couple of tough matches against a physically strong team. I do not know all that much about then at present, so I will have to gather some information about them before being able to be more specific. At present, however, I think we will have a good chance to qualify for the group phase.”

Stiinta Municipal Dedeman Bacau/ROU (vs. IFK Kristianstad/SWE)

Coach Eliodor Voica: "The game against Kristianstad is a difficult one. However, our chances are boosted by the fact that we play the decisive match at home. But Kristianstad are a very good team, which comes from a very good championship."

Lugi HF/SWE (vs. AEK Athens/GRE)

Coach Tomas Axner:“AEK Athens have several players with experience from the German Bundesliga, but I do not see this as an impossible task at all.”

Pick Szeged/HUN (vs. SL Benfica/POR)

Line player Szabolcs Zubai: “We could have got a stronger or also a weaker team as an opponent. Benfica is a good team and we have to perform very well in abroad. On home court we may not have any problems, we definitely have to win in front of our fantastic supporters.”

Csurgoi KK/HUN (vs. Besiktas JK/TUR)

Line player Szabolcs Szöllösi: “I think we are on a similar level, but we want to win of course. I have already checked the results of our opponent and also the squad list. There are some key players and we have to focus on them during the preparation.”

Montpellier Agglomeration HB/FRA (vs. HC Kaustik/RUS)

Coach Patrice Canayer: "I don't know much about Kaustik, but to have the return match home is an advantage for us. We'll have to be careful playing in Russia, these are always long trips, and they can make the players tired."

HBC Nantes/FRA (vs. Elverum Handball Herrer/NOR)

Coach Thierry Anti: "We have all our chances. We managed to avoid Szeged, Berlin and Hannover, which were the three teams we think are stronger than us. But this is a team who nearly made it to the Champions League, I think they only lost by a goal or two in Porto, so there clearly is a lot of quality in there. We'll have to take a clear advantage at home during the first game."

Chambery Savoie Handball/FRA (vs. Alpla HC Hard/AUT)

Goalkeeper Cyril Dumoulin: "Austrians play it like Germans, very physically, so we'll have to be aware it will be a tough battle for 120 minutes. Going to the group phase is one of our main goals this season, so we'll have to beat any team that comes our way anyway. We'll have to go to Austria with a real advantage in terms of goals gained at home, so we don't have any pressure. We'll have to make it easy on ourselves."