Season starts in samba moves

A new season of the Women’s EHF Champions League will throw off on Friday, in Baia Mare (at 16:00 hrs CET, live on ehfTV), when HCM Baia Mare will host Polish champions MKS Selgros Lublin.

Last season was a perfect one for Baia Mare. The Romanian side made its debut in the Women’s EHF Champions League and also won its first national title, after winning both the first phase of the championship and the play-off round.

However, Baia Mare’s ambitions were bigger than the fourth place that was achieved last season in a group in which Costica Buceschi’s side played against Hypo Niederösterreich, Thüringer HC and the eventual title winners, Györi Audi ETO KC.

Therefore, the Romanian side splashed on the transfer market and acquired several big names including right backs Ekaterina Davydenko and Elena Gjeorgjievska, line players Ksenia Makeeva and Anastasiya Lobach and left wing Camilla Herrem.

All of them were perceived as excellent transfers, but the best was yet to come. Baia Mare had also agreed to transfer right wing Alexandra do Nascimento (pictured below in a last season's match against her current team) and goalkeeper Barbara Arenhart from Hypo.

The two Brazilians, an integrant part of the team which won the gold medal in the World Championships in December 2013 agreed to come to Baia Mare and settled immediately. The same can be said about Lublin, who managed to sign two other Brazilians, left back Patricia de Jesus and right wing Jessica da Silva Quintino.

But Alexandra do Nascimento says there will not be a war on the field between her and Arenhart on one side, and the compatriots who play for the Polish side on the other.

“I know both Patricia and Jessica. They are very good players, but they don’t have so much experience. But they are skilled and will be a threat for Baia Mare. We prepared accordingly,” said do Nascimento for ehfcl.com.

“Jessica has had a bit of trouble with the injuries in the past years, but I hope she found a good team in Poland”, added the World Handball Player of the Year 2012 who is entering her 12th consecutive season in the European top flight.

The Brazilian right wing ace, who played 10 years in Hypo, learnt to deal with the new surroundings. She is starting to master English, apart from German and Portuguese, and is taking the new challenge step by step.

“We are a new team, but we are getting better every day. I had some problems, but I think I adapted very good. Baia Mare is a very good team and I think we can have some good results here,” do Nascimento told ehfcl.com.

“The fans really help a lot. In Hypo, we had a full hall, but in Baia Mare everything is different. There is so much noise and this can put a lot of pressure on our opponents.”

“We surely will win against Lublin. We can’t afford any missteps this season,” concluded the Brazilian right wing, who was the best scorer in the World Championships in 2011.