Palicka wants to say goodbye in style

Playing in the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in the LANXESS arena in Cologne will be one of Andreas Palicka's last tasks with THW Kiel.

After seven years in the Northern German top club, the 28-year-old goalkeeper moves to Denmark this summer to start a new career with Aalborg Handball.

Before that, however, the Swedish international is eager to win the VELUX EHF FINAL4 with Kiel for the third time in his career and leave Germany with another title on his CV.

Palicka has just returned from injury, and expects to be in top form for the matches in Cologne on the last weekend of May.

ehfCL.com: You've recently made your comeback from injury, as your team sent MOL-Pick Szeged out of the quarter-final of the VELUX EHF Champions League. Are you completely fit now?

Andreas Palicka: Not quite, actually. I played half injured against Szeged, as the match was so important to us. We had lost the first match by two goals away, and we simply wanted to make it to the VELUX EHF FINAL4. Now, however, I have a few more weeks to get completely fit, and then I can guarantee that I will be absolutely fresh for the FINAL4!

ehfCL.com: This will be your last VELUX EHF FINAL4 with Kiel before leaving for Aalborg, Denmark. Does that make this VELUX EHF FINAL4 extra special to you?

Andreas Palicka: In a way it does, but playing the FINAL4 has always been special to me, just as it is to the club. Playing for THW Kiel means that we want to win all the titles that there are to win, and this obviously also means that it is our goal to be part of the FINAL4 every year.

ehfCL.com: Does the fact that you missed the trophy in the past two years make you extra keen on going all the way this time?

Andreas Palicka: You may say it does, but as I said, in Kiel we are always keen on winning, and in that respect, this season is no different to any of the past seasons. We want to win it all.

ehfCL.com: This year, you are the only German team in the VELUX EHF FINAL4. Do you think that this will give you an extra home advantage, given that the event is being played in Germany?

Andreas Palicka: The fact that we are the only German team might mean that we get a little extra support, but I am actually not sure if so many people outside of Kiel are that crazy about us. Actually, many handball fans around Germany probably prefer to see us lose rather than win.

So, how much support we'll get in Cologne will probably depend more on how many of our own fans travel with us, and how many fans the other teams will bring along.

ehfCL.com: Just like last year, your semi-final opponent will be MKB-MVM Veszprém. In the quarter-final you sent Szeged, another Hungarian team out of the competition, after losing the first leg at home. How do you see the match against Veszprém?

Andreas Palicka: There is no doubt that it will be a very tough and difficult match. Veszprém have a very strong team, but they also had last year, when we managed to defeat them in the semi-final (29:26) so I hope and expect that we can do that again.

ehfCL.com: In the semi-final, you'll face Swedish national teammate Andreas Nilsson who plays for Veszprém on the line. What will that meeting be like?

Andreas Palicka: It will be great to meet Andreas again. He is a great friend, but obviously the friendship will be forgotten for those 60 minutes. In that time, it will simply be an advantage for me to know him so well that I can foresee where and how he is going to shoot!