Writing a club history

Hello everyone,

I’m writing my first EHF blog straight from Volgograd and thought I’d start by telling you a bit about why I joined Dinamo.

I’d played in Croatia my whole life so when the opportunity to experience something new and something that was going to really challenge me came up, I felt I had to make the move to Russia. 

When I first arrived here I was surprised how big the city was, but I didn’t have a lot of time to explore as our preparations began and we all had to focus on training. But I felt really comfortable in the club right away as all the girls accepted me and made me feel like a member of the team.

People here don’t really go out to drink coffees like we do in Croatia, but that is why there are plenty of good restaurants and often, when we are free, we go to visit these places. I also like visiting the places in the city that have historical meaning.

Up-and-down first season

The Russian championship is very strong and difficult, very different to the Croatian one. 

What I find most difficult is the traveling. We travel a lot and our longest ride takes about 27 hours while the shortest trips are around 10-12 hours. 

I’m really sorry that in my first season here we failed to defend the Russian title as we lost our quarter-final battle with Astrahanocka, but playing in the Champions league and domestic league is not easy. 

On the other hand, by reaching the FINAL4 we are writing a club history. 

I think we were lucky that we got an easier group early in the competition so we started with a better position in the main round. We then showed our result was no fluke in the quarter-finals against Baia Mare – a team with a number of great players. That victory brought us to Budapest. 

The public don't consider us favorites and maybe we can use this as an advantage to cause a surprise. We’ve shown that we can compete with anyone, and hopefully we will do the same in Budapest. 

Can’t wait for summer 

Once the FINAL4 is over, I will join up with the national team to meet Sweden. Hopefully we’ll get a good result, then we can go for a rest.

I can’t wait for summer as this has been a very long and difficult season for me. I still don’t have any particular plans but I live by the sea and will enjoy the break by spending time with my family – as we don’t see each other much during the year. 

Every year I go away with my friends too, it doesn’t really matter where, as long as I‘m with people I love.  

Warm Regards,

Anita Gace