Young guns on fire

Fresh blood is imprinting the VELUX EHF Champions League this season and two of the perfect examples of those young guns face each other in the direct duel on the wing lane on Saturday (17:30 hrs, live on ehfTV).

Blaz Janc (19), who already plays his third Champions League season for Celje, and Rune Dahmke (22), the Kiel born left wing of THW, who has incredible eight months behind him.

Despite his age, Janc is already Celje’s top scorer in this competition by 33 goals. In August he had already been top scorer and best right back at the U19 World Championship in Russia, leading Slovenia to the final against France.

Dahmke has scored one more Champions League goal compared to Janc, being only one goal below his famous teammate Domagoj Duvnjak. And while Janc is on the verge to the men’s national team, Dahmke had his first three matches for Germany in October.

“A dream has come true for me. Two years ago, I had a season ticket for THW Kiel supporting the team from the stands, now I am part of it. Simply incredible,” Dahmke talks about his sensational development.

In March, his time had come, when regular left wing Dominik Klein was out with a torn ACT.  “I knew that I will play more often than before, but I never could expect to be so successful”, the only Kiel born player in the THW squad is still impressed.

Big idols to fllow

On the other hand, the way of Blaz Janc in Celje was clearly paved. As his club is counting on talents and young guns, it was obvious that he would jump into the footprints of his famous predecessors Dragan Gajic or Gasper Marguc.

“My desire is to become the best. I want to reach the levels of performance that Gajic and Marguc had before me at Celje. But I am aware it takes a great deal of work and dedication to get there, but I am ready and willing to make a great effort to learn and improve to become the best player I can be,“ he said.

In the current season, Dahmke and Janc faced each other once in Kiel, and it took THW a hard work to finally win 35:32.

“We are absolutely aware of Celje, we learnt our lesson in the first leg and we know what to expect in Celje. But this game is a must-win for us,” Dahmke says, who travelled with his team to Slovenia on Friday morning.

Kiel already lost four group matches so far, but the situation is much better than for the hosts, who only have two points on their account, without any point on home ground.

“We are a young team, and this season has brought more valuable experience for my teammates and me”, Janc said.

“I am happy that we are showing our fighting spirit in each match. I feel we are playing fairly well this season, however, we have missed out on some important points in several matches. I hope we can manage at least one more win until the end.”

Maybe the time has come against Kiel, like three seasons ago, when Celje beat THW thanks to a brilliant show of Marguc.

On Saturday, Janc wants to step in, counting on the experience he already gained.

“Having a chance to play more, and having become a first-team regular at Celje, has brought a lot of confidence. I can say I am happy with my performances over the course of the season.

"However, I am still not perfectly satisfied, and there are many things I can improve in my game to become even better, and contribute the team even more.”

Dahmke hopes the same for his future – as it is certain that this future will be in his city. Some weeks ago, he extended his contract until 2020.

“It is great that the club plans for such a long time with me, this is a great honor for a young player.”

Keep Dahmke at bay

For Saturday, he hopes that THW’s experience can take the upper hand against the young Celje squad.

“Experience is not all, but it helps in certain situation. For me personal, I gain experience day by day training and playing with our world stars.”

In contrast, Janc hopes that the fire of his team and the support from the stands will grant Celje their first home win.

“I really hope we can win. Looking back at our away performance in Kiel, we have proven to ourselves that we can play against them. We had our chance to take the win over there, played very well, but have missed out in the very end. What I can surely say is that we will fight to the best of our effort.”

Both young guns have great respect for the other. “I know Blaz Janc only from the matches, not personally, but he is doing a great job,” Dahmke praised his upcoming opponent.

“Rune Dahmke is a great player. He has an exquisite hand, and is very efficient. When we meet, my desire and aim is to prevent his goal-scoring prowess, and keep him at bay”, says Janc.