Igor Vori is a well-known face in Zagreb after starting out as an 18-year-old with all the tools and attributes for a successful handball career which saw him spend eight seasons playing in the VELUX EHF Champions League for the club close to his heart.
After leaving Zagreb in 2009 for Germany, where he played for HSV Hamburg for four years, he is now in his third season with Paris Saint-Germain and returns to the Croatian capital for the second time this season.
Watch the first leg live on ehfTV.com on Saturday 23 April, 20:30 - local time.
“I am coming back home and that is the most beautiful thing of all,” said Vori to ehfCL.com. “From the sports side playing against Zagreb is always a big spectacle, especially in a packed arena against the home side who are always motivated just like their opponents.
“You don’t get to play every day in front of 15-16,000 people - it’s always nice to play in Zagreb."
HC PPD Zagreb confirmed this week that the Arena Zagreb is sold out for the match on Saturday (23 April) so Vori and his teammates will once again have a chance to play in front of a passionate home crowd and will be hoping they can repeat their 25:23 win back in February.
“Last time in Zagreb I felt great because we won,” said Vori. “I am professional like every other player on the court.
“I have friends in Zagreb, my former teammates from the national team and people from the club but that all is forgotten once the match starts – for all 60 minutes I will fight and do whatever it takes for PSG to win.”
If there was a hall of fame at Zagreb, then Vori would be it and the 35-year-old is always made to feel welcome, no matter who he is playing for. Fans like him and even though he is no longer playing for the Croatian national team, his star status is still very much alive in the country with rumours about a comeback every year.
“It is not the time to talk about my eventual come back to Zagreb,” said Vori Million things should coincide for me to come back. I have contract with PSG for one more year and never went so far in thinking what will I do after that.
“It would be nice to come back home, but that is all hypothetical - I have great respect for people working at the club who do their best to keep Zagreb financially stable and I need to congratulate them.
“Now it’s not time to talk about some kind of a comeback, especially just before match itself. There is enough time in future for thinking about that.”
His current club find themselves in a VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-Final for the third consecutive season and after failing on the previous two occasions they are full focussed on making it third time lucky.
“The most important thing for me and what I really want is to go to the FINAL4 with PSG,” said Vori, who has scored 12 goals in the elite European competition this season.
“This is my wish because we failed to qualify in last two years - so far this Zagreb are tough when they play at home and some big teams have lost there.
“Our second match wasn’t the same as the first one against them this season but I think we controlled it from the beginning to the end.
“What makes a difference between those matches and Saturday is that Zagreb now has huge self-confidence,” he continued. “They have got their second breath after they won against Rhein-Neckar Löwen and are very dangerous - I would even say they are slight favourites on Saturday.
“On paper we may have better names, but paper is not playing this match, we are and both teams are full of people made of flesh and blood with a big desire and those with a bigger desire will be the winners.”
This season Zagreb have had serious problems in away matches having won just two out of eight all season, but one of those was their huge last 16 win in Mannheim (31:29).
“All of Zagreb’s matches are tough with great defence and I think it is going to be very tough against them,” said Vori. “We also saw Zagreb know how to play away; Kiel and Flensburg didn’t manage to win against Rhein-Neckar Löwen in Mannheim but Zagreb did.
“They were losing by five and eventually won by two; that’s just unbelievable.”
PSG recently secured the French championship by beating Toulouse so their main focus can now shift to the VELUX EHF Champions League and the double-header against Zagreb.
After three matches, both teams are aware of the qualities of each other and, despite Vori saying the home side on Saturday in Croatia are slight favourites; the French team will be many peoples’ favourites over the two games.
Not that Zagreb will go down without a fight according to Vori.
“They are playing with lot of enthusiasm,” said Vori. “Zagreb being in the quarter-final is not a coincidence. It would be if they won match or two, but this is their second consecutive year and it’s going to be tough for both teams.
“But we have our goal and we will do our best to jump over one more obstacle on the road to Cologne.”
Watch the first leg live on ehfTV.com on Saturday 23 April, 20:30 - local time.