BUDAPEST - Comments at media calls ahead of the EHF FINAL4 Women 2024 from Team Esbjerg head coach Jesper Jensen (DEN), right back Nora Mørk (NOR) and centre back Henny Reistad (NOR); Györi Audi ETO KC head coach Per Johansson (SWE), left back Veronica Kristiansen (NOR) and centre back Estelle Nze Minko (FRA); Metz Handball head coach Emmanuel Mayonnade (FRA), goalkeeper Hatadou Sako (FRA) and centre back Kristina Jörgensen (DEN); and SG BBM Bietigheim coach Jakob Vestergaard (DEN), left wing Antje Döll (GER) and right wing Dorottya Falúvegi (HUN).

Team Esbjerg vs Györi Audi ETO KC

Jesper Jensen (DEN) - head coach, Team Esbjerg

On reaching the EHF FINAL4 for a third time in a row:
"The first two times we ended up fourth, so this time we will try to do it better. More or less it's a success for us to be here for a third time, but of course we want more.

"It was a little bit of an unlucky draw to go with Györ but nothing to do about it. We'll do everything what's within our power and see how it ends up tomorrow when we play."

On the experience of previous EHF FINAL4s:
"The only way you can handle this circus is by being here. The experience we got the first two years is worth a lot for us. The first year we went down here with a hope and a feeling that we could achieve something great, but when we went home we experienced that we didn't stand a chance.

"Last year we were a little bit unlucky with a shot from FTC and (Emily) Bölk in the last second, but all in all the experience will help us. The problem is that Györ have a lot more experience than us."

On the semi-final:
"Györ is a club which is more or less built to win the (EHF) Champions League, that is their main goal. Of course this year they didn't win the championship in Hungary, they didn't win the cup in Hungary, so they are both a little bit eager to win but also under pressure. That could be a small advantage for us and we'll do everything possible tomorrow. 

"We have a great shot, because we have a great team. We have been a little bit unlucky the last three weeks with some injuries, but more or less everybody's ready to put up a fight tomorrow and see how it goes."

Nora Mørk (NOR) - right back, Team Esbjerg

On trying to win their first EHF Champions League match against Györi Audi ETO KC:
"It's been some really tight games, but also Györ is good when it's crunch time. We have become better, but it's going to be tough anyway. We will try to play defence, defence is the key tomorrow. That's not my job, so I will try to score some goals."

On Team Esbjerg:
"It's an experienced team. We have a lot of people that's not 20 years old. We have a lot of different players that adapt well to the team; that's one of our strengths, that we are able to use our strength with different players, we don't just play something to play something. We bring a lot of tactics, maybe one of the most tactical teams in the Champions League."

On her own career and the opportunity to win a seventh title:
"Looking back I am not sure how I did it. In a way I think that I am quite stubborn as a person, and I have a love for the sport like no-one else. I appreciate the opportunities to play again.

"For me it's not so much about winning the seventh or the sixth or the eighth or whatever, it's about being able to come here. Now when I'm here, I'm much calmer. I was really nervous before the quarter-finals because we met such a good team, so now I'm more like 'we are here, now let's see what happens'. Whether I win or not, the most important thing is to do the best for the team and to try to get some metal back to Denmark."

Henny Reistad (NOR) - centre back, Team Esbjerg

On their preparation:
"We are really good prepared. Just arriving here is something that we had a goal for this season, and we are really excited just to play the games. But I think we have a good chance of winning tomorrow, especially after we have done the tactics as well. If we can follow that tomorrow we have a good chance."

On their defence:
"Maybe the roles have been changed for us in Esbjerg these last weeks or maybe months. The defence, we have improved it a lot and we've found our strength there with the goalkeeper as well. Hopefully it will be harder for Györ to score the goals tomorrow."

Per Johansson (SWE) - head coach, Györi Audi ETO KC

On reaching the EHF FINAL4 with Györi Audi ETO KC:
"It's my third time, and of course this is where everybody wants to be at the end of the season - players, coaches, clubs. Of course I'm lucky that I have three times in a row survived the quarter-final with short notice."

On the pressure of coaching a Hungarian team in Budapest:
"The pressure is there every day. Pressure is on my players every day, but this is up to me to handle this pressure together with them so we are calm together. But the pressure is enormous."

On playing Team Esbjerg in the semi-final:
"I can just say that I think Esbjerg, Györ and Vipers are the three best teams in the world. Also Metz is there. We had a (quarter-)final to Vipers. It was a brutal final, we were extremely good in Norway, they pressured us enormously in our home game, but for us it's final, final, final. It's Vipers, it's Esbjerg, I don't say it will be Metz but it probably will be Metz, we have to win them all."

Veronica Kristiansen (NOR) - left back, Györi Audi ETO KC

On their advantage against Team Esbjerg:
"On paper it looks like it will be the experience that we have been standing in this situation more times. But also I know that Esbjerg will come really hard out, I know they want to do better than they did previous years and they want to take a step closer. It will be a really tough game."

On Esbjerg's defence:
"I hope we can open it up and not make them so strong in the middle defence, and use our strength in attack."

Estelle Nze Minko (FRA) - centre back, Györi Audi ETO KC

On the weekend ahead:
"It will be a difficult (EHF) FINAL4 like all the FINAL4s, but with this team we're really living in the present moment. We have the experience in the best sense of the term, we know that at an EHF FINAL4 anything can happen, we know there will be two very difficult matches and everyone has a chance of winning. We will give everything to reach the maximum of our potential and to bring home this trophy."

On playing Team Esbjerg in the semi-finals:
"It's one of the toughest opponents we could get. Every team has a different style so it's hard to compare who's the best. 

"I think it's going to be a very tight game until the end, at least this is what I feel from our previous games against them, it was always really tight, really physical as well."

Metz Handball vs SG BBM Bietigheim

Emmanuel Mayonnade (FRA) - head coach, Metz Handball

On playing in the EHF FINAL4:
"We fought a lot to be here in the quarter-final against CSM Bucuresti. This is something really important for us, because this is the big event of women's handball. So I'm very happy and proud of my team also."

On the semi-final:
"We are very ambitious, but we respect the team of Bietigheim who beat Ikast, who are a team who beat us twice this season. We're very focused, very determined, very ambitious, with the desire to do the same sort of match as we produced in the quarter-final against CSM Bucuresti, for example. After that, we'll see."

On the team's consistency:
"In Metz we change a lot of players every season, so it's not easy because we have the feeling sometimes that we start from zero. We work a lot. Alina Grijseels and Anne Mette Hansen help the team a lot, and I also have the feeling that we find a good feeling with some players - with Kristina Jörgensen, with Sarah Bouktit, Hatadou Sako, Chloé Valentini.

"We missed the (EHF) FINAL4 by one goal last season and we learned a lot from this bad story. Now we are ready for it. It's not just about yesterday or two days ago, we think about the (EHF) FINAL4 since last season. We are ready."

Hatadou Sako (FRA) - goalkeeper, Metz Handball

On playing at the EHF FINAL4:
"I hope it'll be a very beautiful (EHF) FINAL4. I hope that we'll achieve the best result possible, we know it will be really really hard. Facing us are the four best teams in Europe, and it will be a high-level weekend. We've put everything in place to have the best weekend of the season."

On the pressure:
"Of course there's lots of pressure. Everyone wants to produce a good result, but you have to use the pressure and the emotions well. You have to make the most of it, because you don't know when you'll get the chance to come back here."

On playing SG BBM Bietigheim:
"The match will be really difficult, because Bietigheim know us and we know Bietigheim. During the pre-season preparation matches we played a lot against Bietigheim. We know that everyone wants to win the first match. Apart from that it will be a very intense match, because everyone wants it."

On what winning the EHF Champions League would mean:
"It would mean a lot. It would be the conclusion of a lot of work. It would also be a reward for everyone who works for Metz Handball, everyone who supports Metz Handball so that we can have the results throughout the season.

"It would also be a reward for us, who put a lot into this, who try to give everything, who never cut corners. 

"Work produces success."

Kristina Jörgensen (DEN) - centre back, Metz Handball

On reaching Budapest:
"We are happy to be here and it has been a long season. We're just really excited to start the (EHF) FINAL4 and to play a good game tomorrow.

"We come as cup winners and French champion winners. We are satisfied but we are not finished, we want to finish strong also."

On the semi-final against SG BBM Bietigheim:
"We had a defeat and then equality in the second game in the summer preparation, and it's going to be cool to see one year afterwards how the two teams have evolved. The team is really strong, a lot of experienced players who have a lot of national team games. They play aggressive and fast so it's going to be exciting to see." 

Jakob Vestergaard (DEN) - head coach, SG BBM Bietigheim

On reaching the EHF FINAL4:
"We are so happy to be here. Of course at the beginning of the season we hoped that we had the possibility, but during the season we also had some tough opponents and it was not so easy for us.

"We managed to beat two teams from Denmark, and therefore I think the girls also deserve to be here. We are very happy about the performance. Of course during the season we had some ups and downs, but at the end we managed to find the right level."

On Bietigheim's debut at the EHF FINAL4:
"Many are saying that we have no pressure, because we are not favourites, we are the dark horse. But when you are in the (EHF) FINAL4 of course there is pressure because we don't know if we will be here next year. It's not like Györ who are here almost every year. For us when we are here we want to deliver, we want to perform and give our best.

"We have surprised a little bit, but we also feel a little bit of pressure and we want to win against Metz and go in the final."

Antje Döll (GER) - left wing, SG BBM Bietigheim

On their debut at the EHF FINAL4:
"I feel very great. Of course it's a little bit bigger than the normal away match in the (EHF) Champions League, but we try to enjoy it and be focused on our aim."

On whether they feel any pressure:
"We feel very good. It's a little bit surprising that we reached this.

"We do not want to go home without anything but the first place."

On the semi-final against Metz:
"It will be a tough match of course. We played always in preparation against Metz, and the last two, three years it works really good for us. But I know that Metz have really good developed in the season, and I think we play a little bit the same system - so strong defence, good counter and have some speciality players. I hope we have a really good day in defence and our goalkeeper also, and it will be a tough and tight match."

Dorottya Faluvégi (HUN) - right wing, SG BBM Bietigheim

On being at the EHF FINAL4:
"It's an amazing feeling to be here and we haven't stepped on the court yet. We already really enjoy this weekend, and we're really looking forward to step on the court tomorrow.

"I lived in Budapest for a long time, went to school here, but it's different to be here now somehow.

"All the players who play the Champions League, or don't play, dream about it (the EHF FINAL4), I don't want to lie of course, we also dreamed about it. We ended up being sixth position in the group, we still had a tiny, tiny chance to be here and we held on to that."

On the semi-final against Metz Handball:
"Tough from the first minute. Both of the teams are really prepared, what we could see from the others. It will be interesting."