28.02.2007, 11:10
Győr: Does history repeat itself?

The Hungarian team had every reason to celebrate during the group phase. Coach Roth is not unhappy about the draw either. Eurohandball.com talked to him.

Győr: Does history repeat itself?

Last year Győri Audi ETO KC clashed with Norwegian Larvik in the CWC semi-final, while this year they will meet in the Champions League quarterfinal. One year ago, the Hungarian team was the winner of the duel, which could be a good sign for Győr. On the other hand, Larvik is most probably getting ready to pay back to coach Kálmán Róth’s girls for the previous loss.

Eurohandball.com: What is your reaction to the CL draw on Tuesday?

Kálmán Róth: We could have got anybody in this round, all of our potential opponents were very good teams. There are no surprises, now we know exactly what and who to get ready for.

Eurohandball.com: You met the Norwegian team a year ago in the CWC semi-final…

Róth: Indeed, we know Larvik personally, and we have plenty of video material to prepare for them. I am sure they will put double effort in their preparations, because they want to show that their defeat was just an accident last year. A key factor in this situation is that our players know theirs from a close-up range, meaning that they can recall the Norwegian players’ movements from their memories. We can also relate to the experience of success: we had two major battles with them last year, and our defence was heroic, especially in the away game. I definitely thought that it was a great achievement to go through from that duel. I hope we will be able to talk like that after this year’s clash, too!

Eurohandball.com: Looking back on your CL campaign so far this year, how do you evaluate it?

Róth: Our campaign was definitely better than last year, because we suffered substantial defeats back then, and of course, because we could not qualify for the following round. I think everybody would have been satisfied this year if we could just simply go through from the group stage. On the whole, I think we performed well in this phase. We could even have won the group, but then we might face a stronger opponent than Larvik. We did not suffer any humiliating defeats; in fact, we had winning chances at the away games as well. The ranking in the group was basically decided by the away victories. We had one away triumph in Podgorica and won all of our home games, which put us in the second spot of the group. So we have fulfilled the minimum requirement, we are among the top 8 teams of Europe. Knowing how balanced and strong today’s handball is, I think this is a significant achievement.

TEXT: Ildikó Balogh