21.05.2007, 09:55
Words of Joy: Initial Reactions of the Winners

Anja Andersen, Carmen Lungu, Cecilie Leganger and Mette Melgaard: the protagonists talk to eurohandball.com right after the final whistle.

Words of Joy: Initial Reactions of the Winners

Slagelse DT coach Anja Andersen said before the match that a win would be the biggest success ever in her rich career. She confirmed this after the victory in Brøndby Hallen:

"Yes, this is definitely the greatest achievement of my career. First we finished the Danish league undefeated, and now this. Tonight I think we were at least ten goals better than Lada – with Cecilie Leganger and Carmen Lungu as our greatest force.

"Our celebration tonight will probably be rather emotional, though, as we say goodbye to some players," said Anja Andersen. She refers to Serbian star Bojana Popovic, who is leaving for Danish rivals Viborg HK after five years with Slagelse.

Carmen Lungu may also leave, but her future is still unknown. However, the Romanian star didn’t think of it this evening: "It doesn’t matter, if it was my last game for Slagelse or not. It was just great that we won, and right now all I want is some champagne to celebrate," Lungu said.

Leganger: team effort

In spite of a fantastic performance from goalkeeper Cecilie Leganger, she did not want to take all the credit alone for the victory:

"This was a team victory. Everyone was fighting brilliantly and I would like to thank the defence in particular. We fought with the heart tonight, and I was sure in the victory already at 8-1," said the Norwegian keeper.

"It is a fantastic feeling. As the Champions League season progressed, we have been focusing on taking the trophy back. We were thinking about it especially from the quarterfinals and onwards," said Mette Melgaard. The Danish pivot celebrated her third Champions League title with Slagelse.

"All the way Anja Andersen has been extremely good at reminding us how miserable we felt when we were eliminated last year and this gave a lot of motivation to try to take the trophy back. It is really fantastic to celebrate a Champions League win at home at last," added Melgaard, referring to the fact that Slagelse lifted the two previous CL trophies away.

TEXT: Peter Bruun