06.09.2007, 10:08
Viborg coach respects Besiktas

Viborg will step on court on Saturday with a 12-goal advantage over Besiktas. The Danish side have already flown to Istanbul taking the return leg very seriously.

Viborg coach respects Besiktas

Viborg HK left for Istanbul on Thursday morning. The Danish side will play the second leg of the Champions League qualification tie against Besiktas. The match will be played on Saturday at 14.00 CET.

“We will spend Thursday with travelling, then we will have training in Istanbul on Friday, and then we will be ready for the match on Saturday afternoon. We will fly back right after the banquet, so we will be home already on Saturday night,” Viborg coach Søren Hildebrand told Eurohandball.com.

In spite of the 12-goal lead of Viborg (35-23 at home in the first leg), Hildebrand does still not want to admit that the return match will be just a formality for his team.

“I think we should still have respect and the players were extremely focused at the trainings during the week. They all realise that these matches are decided in two legs,” the Viborg coach added.

Going for another victory

“However, we feel more secure now that we know how Besiktas play. Before the first match we did not know anything about them at all. We are pretty sure that there is nothing new to surprise us – and there should be no doubt that we are going for another win in Istanbul. We are not going to Turkey just to save our 12 goal lead,” emphasised Søren Hildebrand, who has only one injury problem before the match in Istanbul: There is doubt about former Danish international, Morten Bjerre.

“Morten has groin problems, but I expect him to be able to train again on Friday and to play on Saturday,” Søren Hildebrand said.

The aggregate winner of the Besiktas vs Viborg qualification tie will face German HSV Hamburg, Russian champions, Chehovskie Medvedi, and Ukrainian champions, ZRT Zaporozhye, in the first group stage.

TEXT: Peter Bruun