26.02.2008, 11:44
Matic: Barcelona and Celje are better

Read the surprisingly honest and fair comments of both sides after the Barcelona victory in Szeged.

Matic: Barcelona and Celje are better

The two coaches and Szeged-born László Nagy talk about the Pick-Szeged vs Barcelona game.

Vladan Matic (Szeged coach): I have to congratulate the better team, but I also have to say that I’m proud of my team that were able to keep pace with a world class team for 45 minutes. The Catalonians have more players to select from, a more experienced coach, so it was a miracle that we could stay in the game for such a long time. It was incredible that we couldn’t even create a scoring opportunity in the powerplay situations. Our defence is still not perfect, while we still have problems with the line player position. We played much better than against Gudme, especially for 45 minutes when we were still fit. I risked the 4-2 defence, I had to take risks, but it was not successful. The boys were only playing from their hearts. Barcelona and Celje have the best chances now, because they are apparently better than us. We will do everything to defend our Hungarian championship and cup titles.

Manolo Cadenas (Barcelona coach): I felt the pressure that one can experience in the hall already when I was watching video tapes of Szeged. Now I could feel it directly. We won in a great atmosphere. When Szeged took a couple of goals of advantage, I was not afraid. I was waiting for the time to get over the difficulties and take back the lead. Szeged were tired by the second half, while we improved in defence.I called the attention of all my substitute players to prepare, Kasper was replaced by Losert in the goal, who was a match winner. It is a very open group with teams of a similar level. This was shown by the results. We have some advantage now, but it still doesn’t mean anything.

László Nagy (Barcelona): It was a pleasant feeling to be back home. This was the third time in eight years to play against Szeged as a Barcelona player. It was a fantastic feeling that the supporters visited our training before the game and applauded us. I visited my parents and grandparents before the game and I tried to forget that I am from Szeged during the game. If I should place a bet on the four semi-finalists, I would say Ciudad Real, Hamburg, Kiel and Barcelona.

TEXT: Ildikó Balogh (handball.hu)