23.05.2008, 04:03
Trefilov believes in the trophy

A tough season ends for Zvezda with the final on Saturday. Coach Evgeni Trefilov shares his thoughts with Eurohandball.com.

Trefilov believes in the trophy

The second leg game of the CL Final against Hypo in Wr. Neustadt will conclude the most difficult season of Zvezda in the history of the Russian team.

Just within the last 40 days the team played 9 tense games with four European top clubs (Hypo, Lada, Győr and Dynamo Volgograd). Out of these matches five ended with a minimal difference of one goal. The team reached the final of the CL, but lost the Russian title in the meantime.

Coach Trefilov is most concerned about the physical and psychological conditions of his players before the journey to Austria.

Evgeni Trefilov: Thanks God that no player is injured after such a long series of matches, sp we will arrive in Wiener Neustadt with our complete squad.

Eurohandball.com: What was your impression about the first game in Russia?

Evgeni Trefilov: In a first quarter of the game we allowed our rivals to take a five-goal lead. It is a lot when you play with such a strong team as Hypo. In the second half when we took a four-goal lead we were not able to take care of our advantage.

The quality of the game in Chekhov was not very high; the teams were nervous and made many mistakes. But it was a Champions League final and the score is more important.

Eurohandball.com: Are you satisfied with the performance of your team?

Evgeni Trefilov: I was disappointed by the confusion I have seen from my leading players. Both of our wingers were in poor form. I had to send in our line player, Kate Vetkova, to the wing, which does not happen normally. But there were positive moments too. The team showed character at the beginning of the second half and our goalkeepers were also not bad.

Eurohandball.com: Is it still possible to improve for the second leg?

Evgeni Trefilov: It is always possible, especially if my players start with maximal concentration in defence from the first minute of the game and if they do not repeat the mistakes of the first game.

Eurohandball.com: Do you believe in winning the trophy?

Evgeni Trefilov: If we don't believe in the victory, there is no point in travelling to Austria…

I expect an honest fight and may the strongest team win!

TEXT: Benjamin Kuznetsov