19.09.2008, 11:29
Hoping for a great atmosphere

THW Kiel coach Alfred Gislason on the Champions Trophy in Veszprém.

Hoping for a great atmosphere

THW Kiel have tremendous experience in finals. Not speaking of the German domestic competitions, Kiel have played the last two Champions League finals (victory in 2007, runner-up in 2008) and won the latest edition of the Champions Trophy in Celje.

New coach, Alfred Gislason, has large shoes to fill after Noka Serdarusic, who led Kiel to 25 titles in 15 years. The Icelandic is looking forward to play in the new Veszprém Arena.

Alfred Gislason: It’s always exciting to meet the winners of the European competitions and I expect good matches. We will start against Ciudad Real. Kiel faced them so many times in the past that it cannot be anything less than an interesting game.

Eurohandball.com: What do you expect from the weekend in Hungary?

Alfred Gislason: We will see how it goes. We will, of course, do our best, but we have to wait and see. However, I’m very much looking forward to play in Veszprém. It is a place where people really love handball and create a fantastic atmosphere for the game. We will see if the new sports hall has the same atmosphere as the old one.

Eurohandball.com: A year ago Kiel had few healthy players for the Champions Trophy – still won it. What’s the situation now?

Alfred Gislason: Karabatic will not play; he came back from the Olympics with an injury. We will know next week when can he start again. Palicka also has a smaller problem, we are not sure yet if he can play or not.

The form of the team is also improving. After winning the Supercup against Hamburg, we started the season with a horrible draw against the Bundesliga newcomers. Since then we have been playing better and the team is going in the right direction. We are curious to see what the Champions Trophy will bring for us.

TEXT: Balazs Nemcsik reporting from Veszprém