04.11.2008, 09:00
Dmitrieva: Results will come later

CL winner Elena Dmitrieva talks to Eurohandball.com about her new team and about working with coach Trefilov.

Dmitrieva: Results will come later

One of the best left wings of the World won six major EHF trophies so far. Elena Dmitrieva won the Cup Winners’ Cup twice (2002 with Lada Togliatti and 2005 with Buducnost T-Mobile), EHF Cup (2007 with Zvezda Zvenigorod), Champions League and Champions Trophy (2008 with Zvezda Zvenigorod).

The 25-year old Russian is aware that Zvezda has a young team this season and need many matches to build a strong team. Nevertheless, they are prepared to work hard and have faith in a bright future.

Eurohandball.com: Zvezda are defending the CL title without many important players from last season. What are your expectations this season?

Elena Dmitrieva: Now we have a totally new team and it is very difficult to say predictions. There are many young players and it is certain that we need one or two years to stay together and then we can expect good results.

This season, results will not be a priority. The most important is to improve. Results will come later.

Eurohandball.com: In the first round your team was defeated by Ikast. What is the atmosphere like in your team?

Elena Dmitrieva: It is excellent. We are ready to work hard and we are all very optimistic about the future.

Eurohandball.com: You played CL games with Lada, Buducnost and Zvezda and worked with many coaches. What is it like to work with the charismatic Evgeniy Trefilov?

Elena Dmitrieva: Our coach may have a bad temper, but we have worked with him all our lives and we got used to it. We learned to hear only the important things from what he says.

TEXT: Ivan Ambros