05.01.2010, 05:08
New situation for Viborg HK

With all injured players fit again, the Head Coach Jakob Vestergaard and his defeating Champions aim for group victory within the last two games.

New situation for Viborg

After an autumn season full of injury trouble, reigning Women’s Champions League winners Viborg HK are right now in a completely new situation which they have not experienced before in this season: They have got all their injured players fit.

Only the pregnant players, right back Grit Jurack and substitute goalkeeper Louise Bager Due, are sidelined at the moment.This obviously increases the team’s chances when the Champions League starts again this weekend. Eurohandball.com talked to head Coach Jakob Vestergaard about the new perspectives.

Eurohandball.com: How much do the injured players having become fit improve your team?

Jakob Vestergaard: So far it means more quality in our training. For instance, we are now able to play on two goals without assistant coach Mette Klit and myself having to participate. Seriously speaking, it really gives us some new options. But having said that, we still have a lot of work to do on timing and accuracy in our game.

Eurohandball.com: Even German international Nora Reiche is back in active duty after having been out for nearly two years with two crusade ligament injuries. How good is her form?

Jakob Vestergaard: Her form is fine, but it will still take her some time to really get adjusted to the game again after having been out for so long.

Eurohandball.com: Having Reiche back in the team also means that you have a left handed backcourt player at your disposal for the first time this season. What does that mean, now that you had just got right handed Gorica Acimovic implemented in the right back position?

Jakob Vestergaard: It really means a lot to us to have a left handed player on the right back again. Of course, you can win a title with a right handed right back – last month we saw Russia becoming World champions without a left handed back court player, but still it is definitely an advantage for us to have Nora back, as it gives our attacking play some more options.

Eurohandball.com: You can make it all clear through a home win against Byåsen Saturday. Towards eurohandball.com their coach Geir Oustorp has expressed huge respect for exactly your team. Is he right having this respect?

Jakob Vestergaard: At least, we are in the probably best situation we have been in so far this season. In spite of our 6 goal win away in our first match against Byåsen, I definitely do not expect any of our players to take the game on Saturday easily! After all, we have a quite equal match up there apart from the first 12 minutes, where we took the 6 goal lead which we more or less kept for the rest of the match. It is a fact that all teams in our group can both win the group – and finish last. That is the situation in pretty much all groups at the moment, so the last two rounds will be extremely interesting. There is absolutely no doubt, however, that we are not only going for the ticket for the main round, but also for the first place in our group! During the last two years we have seen, how much it can mean, whether you finish first or second in your group. Last year, when we won our preliminary group, we also took the trophy, while we ran into the two later finalists (Zevezda Zvenigorod and Hypo Niederösterreich, ed.) in the main round the year before, when we finished second in our group!

TEXT: Peter Bruun