05.02.2010, 10:15
Viborg ready for "dynamite group"

Head coach Jakob Vestergaard expects some tough challenges in the Champions League.

Viborg ready for "dynamite group"

For reigning Women’s Champions League winners Viborg HK, the Main Round of the current Champions League will start with a trip to Volgograd, Russia, for a meeting with HC Dinamo on the coming Saturday.

The two other teams in the group are Oltchim Vâlcea from Romania and Austrian champions Hypo Niederösterreich. Apart from one match, Viborg have showed an increasing form in the Danish league after New Year. Still, head coach Jakob Vestergaard expects some tough challenges in the Main Round of the Champions League.

eurohandball.com: How would you rate your Main Round group?

Jakob Vestergaard: I see our group as the dynamite group of the main round! We are in for some really long journeys to meet some very tough opponents. All four teams have the chance to go through to the semi-finals – as number one as well as from second position – and all four teams also risk standing empty handed, once the main round is over. However, that is the way it should be when you are among the eight strongest teams in Europe. We realise that the competition is tough when you get that far.

eurohandball.com: You do not seem to agree with Larvik coach Karl Erik Bøhm who said he considers both groups to be equally strong?

Jakob Vestergaard: Karl Erik is entitled to his opinion but I still think that we are in the dynamite group, as I said before.

eurohandball.com: How do you see you team’s chances in your group?

Jakob Vestergaard: We continue to build new aspects into our game all the time, and I think we showed that in particular in our recent league game against FCK (36-29 for Viborg, ed.) which I consider to be our best performance so far this season. We enter the main round with a lot of confidence, but we still need to add more to our game.

eurohandball.com: In your first match you are meeting a main round debutant, HC Dinamo. What are your expectations for that match?

Jakob Vestergaard: I realise that we are going to meet an extremely strong team, which also possesses a lot of physical strength. They will undoubtedly be able to match in all aspects of the game, so that game will actually show us our real strength at the moment.

TEXT: Peter Bruun