Haraldsen: "I'm patient!"
This summer Norway’s Olympic champion, Katrine Lunde Haraldsen, moved from title holder Viborg HK to the Hungarian champion Győri AUDI ETO, where she shares the goalkeeper duties with world-class goalie Katalin Pálinger.
ehfCL: You’ve been living here in Hungary for a few months. What are the biggest differences between Scandinavian and Hungarian life?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: That’s hard to say, because I’ve only been here for three months. When we play handball, both teams want to win, the Norwegian and the Hungarian. I suppose the biggest difference is the defence, of course. There’s also a different handball culture relating to training sessions and matches, but it’s something that I like very much.
ehfCL: What were the hardest things you had to get used to?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: Of course the language is the biggest problem. It’s very different and hard to learn. Naturally it’s also hard when I don’t understand what the others are saying, but most can also speak English. Some of the girls translate things into English for me, which is very helpful and good for me.
ehfCL: What about your husband? Does he feel happy here?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: He also says it’s great here and we have good neighbours. He’s not playing soccer right now, but is going to school and studying.
ehfCL: What about your achilles injury?
 Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: That’s not a problem right now. It only troubled me at the start. The new hall and my new shoes have helped me a lot, so now it’s fine.
ehfCL: How did you get used to your team mates? I’m thinking mainly of the defensive players.
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: They play some different defensive strategies from those I’ve been used to. I don’t know everything they want to do in defence yet, but the situation is improving all the time.
ehfCL: What do you think are the main differences between the Danish and the Hungarian Leagues?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: I’m not sure, because I haven’t played too many matches yet. In Denmark there are many really strong teams, and maybe some with better defences. I’ve noticed that, here in Hungary, the teams are playing very fast handball.
ehfCL: Why has Győr started in such bad form in the EHF Women's Champions League?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: Our form hasn’t been bad, but we just need to improve our play and perform better. I feel that we’re getting better in defence. We will just have to work harder.
ehfCL: How would you describe your form in the first two matches?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: My play wasn’t really good. It’s been hard for me to get everything together - the language and the defence. Even so, I feel it’s going better and better in the training sessions and I hope we will get a good result at the weekend and in the next few matches. We just have to be patient. I am!
ehfCL: You asked to be substituted in the first half against Podravka. What was the reason for this?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: It was because I felt that my performance wasn’t good enough, although not really bad either. There are two top goalkeepers in the team, and I cannot think just of myself. I must also think of what’s best for the team. I thought it would be better if Katalin Pálinger played during that period. It’s good that we can communicate enough to discuss how and when we want to change. This is also part of the game.
ehfCL: What are your team’s chances for the next game against Krim? How strong are the Slovenians this season?
Katrine Lunde Haraldsen: I haven’t studied them yet, but they also achieved a good result against Podravka (30:35). We really have to work together and fight hard. If we can take the points that would be really, really good!
TEXT: Ildikó Balogh (handball.hu)
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