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07.09.2012, 11:07 VELUX EHF Champions League: Young guns looking to compete with Europe's elite |
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Countdown part 5: RK Pivovarna Laško CeljeAfter missing out on a chance to play in the VELUX EHF Champions League in the 2011/12 season, the 2004 EHF Champions League winner RK Pivovarna Laško is back on track. The Slovenian runners-up showed an improvement in the previous season by reaching the semi-final of the EHF Cup Winners Cup. However, one experienced key player has left the Slovenian side: Petar Metličić, who has made his way to Montpellier. Despite the departure of Metličić, Celje have signed some strong Slovenian and Hungarian reinforcements in Sebastian Skube, arriving from last season’s VELUX EHF Champions League quarter-finalist Cimos Koper, and Máté Lékai who made his way from Szeged.
In this season in the top competition their objective is to fill the Zlatorog hall and show Europe that their young team is capable to play against teams such as THW Kiel, Atletico Madrid, Veszprem and Sävehof. But many of their young players will have to learn fast. “Our main goal is to compete with teams such as Kiel, Aletico Madrid and Veszprem in Zlatorog and show everybody that our young team is able to compete in the Champions League. We hope to surprise some of the big teams in a full Zlatorog hall. Playing in front of 5000 supporters is a dream of every player. For a lot of guys in my team this will be their first experience. We will grab every opportunity with both hands,” club manager Roman Pungartnik promised. “Our group is the most attractive in the whole of the whole Champions League. We will play against THW Kiel (last year’s winner), Atletico Madrid (last year’s finalist), Veszprem who have a huge number of new experienced players and Sävehof. Those big names will hopefully fill our hall in Zlatorog. We will play against the best teams in the world. I could not have expected more from the draw.” Celje’s top scorer last season Luka Žvižej stated: “Our goal in the Champions League is to present ourselves in the best possible way. It will be a hard task for a lot of our players, because this will be their first major experience. Our opponents are top teams, hopefully our arena in Zlatorog will be full and we can fight until the last minute to win our games. There is no shame in losing games against Kiel, Atletico Madrid or Veszprem, but we have to show passion and heart on the court in Zlatorog. We will leave our hearts on the court.”
Three questions to coach Vladan Matić:
ehfCL.com: What does the participation in the VELUX EHF Champions League mean to you and your club?
ehfCL.com: What teams are your personal favourites to reach the VELUX EHF FINAL4 and why?
RK Celje Pivovarna Laško (SLO)
Other EC records:
Slovenian champion: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
Further information TEXT: Björn Pazen |
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The main goal of the club in Slovenian championship is to give it their all until last round of competition and they hope to finish in the highest possible position. The very young team, with a lower mean average age than last season are learning from game to game and from season to season. Their domestic rivals Gorenje and Koper have more experience in their squads, but Celje hope they can qualify again for the VELUX EHF Champions League.