Three questions to coach Talant Dujshebaev
Early in the new season his team experienced some ups and downs. After stopping the winning streak of THW Kiel in the final of the IHF Superglobe in Doha, Qatar, last month, his players failed to add the Spanish Supercopa last week. Despite losing some key players during the summer break, the coach of Atlético Madrid still believes his team has enough talent to reach the VELUX EHF FINAL4 for the fourth time in a row. Talant Dujshebaev talks about his vision of the new season with ehfCL.com.
 ehfCL.com: What are your expectations for the upcoming season of the VELUX EHF Champions League - concerning your objectives and your group opponents?
Talant Dujshebaev: I am sure that we have chances to qualify for the Final4 again. This is the most important objective for our club in this season aside fighting for the Spanish title. It is not only a great pleasure to be in Cologne, but a great honour. And I hope that once we will win the tournament. In the Group Phase we face strong opponents like THW Kiel, the currently best team of the world, or reinforced Veszprém. I appreciate to have strong opponents right from the start, as those duels will improve our team.
ehfCL.com: What does the participation in the VELUX EHF Champions League mean to you and your club?
Talant Dujshebaev: We are part of this most important club competition in the world for the tenth consecutive time – and at minimum we have reached the quarter-finals. This speaks for our quality, but this also speaks for the significance of the VELUX EHF Champions League. We are very pleased to be among the best teams in the world.
ehfCL.com: What teams are your personal favourites to reach the VELUX EHF FINAL4 and for winning the title this season – and why?
Talant Dujshebaev: At first I have to say that it is a pity that a club like AG Kobenhavn went bankrupt, as I liked that project. So one top contender is gone. Despite this loss I see a big number of potential candidates for reaching the Final4. Of course defending champions Kiel and Barcelona or Madrid. But aside Veszprém, Kielce, Montpellier, Berlin or Flensburg have chances to go all the way.
TEXT: Björn Pazen/br
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