 “No pressure on us” says Ågren
The Main Round of the Women´s EHF Champions League will begin with an all-Scandinavian match, when Norway's Larvik HK and Danish side Randers HK open Group 1 in the Larvik Arena on Saturday, 26 January.
Playing in the Women’s EHF Champions League is a new experience for Swedish line player Ulrika Ågren.
Before the start of this season, the 25 year-old Swedish international left another Danish league club, Team Esbjerg, to join Randers.
Randers won the Danish championship for the first time last season, and will be making their debut in the Main Round.
Ulrika Ågren, who has scored 25 goals so far in the competition, is in no doubt that a group which contains Györ and Budućnost, alongside Larvik will be a handful, but she remains optimistic, when it comes to her and her teammates chances.
ehfCL.com: What do you think of Randers HK’s chances in the main round?
Ulrika Ågren: Obviously it is a very strong group, and it will undoubtedly be difficult to get any points away from home, but in our home matches I think our chances to get some points are pretty good. Then we will have to see how far that brings us.
Nevertheless, I see us as underdogs, and that also means that we can play freely in that group, as there is really no pressure on us.
ehfCL.com: Your first match will be one of the away matches, in which you expect it to be hard to get any points. So how do you view the match against Larvik in particular?
Ulrika Ågren: It will be a match, where a lot of players know each other from their respective national teams. We know the Larvik players well, and they know us well. Therefore the match may very well be decided by which team hits form on the day itself. Actually, I think that it will be a fairly close game.
ehfCL.com: Your team has had a lot of injury problems lately. Is the situation improving on that front?
Ulrika Ågren: The injuries have been a major problem for us lately, and at the moment Macarena Aguilar and Berit Kristensen are still sidelined. Berit has started running again, although I am not sure what Macarena’s status is.
ehfCL.com: Just how big a disadvantage will it be for you, playing without those two playmakers?
Ulrika Ågren: That will be a very big handicap. They are crucial for us in our fast break phase, and also when it comes to organising our attacking play. Sofie Strangholt (who has recently extended her contract with Randers until 2015) has done very well as playmaker in several matches, but it is still obvious that she is originally a left back.
ehfCL.com: Before the start of the season, you joined Randers from Team Esbjerg. What has that change been like for you?
Ulrika Ågren: It has been fun to join Randers, but it has also been a big change. In Esbjerg I was used to having an important role in the defence as well as on our fast breaks, and I also scored a lot of goals from the line.
Here in Randers I have got a much smaller role, but still I have developed my game a lot, and I have also developed quite a lot physically, so it has been a good change.
ehfCL.com: What do these Women’s EHF Champions League matches mean to you?
Ulrika Ågren: They mean a lot, not just to me, but to the whole team. For us as a young team with many new players it is just fantastic to have reached the Main Round. Randers have never been this far in the Champions League before, so for the club it is also a great achievement to finally be among the eight best teams in Europe.
TEXT: Peter Bruun / cor
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