 Narcisse: Titles are our philosophy
Daniel Narcisse, who was awarded world handball player of the year in January for the first time in his career, is set to leave THW Kiel after four highly successful years, and move to Paris Saint Germain Handball in June.
Before leaving for Paris, the Frenchman wants to grab as many titles as possible with the defending VELUX EHF Champions League winners.
Kiel and Narcisse face the current Group B leaders MKB Veszprém in the ehfTV.com Match of the Week on Sunday and the Germans need to win to keep their hopes of finishing first in the group alive.
Kiel trail Veszprém by four points after eight rounds and lost the thrilling first leg 30:31 in Hungary.
In this interview with ehfCL.com, left back Daniel Narcisse talks about the titles he wants to win, the upcoming match against Veszprém, and life after becoming world handball player of the year.
ehfCL.com: Is the clash with Veszprém at home the most important match for THW Kiel in the Group Phase?
Daniel Narcisse: Indeed, as both clubs fight for first position in this group. We need to win and then have to hope that Veszprém slip-up in their final encounter against Madrid to finish first, so we do not have our fate in our own hands.
But still anything is possible, and we will fight until the last second, even though Veszprém have a better chance of finishing in first.
We hope for a great match, as the first step to remain in the race is a victory against the Hungarians.
ehfCL.com: THW Kiel lost the close first encounter at Veszprém; did you expect the Hungarian team to be so strong in all of their performances in the competition?
Daniel Narcisse: They have a great team, with some new top level players and a top coach. In our first duel with them, you could see the strength they have on all positions.
The team fits perfectly already, they have a strong goalkeeper cooperating perfectly with the strong defence. Their quality and potential is really high, and I believe they can go all the way to Cologne.
ehfCL.com: You mentioned the goalkeeper – will the duel between Thierry Omeyer and Mirko Alilović decide the result on Sunday?
Daniel Narcisse: The goalkeeping will be highly decisive; both goalkeepers can decide a match alone and can turn a match around on their own.
If we want to beat Veszprém, everything must fit perfectly and we must be at 100%, starting with the goalkeeper’s performance.
ehfCL.com: THW Kiel are aiming to reach the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne – would it be a perfect farewell for you before moving to Paris
Daniel Narcisse: Of course. One of our main goals for this season, and for every season, is to progress to Cologne.
When you play for THW Kiel, you have been internalised to know that you want to win all matches and all titles.
For some players like me, Thierry Omeyer, and Marcus Ahlm, this season will be the last chance to arrive at Cologne with THW Kiel.
Not only would it be a perfect farewell, but also a perfect present for all of us who leave. For me personally, going to Cologne would be a dream would come true again.
ehfCL.com: How many trophies will you raise before returning to France?
Daniel Narcisse: We are still in the race in three different competitions, so three titles are the goal, as the philosophy of THW Kiel is very easy: to win all titles.
ehfCL.com: How has your handball life changed since you were awarded world handball player of the year?
Daniel Narcisse: Firstly, I do not have this award in the back of my head every time I enter the court.
It is much more important for me to help my team to be successful. But of course this title was a huge honour for me and for all the incredible things that happened in 2012.
But I do not see this title as an award for me personally, but for my teams, THW Kiel and the French national team.
The title is an award for the best record breaking season with THW Kiel, including the Champions League trophy and of course for the French team defending the title at the Olympics.
I want to share this title with all of my team mates, and with Kim Andersson and Filip Jícha being nominated too; it proves the exceptional season for THW Kiel.
The Match of the Week between THW Kiel and MKB Veszprém will be live and streamed free of charge on ehfTV.com with English live commentary from Tom Ó Brannagáin on Sunday, 17 February at 19:00 hrs local time.
TEXT: Björn Pazen / cor
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