 "Great to be part of something so big," says Čupić
After a three month break due to a shoulder injury during the World Championship in Spain, Ivan Čupić is now ready to rumble at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne.
The Croatian winger has made it all the way to the final destination with his Polish club Vive Targi Kielce and now hopes to finish with a better result than in 2011 when he qualified with Rhein Neckar Löwen.
FC Barcelona Intersport brought his team’s campaign to an end in 2011 and are once again the semi-final opponents this time around.
ehfCL.com: You were already part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne two years ago – what do you remember most?
Ivan Čupić: It was something special when you come to the arena and 20,000 people cheer for you and the other players. Additionally, at those three days you meet so many handball celebrities in Cologne, TV is everywhere, so it is great to be part of something so big.
ehfCL.com: Is it a surprise for you that Kielce made it to Cologne?
Ivan Čupić: Yes and no. Yes, because we are the first ever team from Poland and we might be the biggest surprise of those who are in Cologne. No, because we knew at the start of the season that we have a good team with good players on paper and we wanted to go further with the club. We were lucky in the draws, but we also showed good handball. When you win 13 out of 14 matches in the VELUX EHF Champions League, you deserve to be in Cologne.
ehfCL.com: Now you face Barcelona at Cologne – the same semi-final opponent you had in 2011 with Löwen. What do you expect?
Ivan Čupić: In the 2010/11 season we faced Barcelona three times with Löwen, twice in the Group Phase, including an away victory at Palau Blaugrana, and then in Cologne.
Barcelona are a really good team with mostly two big names on every position and they are favourites for the title, because they have the strength and everything you need to win crucial matches. But we have some chance to go to the final; we only need 60 minutes of perfect handball.
ehfCL.com: Is it easier to face Barcelona with Kielce than with Löwen?
Ivan Čupić: This is hard to say. In 2011, Löwen had a really good team, but we had so many ups and downs in the whole season. We had brilliant performances, like in the quarter-final away match at Montpellier, but we lacked constancy. Kielce this year are more stable in our games, despite injury problems.
ehfCL.com: What is the difference of Löwen and Kielce?
Ivan Čupić: In my opinion we had great individuals in our squad in 2011, a real bunch of stars, but this was our problem, as we played as individuals, especially in the semi-final against Barcelona.
Kielce play more like a team, we fight as a team and we have a better defence compared to Löwen in 2011. We will need a perfect defence performance if we want to beat Barcelona.
ehfCL.com: What reactions did you receive from Croatia after reaching the VELUX EHF FINAL4?
Ivan Čupić: It is a big story in our small country. We achieved major successes with our national team, but club handball on highest level is only represented by RK Zagreb. So everybody in Croatia is really proud that we have so many players in Cologne.
I think, 12 to 14 Croats were part of the quarter-finals for four clubs, reaching this stage is also a big achievement for Croatian handball, it means a lot at home.
ehfCL.com: Is it an advantage for you and your former Löwen and HSV teammates that you already played in Cologne attended by 20,000 spectators?
Ivan Čupić: I don’t think that you can say it is an advantage. For every player who steps on the court attended by 20,000 spectators a dream comes true. Every single player will do everything to give the best performances. I believe that there are no individual advantages, as teams like Barcelona and Kiel have the same experienced players or even more.
TEXT: Björn Pazen / cor
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