12.04.2014, 07:10
Derepasko: Euphoria in 2002/03 was immense

FEATURE: Ukrainian born legend Nataliya Derepasko devoted more than a decade of her career to Krim and raised the EHF Champions League trophy twice with the perennial Slovenian champions.

Derepasko: Euphoria in 2002/03 was immense

Nataliya Derepasko (b. 1973) started her career in native Ukraine with Spartak Kiev. Always an excellent attacker, she became the top scorer at the 1995 World championships, while playing for Ukraine.
 
Her first international spell came with Kometal Skopje from Macedonia, and she came to Krim in 1997. Slovenia became her second home, and for more than a decade she played for Krim.
 
She won two EHF Champions league titles - in 2001 and 2003 - with the perennial Slovenian champions.

During her time in Ljubljana she became a Slovenian citizen and a member of the Slovenian national team.
 
Derepasko was extremely dangeorus from left back and she was regularly among the top scorers in Champions League. Her personal best is 86 goals in 2005/06. In the second victorious season for Krim in 2002/03 she contributed 78 goals, 10 of them came in the return leg od the finals against El Osito L'Eliana Valencia.  
 
After 11 seasons with Krim she played her last professional season in Italy with Pallamano Bancole.
 
In 2009 Derepasko was nominated along with Simona Sturm for the best female Slovenian left back of all time.
 
"The euphoria in 2002/03 was immense, everybody was very happy that we won. We've worked very hard that season for our goal," remembers Derepasko, who is now an entrepreneur.

She follows Champions league regularly and she is most impressed with Midtjylland: "Their handball is a thing of beauty I haven't seen in a while."
 
She looks forward to the inaugural final four in Budapest.

"It is a good idea. There will be only one decisive game, and the best team on the day will take away the trophy. The battle will be intense and the outcome is very difficult to predict.

"Perhaps Budućnost have lessened their chanches in the semis with that Knežević's mistake. We'll see ..."

TEXT: Grega Sever / br