22.05.2014, 08:40
Mattias Andersson still wants more

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Even though Mattias Andersson has won everything that can be won at club level, the experienced goalkeeper from SG Flensburg-Handewitt still wants more. Winning the VELUX EHF FINAL4 would be a highlight, finds the Swedish international.

Mattias Andersson still wants more

The EHF Champions League 2007. The EHF Cup 2002 and 2004. The Cup Winners' Cup 2012. Five German championships and two German Cup triumphs. Mattias Andersson has won virtually everything worth winning, at least at club level, but the 36-year-old goalkeeper in SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Swedish national team is still hungry for more.

Lifting the trophy in Cologne at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 for the first time would be very welcome, he finds.

While Mattias Andersson has been in the EHF Champions League final before with Kiel, it is his first time at the final tournament. A dedicated and aggressive approach are parts of the reason for the North German team's success this season, according to the experienced shotstopper.

ehfCL.com: What do you see as the reasons why SG Flensburg-Handewitt have made it to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 for the first time exactly this season?

Mattias Andersson: We have played a fine season in the Champions League, and in the deciding matches we have approached the challenges in a focused and aggressive way.

ehfCL.com: Your quarter-final tie against Vardar Skopje was particularly tight, and you ended by winning only on away goals. Do you see any particular reason why you and your teammates succeeded at the end? Was it luck or experience?

Mattias Andersson:  Of course you need a bit of luck in tight matches like that, but we also have some experienced players who are able to withstand the kind of pressure you get under in those situations.

ehfCL.com: This will be your first VELUX EHF FINAL4 with SG Flensburg-Handewitt. What are your expectations?

Mattias Andersson: I expect a really great handball party just like the international championships with the Swedish national team. Furthermore I expect some great and exciting matches and a great and special atmosphere in the sold-out LANXESS arena.

ehfCL.com: Personally, you have won just everything worth winning in the handball world – at least at club level – including the EHF Champions League with Kiel once before. What would it mean to you to win the VELUX EHF FINAL4?

Mattias Andersson: Obviously it would be an enormous highlight to the team and to each and every player, if we should manage to win those two matches.

ehfCL.com: How do you judge your chances to win the trophy?

Mattias Andersson: Already in the semi-final we are facing one of the greatest favourites, FC Barcelona. After that, another very difficult match will be waiting for us. It is just about the most difficult weekend you can play as a club team, and of course it is very difficult to win the FINAL4, but we are going to give everything we got.

ehfCL.com: As you mentioned, you are running into FC Barcelona in the semi-final. In the first leg of the quarter-final, your bundesliga colleagues from Rhein-Neckar Löwen managed to defeat Barcelona as clearly as by seven goals. Do you see any chance to copy that achievement?

Mattias Andersson: We do not intend to copy. First we are going to end our bundesliga season this Saturday, and then our entire focus will be on FC Barcelona. We are all going to be intensively preoccupied with FC Barcelona, and then we will see at the end what is possible.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / br