Fall season closing interview with David Davis

 

In the fall of 2018 the head coach has been changed on the bench of Telekom Veszprém. The new head coach became David Davis, who was appointed on 9 October. The performance of the team is improving ever since, and they managed to clinch some great victories over the past weeks in the Champions League. We talked about the past two months with the Spanish head coach.

 

 

The first games were complicated for me, because I wanted to introduce my system but there was no time to introduce it, so I had to do it little by little. We had to prepare well for the games. This is not easy, but the players are learning fast and I am satisfied with that because if not, it would be impossible to reach these kind of results. It was hard, because we had a complicated schedule with Montpellier and Tatabánya in away, and Szeged at home, which is the best Szeged of the last six years, since Juan Carlos Pastor is at their club. I think the team is working very well, the players did everything to learn. The offense was easier, because they had all the action we needed. I only made some small changes about things in attack. The problem was the defense. Everybody thought that we are going to improve in the defense because of the past Spanish coaches but it is not like this. It is completely different. It took more time. Once the players learned and understood what I wanted, everything was better.

 

The most important for me was that the players understood what I wanted from them and to introduce the new system little by little. It is not impossible to play this new system. I wanted everyone to feel important on the court, in the team and in trainings. I think the players understood this and they used their best qualities on the court.

 

 

I am happy with the team because they are working well. In the first days, the defense and the goalkeepers did not really understand everything I tried to tell them and unfortunately, the goalkeepers did not trust the defense in front of them. We had more work there. At the end, everyone was in complete harmony in the system. In offense, everyone played the same, but there were small details, that made the difference. The Champions League is a complicated series, and it is hard to prepare and win. We did not start well which made the league even more complicated. I could not see what I was looking for in the first half of the season. I am happy, because everyone is doing their best, they are focused on the court. I am happy with everything.

 

They are really professional. We are watching videos and I say something, after on the court I see it back. Everyone started going to the gym by themselves. We watch videos, we go to the court, we go to matches, and they do what we agree on. Everybody brings quality. I am happy. It is easy to train with them because now that they are used to the rhythm of training, and gym, and videos. If you work with players like these, it is relatively easy. The results are another thing.

 

Arriving here and seeing that everybody is worried about the Club, because it is more than a Club. When I arrived here, I saw in the office that people are worried, the players did not feel good because they wanted to come back to the good sensation of playing handball and achieving good results. The Supporters love this team. I talked with some of them, who told me what Veszprém means to them. Half in English and half in Hungarian (Laughs), but I understood. I talked to a doctor, who said that Veszprém is his life and he was crying over the latest results, but now with Carlos and me at the bench, he is happy and the team is better. For me it was very touching, because I knew that Veszprém is more than a team. It is the country’s team but now I talk to people almost every day about their feelings about this Club. Also, the people working around the team has a better feeling. It is touching for me, and now I know that I have to work hard because Veszprém is more than a Club.

 

 

I do not know much unfortunately, because I am always working or travelling and I do not have much free time. I hope I can enjoy some of Budapest, the Balaton and everything. I want to know more about the culture, because it is important for me to understand how people work. I would also like to learn the language. I have my priorities but later I hope I can enjoy more of Hungary.

 

I will spend it in Cairo because my sister is coming here for Christmas. I will be in Cairo until 26 December, because we will play a tournament with the Egyptian national team. After that, I will travel to Spain to see my family and my mom will travel to Valladolid. I will take a flight to Cairo on 1 January to finish preparations for the World Championship.

 

Thank you very much and Merry Christmas to everybody!

 

 

Photo: Dávid Vörös