Flensburg – Veszprém pregame statements

 

Telekom Veszprém will visit SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the quarterfinals of the VELUX EHF Champions League’s first leg. The stakes are huge, as the one team who advances from here, will participate in the Final Four of the CL in Cologne. We asked our head coach and players about their expectations before the game.

 

David Davis: Flensburg is a very good team. They have been playing really good in the last few year, in the same system, led my Maik Machulla. They also have the same players more or less, for years now. They are really strong and won the Bundesliga last year. They also have Lauge Schmidt who is in a great form and won the World championship in January. They have a strong defense and a very dynamic offense. This makes them a very dangerous team, but we have to play with confidence. It will be a tough game, no doubt about that.

 

 

Roland Mikler: It is always hard to start with a game on the road, but there can be an advantage in this for us as well, because if we can play a good game in an away court, we will have even better chances to advance on home court. We prepare to give everything we have in Flensburg, fight until our last breath and achieve the best possible result. We will have a very tough job because Flensburg is in a great form and they play very fast handball. I think they are a really good team. There is an enormous task ahead of us, but we know our goals and that is to get to Cologne.

 

 

Máté Lékai: Flensburg is one of the best German team. They were champions last year, and lost their first game in the Bundesliga this year a couple of weeks ago. They are in a good form, with a lot of World Champion Danish players, including one who will play in Veszprém next year. In every game, especially in such close ones, the most important are the goalkeeper performance and smart offense, to be able to prevent them to lead fast breaks. It is one of the biggest strength of Flensburg. We have to make them play six against six.

 

 

Kentin Mahé: I think that it is going to be a really really tough game there because everyone knows how hard it is to play in FlensArena. Veszprém had some difficulties there in the last years as well. It is going to be same now, I think. Flensburg has nothing to lose, they did not qualify for the German Cup Final Four and now they can focus even more on us. I expect, from a personal view, a very special game. I had a nice time there and we won the Bundesliga in the last year. It is always nice to go back to places where you won something. I have a lot of friends in Flensburg outside of handball, they will be there, and it will be special for me.

 

 

Photo: Dávid Vörös