Veszprém – Löwen pregame statements

 

Telekom Veszprém hosts Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the VELUX EHF Champions League on Saturday. We asked our head coach and some players about their expectations regarding that game.

 

David Davis: I expect a very tough match against a very good team. They play fantastic handball with Andy Schmid as the heart of the team and with Guardiola and Abutovic in defense. They also have Appelgren and Palicka in front of the net so it is going to be a very complicated match because they have been working together for a long time. They like to play seven against six with a top form Andy Schmid. We must not lose a lot of balls because they run the fastbreaks well with Sigurdsson and Groetzki on the wing. They have probably the best goalkeeper duo in the Champions League, Appelgren and Palicka, they save a lot. We need to play better in every aspect of the game, offense, defense, fastbreaks.

 

 

László Nagy: Löwen is one of the teams that play in top form lately. Their seven against six attacks are outstanding in the series, so we have to prepare well for that. They have been playing together for a long time now with the same coach so they are used to each other very well. They play amazingly fast handball with a massive defensive wall and great goalkeeper performance. We are trying to find their weak spots and break through them, hence playing effective handball.

 

 

Árpád Sterbik: Löwen is a dangerous opponent. They have a lot of great players such as Schmid or Petersson. They have been playing together for a long time now and they have a good run every year. They are in a similar situation now as we are; they suffered an unwanted defeat and got a draw in the championship. Regardless, they are a fast team that is put together well. They even strengthened their weak points from last year. They have two complete lines so I expect a tough game.

 

 

René Toft Hansen: I expect a very hard game against Löwen because I think they play very well. They have a good defense and they do not make many mistakes in attack. It is impressive what Andy Schmid has done in the recent years, he was the MVP of the Bundesliga five years in a row. He plays amazingly and makes no mistakes. If you make one mistake in defense, he sees it and it is a goal. We have to be concentrated in the defense, and then we will have a chance. If the defense is good, we can run the fastbreaks because they have to change in defense for Guardiola and Abutovic. If we can defend well and we can run on them and not give them a chance to change, we have a good chance to beat them. They have a very strong team and I think they are even stronger this season than in any other seasons. It will be very hard but I am looking forward to it.

 

 

Photo: Dávid Vörös