Veszprém – Montpellier pregame statements

On Saturday at 5:30 pm Telekom Veszprém is going to host Montpellier HB in the first game of VEUX EHF Champions League quarter finals which decide who will qualify to the Final4. The match will be broadcasted live by Sport 1. Before the clash we asked our head coach and three wing players.

 

 

Xavi Sabaté: Montpellier was in Group C so many people think they are a weak team but it is not true. They are in a very good form. We cannot forget that they have 5 players who won the World Championship with the French national team: Vincent Gergard, Valentin Porte, Michael Guigou, Ludovic Fabregas and Mathieu Grebille, while Jure Dolenec won the bronze medal with Slovenia in this January. They play very good and very fast and they are without question one of the best teams in Europe in fastbreaks. They run fast and they play without changes. In this season they have over 13 goals per match from fastbreaks. They were able to win against a super team like Kielce, because they deserved it. They are very dangerous. We have a lot of respect for them and we know that it will be a very tough match. We will need the help of all our supporters because this match in Veszprém will be a very important one. We need the help of everybody.

 

 

Gergő Iváncsik: It will not be easy. We play against a team that does not change between offense and defense. They are very fast and very tough. We have to avoid making too many technical mistakes, try to avoid making too many turnovers in offense because as I said those who defend, attack as well, that way they can make a very tough 10-15 minutes run. Our defense has to be very tough as always. It was a surprise for me that they dropped Kielce out, but they almost decided the outcome already in the first game. They play a much faster game than they used to when we played against them back in the days.

 

 

Gasper Marguc: It will be two tough games. They are in a very good form now but I think we are not playing bad. We have confidence now after winning the cup. We play the first game at home so we want to bring the biggest difference possible to the away game in Montpellier. They play really fast, they have a lot of great players who are good on one against one and they run a lot. They score a lot of fastbreak goals. They do not really like playing too much on six against six but they like to run. The key for us is to stop their fastbreaks.

 

 

Dragan Gajic: It is a special match for me. I am chasing my dream of getting to the Final4 against the club where I have spent 5 beautiful seasons. I am looking forward meeting all my friends from Montpellier. I think we are the better team but they are in good form now. They play very well but I think we are better and we must show this on the court.

 

Photos: György Ary, Zsolt Melczer and Dávid Vörös