VIBORG HK DEFEAT CHEHOVSKIE MEDVEDI!

Viborg HK, who are debutants in the Men’s Champions League this coming season, tanked a lot of optimism and self-confidence this weekend, as the team took part in the Kielce Cup tournament in Poland – and won the tournament after defeating none other the Russian champions Chehovskie Medvedi 29:28 in the final. And as exactly Medvedi will be among Viborg's opponents in the first Champions League group stage – provided that the Danes manage to overcome the hurdle presented by Turkish champions Besikhtas Istanbul in the qualifiers – this win added a lot to the confidence to the reorganised Viborg team.

Viborg opened the tournament by drawing 23:23 against Dunaferr from Hungary, and after that a 40:30 win over Polish Piotrków Trybunalski was enough to secure the Danes access to the final. Here the opponent was Chehovskie Medvedi who had swept all opposition aside in their preliminary group. Nevertheless Viborg did manage to secure an almost sensational 29:28 win against the Russian title holders.

Happy coach

“Of course you should not put too much importance into the results at this early point of the season, but still I think it was fantastic that we could beat Medvedi, who came with all their Russian internationals and other stars. They are a physically extremely strong team, and I am impressed that we were able to match them physically”, Viborg coach Søren Hildebrand told Eurohandball.com.

“As Medvedi will be one of our opponents in the group stage, if we manage to beat Besikhtas, this result has obviously given us new confidence regarding the Champions League. Of course, Medvedi will now be warned what we stand for, but it was my impression that they had respect for us already before this match”, Hildebrand added.

Two players in All Star team

Two of Viborg’s many new players – goalkeeper Emil Jungman and right winger Mikkel Aagaard – were nominated for the All Star team of the tournament, and Jungman’s performance made the Viborg coach particularly happy.

“Jungman works brilliantly together with defence already, and it should be obvious how important it is for a team to have at least one strong goalkeeper, who communicates well with the defence - but in general, the new players are being integrated in the team with impressive speed”, Søren Hildebrand said.

Viborg will be playing their first Champions League qualifier at home against Besikhtas on August 29^th.