Reactions: club managers after the draw

One of the biggest draw event of the season, the 2008/09 EHF Champions League Group Phase Draw was carried out in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The evening was attended by a number of club managers coming from all angles of Europe. Here are the spontaneous reactions of some of them after the draw has been carried out.

Ante Ancic (CO Zagreb):

“I knew well before that the most difficult group would be the one where Löwen will be drawn. However, the roster of our team is not yet finalised and we are looking forward to the games.”

Ambrus Lele (Pick Szeged):

“It is a difficult group indeed, but all teams need to be treated with respect, not only our opponents. I believe that Szeged have arrived to a level where we do not have to be afraid of any other side.”

Xavier O´Callaghan (FC Barcelona):

“We are not exactly happy to play against Kiel once again. They are a strong team, of course, but I believe that these two have a chance to make it to the next round.”

Luis Miguel Lopez (Ciudad Real):

“Whether it is possible to stay on top? Why not? This year will be even more difficult because all the teams will try to beat the reigning champion, but I am confident. We will have only one new player in the team, Abalo, and we are looking forward to the new season.”

Andrei Belis (Koper):

“Our real objective is to win the Slovenian League this year. We will have a strong team with some new players and we are very optimistic before the season.”

Sergei Potapov (Zvenigorod Zvezda):

“It is more difficult to stay on the top than to get there. Anyway, we know that there are many good teams in the group and that we need to do very well to repeat the performance of the past season.”

Photos by István Molnár