“Project 8” for the “match of the matches”

14 players, 13.000 spectators and the dream of “project 8”: HSV Hamburg wants to make the dream come true on Friday evening (at 19.15). They need eight goals more than Ciudad Real after the Spanish had won the first match in Spain by 34:27.

“We want to show our real strength,” said coach Martin Schwalb. “With the help of our spectators we want to raise the roof of the Color Line Arena. Our fans and the team will give 108 percent to make project 8 successful.”

The arena has been sold out weeks ago and the players are real eager to play the second semi-final.

Dimitri Torgowanow can offer a personal example: with Tusem Essen he lost the first match of the 2006 EHF Cup final against Magdeburg by 22:30. Essen won the second match by 31:22 and the decisive goal in the last second was scored by Torgowanow.

HSV will have to miss the same players as in the first game: Oleg Velyky, Stefan Schröder and Matthias Flohr. Torsten Jansen still suffers from a leg injury and it’s not clear whether he could be able to play.

The “French fighter”, Bertrand Gille, will again play despite his broken rib that he suffered since two weeks ago.  

“A broken rib cannot stop you from playing handball,” the pivot says. “We have to change a lot compared to the first match,” says coach Schwalb, “we will play with a completely different attitude respect to Ciudad Real.”