Prior to the 2005/2006 Women's Champions League finals eurohandball.com asked EHF Lecturer and former head coach of the Hungarian national teams about his expert analysis of the up-coming matches between Krim Ljubljana and Viborg HK.

Worthy final
Two important representatives of women’s international handball have entered the 2005/2006 Women’s Champions League final. There are many stars playing in both teams representing different schools of handball.

The squad from Krim Ljubljana includes well known Russian and Ukrainian personalities – as well as national Slovenian stars. The players from Viborg come from a variety of countries. In principle Western European, Chinese and Romanian players are chosen for strategically important positions, according to the Viborg concept.

Krim Ljubljana
Important aspects of the Krim Ljubljana strategy is the position play, the play between the back-court players and the pivot is a determiner when it comes to the deep play. The continuous adaptation of the cross-movement offensive system is built on following these same values. The relationship between the players is very strong and can only help the team on the road to success.

The performance of the Krim goalkeeper will probably be excellent combined with a well-ordered defence (6:0), which is robust, yet mobile and efficient.

Viborg HK
The defence system of Viborg HK can be defensive and offensive depending on tactics. A high-speed game and high efficiency in the offence against any disorganised defence will play an important role in the Danish game.

The back-court players can play a highly efficient offensive game with wide-spread shooting power and position changes – enabling the Danish team to play a highly variable offensive.

Next to the prominently organised team strategy, creativity, the efficiency of the back-court players the right tactics from the Viborg team in crucial match stages could determine the outcome.

Internationally experienced teams
Both teams have a lot of international experience. The squads are filled with international top-players, thus all prerequisites are there for a high-level Champions League final with different schools of handball fighting on the highest level.

I wish success and all the best for both teams,

Lajos Mocsai

Personal profile
The 52-year old Hungarian Lajos Mocsai holds a university degree as sports teacher and is working as Professor at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, where he also holds the position as assistant dean.

During his active handball career Lajos Mocsai played 48 matches for the Hungarian national team. After stepping onto the sideline as a coach in 1979 Mocsai has been the head coach of the Hungarian men's (1985-1989) and women's national teams (1998-2004). During his time as head coach for the Hungarian women's national team, he took the team to Olympic Silver (Sydney in 2004) and World Championship Silver (Croatia in 2003).

During his trainer career he has also been coaching in the German men's Bundesliga winning European Cup titles with both TBV Lemgo and TUS Nettelstedt. In the year 2002 Lajos Mocsai was honoured by the EHF for his lifetime achievement; Mocsai is EHF Lecturer.


Text: Lajos Mocsai/EHF