“Zvezda are better for us”

For her it’s the first time, for her club it’s the great chance to win the ninth title in the Champions League (including the forerunner of the CL). Hypo Niederösterreich reached the final after beating Lada Togliatti by 36:29 in the second leg after losing the first match by 28:31.

The German goalkeeper, Sabine Englert, is totally satisfied, but she believes that the match was much closer than the result suggests. Now she is happy to play against Zvezda. Read an exclusive interview with Eurohandball.com.

Eurohandball.com: Congratulations, at the end it was a quite clear result. Did you expect this to come this way?

Englert: We had a very good start. At halftime we were in lead with by 20:12, which was a major step to the final. But after the break we forgot to concentrate for a few minutes. Lada came closer and closer and I wasn’t sure anymore in our success as we made a lot of mistakes.

Eurohandball.com: When did you know that you were in the final?

Englert: Just three minutes before the end when we were seven or eight goals up. As I had some very bad and sad experiences in handball – eg. last season’s league final in Germany – I don’t celebrate too early.

Eurohandball.com: Your team celebrated at the end. How much pressure did you and Hypo feel?

Englert: It was our main goal to win the Champions League again and now my first dream –reaching the final – came true. But now we want to win the ninth title.

Eurohandball.com: How could it happen that your team lost the first leg in Togliatti?

Englert: It was our worst match of the season. We had a six week break and did not concentrate there. But we knew before the second leg that we can play much better and we showed what we are able to.

Eurohandball.com: You saw the second semi-final between Győr and Zvezda on live stream. Is it better four your team to meet the Russian champions in the final?

Englert: Yes, of course. A lot of Hungarian spectators would have come to support their team. Besides, this would have been a special situation, as we have a Hungarian coach and two Hungarian players. Zvezda are a better choice for us as we have beaten them twice in the Main Round.