Ryde: CL more unpredictable than ever

Viborg opened with an unexpected 33-30 away defeat against the Romanian champions, C. S. Oltchim Valcea. The Romanian side were only seeded in Pot 4 before the draw of the group stage, but they have many Romanian internationals in their squad.

With all this in mind, Viborg’s coach, Tomas Ryde, was not even surprised after his team’s first defeat of the season. He believes that there are many possible favourites to win the title this season.

In fact, he tells Eurohandball.com that this competition will be the most unpredictable CL ever.

Eurohandball.com: You suffered your first defeat this season against Oltchim Valcea. Does it mean that Valcea are the biggest rivals in the group?

Tomas Ryde: I’m not even sure of that as I still don’t know enough about the actual strength of the other two teams in our group, Budocnost and FTC Budapest. It’s too early to judge that, but all matches in our group are important. In Valcea we started badly, but fought ourselves back in the match. We were unfortunate at the end, however.

Eurohandball.com: Many consider Viborg favourites of the Champions League. Does this result take some pressure off your players?

Tomas Ryde: Yes, I think so. I think that there are more strong teams in the tournament this year than many people imagine. This weekend, for instance, we saw the Swedish champions Sävehof lose by only one goal at home against a great team such as Krim Ljubljana. They even missed a penalty shot in the last seconds. I think it just proves that the Champions League is more unpredictable than ever.

Eurohandball.com: There are more and more injuries in the team. The last one is German international, Anja Althaus. What is her problem?

Tomas Ryde: A scan will show how bad her shoulder injury is. We will know from this scan if she needs to undergo surgery and how long she will be out.

Eurohandball.com: Does this mean that former Danish international, Lene Lund Nielsen, will be your only pivot or can you find someone to replace Anja Althaus?

Tomas Ryde: We have a fine cooperation with a first division club, Skive. A former Viborg player, Olga Assink, plays there and we may get her back on loan.

Eurohandball.com: Speaking of replacements: you did not need Christina Roslyng this time. She was signed to replace the pregnant Henriette Mikkelsen. Why didn’t she play?

Tomas Ryde: Christina is not yet fit to play, but she will be ready for the coming weekend.