German reactions

Uwe Schwenker (Manager THW Kiel): “We didn’t want to play against Ciudad Real in this early stage of the competition. But in the end it doesn’t mind, against what team you play in the round of the last 16. But those opponents - Ciudad Real as the title holder and GOG as our Danish neighbor - are very attractive for us and our spectators. We have a good basis with four points and as you see now, our two victories against Barcelona were very important. I think we need two more victories in the main round and then we can reach our objective, the quarterfinals. Especially for our supporters it’s great to have another match against Ciudad after we lost the final last season. And maybe we meet again afterwards.”

Christian Fitzek (sports director HSV Hamburg): “This is not what we dreamed of as we hoped for other opponents. We played last season against Portland and Chechov. But maybe it’s a good omen that we won both matches against Chechov and took three points against Portland. We can start with quite a good basis, four points, but we have to take care that we don’t stumble – otherwise we can fall. I think we have a chance to reach the quarterfinals.”

Fynn Holpert (Manager SG Flensburg-Handewitt): “We fought some real tough battles against Montpellier in the past, just remember our terrible elimination four years ago with a direct free throw in the last second. Leon is number one in Spain, this says everything about their team. But I hope that we have enough power and quality to go on to the quarterfinals.”

David Szlezak (director Rhein Neckar Löwen): “We are very satisfied with the draw, even as we have to play against two internationally experienced teams. Chambery have a great advantage that they start with four points. For us, with two points like Zagreb, it’s important to win our home matches. But to reach the quarterfinals you need an away victory.”