Vestergaard: equal semi-finals

Finishing their main round campaign in style, Women´s Champions League title holder Viborg are now ready for the semi-finals. They will meet Norwegian their neighbours from Larvik HK this year.

Eurohandball.com asked Viborg´s head coach Jakob Vestergaard about the two semi-final ties – Viborg vs Larvik and Györ vs Valcea.

Eurohandball.com: What is your opinion about the upcoming semi-finals?

Jakob Vestergaard: I'm sure all four teams dream of winning the Champions League. I belive the semi-finals are two very open and equal ties. I'm not even sure that it will be the two teams from our main round group (Valcea and Viborg, ed.) to reach the final!

I think Győr are highly competitive opponents for Valcea and Larvik may very well cause a lot of trouble for us. They had a fantastic season so far and they have really reached their highest level, mainly because they play a bit more like a unit, than they used to.

Eurohandball.com: What are your feelings about meeting Larvik in the semi-finals?

Jakob Vestergaard: We are looking very much forward to the semi-finals. Matches like these worth living and breathing for! Champions League is the greatest tournament you can play, so we are really looking forward to the semi-finals!

Eurohandball.com: What can we expect from these Scandinavian semi-finals between you and Larvik?

Jakob Vestergaard: You may expect a couple of matches between two teams, who are very much alike, when it comes to the basic qualities – solid 6:0 defences, strong goalkeepers, a lot of fast-breaks, and an attacking play that follows the well known Scandinavian traditions a lot. I think the key for us will be, how consistently we play in our attack, in order to prevent Larvik from getting too many fast-break, and this will probably also be the key for Larvik. In general, I see those two matches as completely open!

Eurohandball.com: Consdering the short distance between Denmark and Norway, what will it mean that you have to play the second leg away?

Jakob Vestergaard: I do not think that it will mean anything at all! For instance, looking back on our finals against Györ last year, it was quite fortunate for us to finish away, as we did not play particularly well at home!