Lyksborg: "We will fight tooth and nail"

After two years at FC Copenhagen Louise Lyksborg joined the German champions HC Leipzig this season. The Danish right wing has been World and European Champion with Youth and Junior teams before, and won the Cup Winner’s Cup with Copenhagen in 2008.

Before the upcoming EHF Champions League Main Round match against Györ, Lyksborg talks about the differences between Denmark and Leipzig, and the chances and objectives of her team in the league.

ehfCL.com: You have been playing for HC Leipzig since June 2010. Have you settled in well already?

Louise Lyksborg: Yes, the club is great, the team is top, the city of Leipzig is very nice with a lot of cafes. I like it very much here.

ehfCL.com: What makes your team special?

Louise Lyksborg: First of all, the club is working highly professional, which makes everything easy for the players. I really feel comfortable here, as the team-mates welcomed me with open arms. It was very easy to integrate into the team and also the coach has trust in me, which is very important.

ehfCL.com: Is it an advantage that your coach Heine Jensen is Danish, too?

Louise Lyksborg: Yes, especially when I arrived in Leipzig he helped me a lot, for instance to learn German and to understand everything. Besides that we belong to the same culture – but now we communicate in German. Another advantage is that HC Leipzig play quite northern European tactics, mainly Danish tactics, and this system fits me.

ehfCL.com: What is the main difference between Denmark and Leipzig?

Louise Lyksborg: The number of spectators. In Leipzig we have a full arena at almost every match, that is the biggest difference. Those big crowds put a certain pressure on the team, but then again I like to perform under pressure. Another difference is that the German league is much more balanced than the Danish. You have to fight hard for every single victory.

ehfCL.com: What does it mean to you to have qualified for the Main Round of the EHF Champions League?

Louise Lyksborg: It was one of our key objectives in this season. For me personally a dream came true. I have missed the Main Round twice with my former club FC Copenhagen, but now I’m part of the Main Round with Leipzig. In my opinion HCL belong among the top eight teams in Europe, so we do belong into the Main Round – and so it is good for the team and the club to participate again.

ehfCL.com: In your opening Main Round match HCL lost very close to the big favourites Larvik. Did your team perform so well or did Larvik underestimate you?

Louise Lyksborg: We played really well, attended by a great audience. If we all give 100 percent we are a team close to perfection. I do not think that Larvik underestimated us but they were surprised about the level on which we performed. Everything was ok.

ehfCL.com: Sunday you will play in Györ – another top duel. What chances do Leipzig have in Hungary?

Louise Lyksborg: We will fight tooth and nail and then we will see if it was enough. With players like Pálinger, Lunde or Görbicz they have a great team and it will not be easy to take the points from Györ. But we will fight and try to keep up with Györ as long as possible.

ehfCL.com: What are your key objectives for the Main Round?

Louise Lyksborg: We hope for some points, we want to have fun and we want to gain international experience which helps us in the German league. For me the most important thing is to learn and to improve in the Main Round – and if we give 100 percent we have the chance to take some points.

HC Leipzig’s away match of Round 2 at last season’s EHF Champions League semi-finalists Győr will be broadcast as a free-of-charge live web stream on ehfTV.com.

EHF Women’s Champions League, Main Round Group 2, Round 2
Sunday, 13 February 2011, 18:15 hrs (local time)
Györi AUDI ETO KC (HUN) vs. HC Leipzig (GER)

ehfTV.com is the official Internet TV platform of the European Handball Federation and offers free live streaming as well as a video on demand service.