Uvodić: "Satisfied and proud"
Before their VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League Last 16 duel with Chekhovskie Medvedi, Bosna BH Gas goalkeeper Sandro Uvodić spoke to ehfCL.com.
The Croatian international is satisfied and proud over the qualification to the Last 16 for the first time in the club’s history.
ehfCL.com: Bosna is in the Last 16 of the VELUX EHF Champions League. Did your team accomplish a historical success?
Sandro Uvodić: By entering the Last 16 we really made great result. Like all my teammates I am extremely happy about that, especially because we have quite a young team that has been working hard. Finally it all paid off.
Our last two decisive games were absolute thriller matches with tension until the very last second. This all made winning taste even sweeter.
ehfCL.com: How is the feeling in the team after this great accomplishment?
Sandro Uvodić: Of course, the team atmosphere is excellent. We are all very happy and motivated, especially when having in mind that almost the entire team was substituted when compared to last season. It was our young team that produced this result.
ehfCL.com: How important was the point you took against your ex-team Zagreb?
Sandro Uvodić: The point we took against Zagreb Croatia osiguranje proved to be truly crucial. As we could see now, without that point we would have finished last in our group, as we had the worst goal difference compared with our competitors.
ehfCL.com: In the Last 16 your opponents will be the Russian champions Chekhovskie Medvedi. What do you know about them?
Sandro Uvodić: Chekhovskie Medvedi won Group C. Their squad consists of the entire Russian national team, with three or four additional Ukrainian players. Last year they participated at the VELUX EHF FINAL4.
Medvedi for sure are a tough opponent and a well prepared team to meet. But we can play without any pressure and try our best to surprise them.
ehfCL.com: Can the Russians expect a "warm" welcome by your fans in Sarajevo?
Sandro Uvodić: I think that with our results so far we surprised our fans in positive way and made them proud. By that I mean that we did not only make people from Sarajevo proud but in a certain way people from entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I expect Centar Skenderija, our sports hall, to be sold out against Medvedi. And I am sure that our fans will produce a great atmosphere. We as a team will give our best on court to repay them with a great performance.
VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League, Last 16, First leg
Sunday, 27 March 2011, 18:00 hrs (local time)
RK Bosna BH Gas (BIH) vs. Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS)
TEXT:
Ivan Ambroš