ehfCL.com talks to Rhein Neckar Löwen Manager, Thorsten Storm, following his team's draw against Zagreb.
LÖWEN WANT TITLES
After winning 31:28 in Zagreb a 27:27 draw at home was enough for the Rhein Neckar Löwen to reach the Quarterfinals of the VELUX EHF Champions League.
Team Manager, Thorsten Storm, was satisfied with the result. ehfCL.com caught up with him after his team’s match in Mannheim.
ehfCL.com: Getting to the Quarterfinals was a huge achievement for the Löwen, how do see this?
Thorsten Storm: Yes, indeed. Zagreb is a big team, they played very well and adapted well against our tactics.
It was a close match after the break and they could even have challenged our qualification to the Quarterfinals. It was then that our experienced players, Olafur Stefansson and Grzegorz Tkaczyk, took over the responsibility.
These two players, who will leave us at the end of the season, have shown that they want to win titles with the Löwen before they move.
ehfCL.com: Which would you like to face in the Quarterfinals?
Thorsten Storm: At this stage of a competition like the VELUX EHF Champions League you only have top opponents to face.
My wish is that we will play against an international side which of course means that I hope we can avoid a duel with another German team.
The season in the Champions League was a success for us up to now – we have played better matches than in the German Bundesliga.
ehfCL.com: There has been a lot of speculation about transfers of players to and from the club, what is the situation?
Thorsten Storm: Tkaczyk and Szmal will transfer to Kielce, and Stefansson will go to Copenhagen – those are the facts currently.
We have also signed Goran Stojanovic for the next season, amd Alexander Petterson and Niklas Landin will join us from 2012 onwards.
TEXT:
Björn Pazen