Müller: Back to Ljubljana and back to the group matches

Leipzig, Aalborg, Randers, Ljubljana, Leipzig – this is the career path German international Susann Müller has taken.

After returning back to her roots at HC Leipzig before the start of this season she managed to qualify for the Group Matches of the Women’s EHF Champions League with victory at the qualification tournament in Trondheim last weekend.

Proceeding to the next stage means meeting the teammates she recently left at Krim Ljubljana, the team she reached the semi-final of last season’s competition with.

In this interview with ehfCL.com Müller talks about special emotions, important advice and  hopes for the year ahead.

ehfCL.com: How confident were you and your team that you would be successful in Trondheim?

Susann Müller: Before the start of a tournament like this you cannot be 100% sure of proceeding, especially as we did not know what to expect from our semi-final opponent Minsk with no video material from them.

ehfCL.com: The victory in the final against host Byasen Trondheim was never in danger. How did you feel?

Susann Müller: We had a good feeling right from the start, as my teammates only had positive memories on Trondheim, beating them most of the time in previous matches.

After some problems in the opening stage we were boosted by our defence and goalkeepers, we fought hard and concentrated. Later-on we were confident in scoring with counter-attacks and in the end it was the team performance which clinched the win.

ehfCL.com: You played in this competition with the likes of Randers and Krim – what does it mean to you to participate with HC Leipzig again?

Susann Müller: In general it is nice to face and compete with the best teams and players from Europe. Those are important challenges apart from the domestic competitions. The Champions League rewards you with experience, regardless if you win or lose.

To be part of the Champions League with HC Leipzig again means a lot to me, as our young team can be proud to get the chance to compete. Maybe we have the abilities to bother some of the favourites.

ehfCL.com: And now one of your opponents will be your former team of Krim Ljubljana, you played for in the previous season – something special for you?

Susann Müller: Of course it is something special; I am really looking forward to being back in “my old arena” and to meet my former team mates.

ehfCL.com: Will you be a special advisor for your coach Thomas Örneborg?

Susann Müller: I think I will be able to provide him with some advice, as the Krim team mostly remained the same compared to last season. If you are together with a team for one year in every training session and every match you know the individual players and the whole team. But who knows – maybe Krim coach Tone Tisely will come up with something brand new.

ehfCL.com: Will you enjoy the reunion?

Susann Müller: Yes, for one year we have fought together, laughed together, cried together, sweat together, we won, we lost and we clenched our teeth in every training session. I am really looking forward to this reunion and to show them in our home match where I come from.

ehfCL.com: Are Leipzig able to beat Krim?

Susann Müller: In theory every team is beatable, every team starts at zero, but still the duel Leipzig vs. Krim is something like David vs. Goliath. We have to rely on our strengths and need to catch Krim flat-footed, and then maybe…

ehfCL.com: How do you rate Leipzig’s chances in general?

Susann Müller: It shall not sound presumptuous, but in contrast to Krim, Metz and Sävehof are on eye level for us. We had faced Metz during a test tournament in Hungary and beat them in a penalty shoot-out after we had full control of the match before. And I watched Sävehof in another test match against Ljubljana – and this task is not easy, but manageable.

If everything fits well and everybody contributes everything for the success, we have a chance to pass the Group Phase.