Gorbok sets out for trip to past

Back to where it all started. This is the motto of Sergei Gorbok before the Round 7 match of the VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase of his team Rhein Neckar Löwen at Motor Zaporozhye on Thursday.

It will be a decisive duel – as Löwen can make it already to the Last 16, if they win at Ukraine and Zagreb do not win at Celje on Saturday.

One week before his 31st birthday Gorbok will face some well-known faces, as he started his international career at Zaporozhye – but at the city rival ZTR – exactly ten years ago.

He had arrived (as Belarusian) from Belarusian side Arkatron Minsk. From Zaporozhye Siarhei Harbok (his name in former Belarusian transcription) made it to RK Celje, then in 2007 to Rhein Neckar Löwen. After three seasons he transferred to Chekhovskie Medvedi, where he became Russian citizen (and national team player) and his name was transcribed to Sergei Gorbok.

And before this season the left back found his way back to Löwen – just in time to return with them to Zaporozhye now and to take revenge for the 31:31 draw in their opener of this VELUX EHF Champions League season.

In this exclusive interview with ehfCl.com, Gorbok talks about his friends in Zaporozhye, the chances to win and the hopes to clinch the berth for the Last16 as early as possible.

ehfCL.com: Did your team underestimate Motor Zaporozhye in the first leg?

Sergei Gorbok: No, we prepared very intensely on Motor, but this is handball. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win – and sometimes you tie. It was the first Löwen Champions League match after three years.

When we were ahead by four goals we stopped scoring – mainly because of the great performance of goalkeeper Richard Stochl. After our huge lead we must have won this match, but we didn’t.

ehfCL.com: Another keys in the first leg were the seven goals of Sergiy Onufriyenko in the final stages. Will Löwen pay any special attention to him on Thursday?

Sergei Gorbok: He is a great player and the top scorer of Motor Zaporozhye. I played together with him at ZTR when he was a young guy. He is really strong. We have to take care of him, of course, but he is not the only dangerous Motor player.

ehfCL.com: Did Zaporozhye surprise you in the current season?

Sergei Gorbok: They have a strong team with a high-quality coach, Sergei Bebeshko. He knows Champions League well from his successful era in my home town Minsk, when he was coaching Dinamo.

Along with him some former Dinamo players joined Motor and they added other top players like Stochl or Egor Evdokimov to their squad. So Motor are strong with good qualities in defence and attack.

ehfCL.com: After four consecutive Group Phase wins Rhein Neckar Löwen can qualify for the Last 16 in Round 7 – and ideal finish of the international year 2013?

Sergei Gorbok: Indeed. The earlier you clinch the berth for the next stage, the less pressure is on you in the remaining matches. We are playing to win at Zaporozhye and we can increase the distance to Motor. Even as the first position looks a little bit impossible at the moment we can early secure the second spot, which would be highly important for the next stages.

ehfCL.com: After you played for two seasons from 2003 to 2005 at Zaporozhye – how intense are your contacts to there?

Sergei Gorbok: I know a big number of the current Motor players. With some I played at ZTR, with Stochl and Evdokimov at Medvedi, with Titov in the Belarusian national team. I still have some contacts, but less to Motor and more to ZTR and those players.

But in the end this match is nothing special for me. Just a game, in which I want to take two points. It would maybe be different, if we faced ZTR.

Further information

Follow the match Motor vs Löwen live on ehfTV.com on Thursday at 19:30 hrs local time (18:30 CET)