My five minutes are yet to come, Wyszomirski promises

With his summer move, Polish goalkeeper Piotr Wyszomirski exchanged calm surroundings for a vibrant university town; a young ambitious team for a solid club steeped in tradition and a big appetite for success; and a firm position as first goalkeeper for tough competition for the spot in his new squad, MOL-Pick Szeged.

The Hungarian side recorded a narrow win in their first match of the VELUX EHF Champions League 2014/15 last weekend, and are now preparing for their second round match against Polish team KS Vive Tauron Kielce.

Wyszomirski spoke to ehfCL.com ahead of Saturday’s match, in which he will face many of his teammates from the Poland national team.

ehfCL.com: When we talked last time, you were very happy with Csurgoi KK, where you had quickly become a local favourite. Why did you decide to change clubs?

Piotr Wyszomirski: I received an invitation to be part of the Champions League. It’s true that I felt great in Csurgo, but you can’t extend a contract just because you feel great in the team and the fans like you. I had a good season and I had two offers from clubs that play in the Champions League. I wanted to stay in Hungary, so I chose Szeged.

ehfCL.com: How do you feel at Szeged so far?

Piotr Wyszomirski: It’s a club with great traditions. We’ve got skilful players in each position. In every match and every training session you have to prove your value. For me it’s perfect, because every day I train with solid players, which is always challenging. I’m developing.

ehfCL.com: But your role in the team changed between clubs, didn’t it?

Piotr Wyszomirski: Definitely yes. In Csurgo I was the first goalkeeper; the second one was two years younger than me, so I played almost ceaselessly. Here I have to fight for that place in the squad. Jose Manuel Sierra and our coach worked together successfully in Valladolid for a long time. I’ve got a difficult task, I know that, but what can I do (laughs)?

After all, competition is good for me. For now we play more or less about 30 minutes each. Unfortunately, I didn’t enter the game against Zaporozhye well, so Sierra came on and saved some important goals toward the end of the game.

ehfCL.com: You looked to be off to a good start, but something went wrong. What did you think of the match overall?

Piotr Wyszomirski: I was heartbroken after this match. You know, first appearance in the Champions League – a man would like to show himself but it doesn’t always work out well. I talked to the guys later and they agreed that there were poor moments for both the defence and the attack.

All in all, I think the coach made a good decision, because after letting in those few goals I was disheartened. It’s good to have an experienced goalkeeper such as Sierra to back me up; he helped us in a critical moment.

ehfCL.com: You came to Szeged to replace the best goalkeeper of last season’s EHF Cup, Roland Mikler (currently playing for Veszprem). Is this an additional challenge for you?

Piotr Wyszomirski: I thought about it when I was signing the contract, but right now I don’t even want to keep it in mind. There’s no point in doing that; it only absorbs your attention. I just want to spend as much time as possible on the court. My five minutes in the club are yet to come.

ehfCL.com: Does Sierra make a good partner?

Piotr Wyszomirski: I think we make a nice duo. The age gap between us is the same as between me and Slawek Szmal in the national team. Sierra is a nice, calm guy and we work well together. Maybe we don’t talk too much because he doesn’t speak English well and my Spanish leaves a lot to be desired (laugh).

ehfCL.com: What about your communication with the rest of the team?

Piotr Wyszomirski: Before or after every training we get together and talk. The coach speaks Spanish. Sometimes he intersperses his speech with a few English words, but not as a rule. The second coach, Marko, translates everything into Hungarian. Once Feri Ilyés said to me: ‘Hey, you don’t understand anything!’ (laugh). So if I need, he translates crucial things into English.

ehfCL.com: You exchanged small Csurgo for a university town full of young people. Are you satisfied with that part of the move?

Piotr Wyszomirski: Well, in Csurgo when I was coming home from evening training sessions, the town was sleeping. Szeged is beautiful – at that time you can go out for a coffe or for dinner, so the change is positive. I moved here with my wife, so I’m not bored (laugh).

ehfCL.com: As you are a Hungarian cuisine connoisseur we must ask: how do you like the famous Szeged fish soup?

Piotr Wyszomirski: I’m not particulary keen on the fish soup (laugh).

ehfCL.com: So you stick to the goulash?

Piotr Wyszomirski: Yes, definitely (laugh)! But since I got married, I must have changed my cuisine, my wife cooks healthy for me. In Csurgo I used to eat in restaurants what they gave me. It wasn’t really proper kitchen for an athlete (laugh).

ehfCL.com: Back to handball: it seems Szeged was lucky with the group for the VELUX EHF Champions League this season.

Piotr Wyszomirski: For sure, but remember that five new players joined the club and a few left it. We need some time to build the team and the atmosphere. The Champions League is unpredictable – every match is difficult; we could see it in the previous round. Look what Kolding did against Flensburg! Fourteen goals – I was shocked! And Zagreb won against Kiel.

Maybe our opponents in the group are not Barcelona or Flensburg, but anything can happen. I would say the group is not difficult, but it’s not easy either.

ehfCL.com: After reaching the group phase of the VELUX EHF Champions League, what is most important for Szeged? The next step on the European ladder or finally taking the crown from Veszrem in the domestic contest?

Piotr Wyszomirski: Oh, that would be beautiful! Each of us would like to beat Veszprem finally, but with their transfers – with players like Marguc from Celje, Zeitz from Kiel and Nilsson from Hamburg – I think they are able to win the FINAL4 this season. We however, will focus on one game at a time. There are huge appetites in the team after the victory in the EHF Cup Finals and we would like to achieve something on the European stage.

ehfCL.com: Is Juan Carlos Pastor (Szeged’s coach) using you as a source of information for the upcoming match in Kielce?

Piotr Wyszomirski: The coach is up-to-date – he’s got his informers everywhere (laugh). I’m not sure if he wants to ask me anything.

ehfCL.com: But you know half of Vive very well.

Piotr Wyszomirski: Yes, but it’s 50/50. I know them, they know me – I don’t want to talk too much before the game. I’m coming to Poland, so I would like to do my best in front of the Polish fans. We’ll see how it works out.

Further information

Follow the match KS Vive Tauron Kielce vs MOL-Pick Szeged on Saturday (14:00 hrs) live on ehfTV.com