Aune: “Speed and will power have brought us where we are”

Malin Aune does not have to think long before outlining the main reasons Vipers Kristiansand have made it to the WOMEN’S EHF FINAL4 A for the first time ever.

“We are a team who like speed. We like to play fast, and we are well trained. That has helped us in many games.

“We train very well every day, and we all want so badly to win every match we play. Some of our players also have plenty of previous experience from the Champions League, and that is a further advantage,” says the 24-year-old right wing who is playing her third season with Vipers, whom she joined from league rivals Oppsal in 2016.

“I feel good in the club, in the city and with all those fine people who work to make things nice for us players,” says Aune, one of the few Vipers players with previous Women’s EHF Champions League experience.

She was also part of the team last year, when Vipers were eliminated after the group matches in their maiden Champions League season.

This season, Aune has contributed 41 goals so far. Her greatest match in terms of scoring goals was the away game against CSM Bucuresti on 4 November, when she scored eight goals in Vipers’ sensational 31:26 win in the Romanian capital.

That victory marked a milestone on the Norwegian champions’ road to Budapest.

Proud of All-star Team nomination

Her 41 Champions League goals so far are extra impressive considering the fact that Aune was out injured for part of the season.

“I finally feel that my form is beginning to be back to what it was before,” says Aune, who has played 43 internationals for Norway.

She was European champion with her country in 2016, and was also part of the Norwegian national team that finished fifth at the EHF EURO 2018 in France last December.

Reaching the DELO WOMEN’S EHF FINAL4 with Vipers is not her only recent achievement, however: She has also been nominated for the Women’s EHF Champions League 2018/19 All-star Team.

“That is very flattering to me, and I find it really great to have been nominated for that,” Aune says.

Looking forward to getting started

Quite obviously, she is looking forward to her first WOMEN’S EHF FINAL4. She will travel to Budapest with respect for the opponents, but without any fear.

“We are all looking very much forward to getting started,” says Aune. “Of course, we meet a good team in the semi-final in the form of Györ, but we will definitely do everything we can to win anyway.”