Flash quotes: 28 November
BASEL/DEBRECEN/INNSBRUCK – Comments from Croatia head coach Ivica Obrvan, right wing Josipa Mamic and line player Katarina Jezic (all CRO), and Switzerland head coach Knut Ove Joa (NOR), centre back Kerstin Kündig and line player Tabea Schmid (both SUI); Romania head coach Florentin Pera (ROU), and Montenegro head coach Suzana Lazovic and centre back Milena Raicevic (both MNE) at a media call in Debrecen on Thursday; and the Netherlands head coach Henrik Signell (SWE), right back Dione Housherr and left back Lois Abbingh (both NED) at a photoshoot in Innsbruck on Wednesday.
ROMANIA
Florentin Pera (ROU) - head coach
On the opening match against Czechia:
"We expect to be a tough game against Czech Republic, they have experienced players. We have a lot of new players in our team, young players. We improve the team now, we rebuild the team, but I want to say that I trust my players. We have a good atmosphere, energy, we are ready to fight for the victory. It's important to play with attitude, to play together compact in defence, and collective in attack."
On preparing the young players for their first EHF EURO:
"We increase the game. We had three friendly games, good games against very strong teams, and game by game it was better and the players won the confidence. It's important to give our best and I'm sure that all the players they will fight for every ball, 60 minutes."
On his goals for the tournament:
"I want to fight in defence, to fight in every game. Also I want to play fast break because we have young players and also we try to take points in the group, because all the games they are open for any result. If we start with one victory against Czechia I think the players will win the confidence and will be better for us.
"It's important to start good this European championship, I have young players with very good quality and one victory I think give us a lot of energy and confidence for the next games."
CROATIA
Ivica Obrvan (CRO) - head coach
On their expectations:
“Our expectations are always to show ourselves as a good team like at every European championship. Croatia has its rating and status where it belongs. We have some changes in the squad and we will have to see how the new girls will adapt.”
On group D:
“We have a tough group with the co-hosts, Switzerland. They have shown a good performance already at the last EURO when they played against us and Croatia managed to get a draw in the last moment of the game. They are now more experienced and have a strong desire to win and progress further.
“Denmark are the favourite of the group and the Faroe Islands could be a surprise, they could win. I believe if we follow our plan, game by game, we will go in the direction we want. I think the last game against Switzerland will be the decisive one.”
On the importance of playing at a high level:
“We have chosen the players that are in the best form right now. I believe in those players. Croatia is not the powerhouse, we are the team in the zone that can play against anyone. There needs to be a lot of luck and things falling into the right place to be able to repeat the 2020 European Championship (bronze medal). I believe in the future, with this new experience, these young players could make progress and bring Croatian handball to a higher level.”
On the first game against Denmark:
“Denmark are not only the favourites in the group, but also of the whole competition. An amazing team, and by the latest analysis, extremely tough defensive-wise, but also amazing in the attack. We have a tough task ahead of us. My wish is to play as best as we can and to keep up for us much as we can. We are hoping to get a good result.”
Josipa Mamic (CRO) - right wing
On being back at the Women's EHF EURO:
“It is a nice feeling to be back at the big competition. It is an honour to play for the national team. I missed the last European championship after an injury and to be back after such a tough moment of your career, it's even sweeter to be here. It's proof your hard work paid off. I'm thankful.”
On the team:
“We have new teammates but the atmosphere within the team remains amazing. We are a good mix of experienced players, like Katarina Jezic, and young talented ones who are eager to show what they can do.”
On their goals:
“Our main goal is to progress to the main round. To prove we can play against Denmark even though they are a big favourite in the game, but we want to fight and push them as much as we can. After, just go game by game and try to win against the Faroe Islands and Switzerland.”
On the rematch of the 2020 bronze-medal game against Denmark:
“Denmark is much stronger than they were four years ago. they play typical Scandinavian handball with a fast pace, and a great technique. It will be very tough. The opening games are never easy for any team, especially for us when you are playing against a team that is one of the favourites to the a medal. We need to take it slow, not make technical mistakes and allow them to score easy goals from fast breaks and second wave fast breaks. They are better, but they are still human and we can fight.”
Katarina Jezic (CRO) - line player
On playing her seventh Women's EHF EURO:
“I only just found out this is my seventh European championships, but I'm still excited like it's my first. The only difference is I have a huge experience and I can help my teammates a lot.”
On their group D opponents:
“Very strong group with a great team. I think we have a chance to progress to the main round, but to do so, we have to be on the highest level and focused on the goal. Our strong defence should be our base with a good attack and if we do that, we have a shot in every game.”
On Denmark:
“They are the favourites on paper, but we will not surrender to anyone. They need to prove their status on the court and I will trust we can put up a good fight until the end. We need to stick to our plan and be aware of the mistakes as you have to play almost a perfect match to go side by side with such a strong team.”
SWITZERLAND
Knut Ove Joa (NOR) - head coach
On the atmosphere within the team:
“Girls are excited. The good thing is they were playing at this level before but of course, this is much more special with all the spectators and all things around the competition. I think it's more special for them and we are looking forward to it. We had good preparation and we are ready to show what we can.”
On the team's progress:
“We are still a young squad and probably one of the youngest in the tournament on average, but these players have come a really long way and young age. I think they are hungry young talents who want to perform and develop. It's on us to close the gap to the nations above us for the moment.”
“We are building this almost from each time we meet. So I think we are taking huge steps to win this with these young players. So they take steps and now it's exciting to see what they can achieve in this tournament.”
On the first game against the Faroe Islands:
“For us, it is important that we do a good performance whether it is against the Faroe Islands, Denmark or Croatia. The first challenge is the Faroe Islands. They are a good team and also on their way up. We really have to be prepared and we have done a lot of work to be prepared.
“We have met Iceland in two games, which we think also play a bit similar to Faroe Island, so we are where we want to be. Now it's just about getting all the nervosity and everything away to get a good performance.”
Kerstin Kündig (SUI) - centre back
On waiting for the Women's EHF EURO 2024 to start:
“When we got the information that we're going to have a home European championship, it was like, oh, OK, it's going to be in three, four years, so that was so far away for us. But we still knew this is our main goal and we kept preparing for this for years. And now it's getting closer, closer and closer, and since we arrived here in Basel it's when the nervousness really started to kick in.
“We feel that everyone is here, all the media is here, the fans… I mean, I know so many of the helpers in the hall, in the hotel, everyone around the competition and now you feel that the tension is getting bigger.”
On the Faroe Islands:
“I think on the one hand, it's a dangerous game because we know exactly that they made also huge progress the last years. They are an upcoming team and they have their qualities for sure.
“But I think also for us, it's a chance to show in front of the home audience that we made huge progress last years, and we made a huge step in the right direction. I think the latest result from us showed that we are in good shape, and we are having a good flow, so I hope that we can keep this flow and hopefully win this opening game.”
On the pressure:
“The pressure is here and you can say a lot of times that we just want to enjoy the game, enjoy the audience, but every player knows there is pressure. The most pressure we're doing ourselves because we want to win and we want to show that we can do that. And I think still, even if there is pressure, we should just celebrate every successful action, we should celebrate every save from our goalkeeper, we should celebrate every defensive action.
“When you have this feeling together that we can achieve big things, I hope that we can do this against the Faroe Islands.”
On the importance of a home EHF EURO:
“I hope that many children are sitting at the stands and watching the games and think, hey, this is a cool sport. I want us to inspire young girls and players to start playing handball. It can help the national team to have more players later that can play on a high level, and I think this is still one of the main differences between Switzerland and other countries.”
Tabea Schmid (SUI) - line player
On playing at home:
“We are extremely excited, obviously, and it's also not usual for us to play in front of so many people. I think it's going to be a crazy experience and I don't know if we really are prepared for so many people. We are prepared for our game, but not for all the atmosphere outside of the court. have to be honest, I'm also nervous that it starts but I do believe it's going to be great.”
On the pressure:
“I hope the big support will be an additional push for us. I think we just have to deal with the pressure and use the home advantage to reach our goals.”
On their goals:
“We want to get our first win at the start against Faroe Islands. It's going to be tough but I know we can do it. We expect it from ourselves. Against Denmark, of course, it's going to be hard, but also fun to play that game. We know a game against Croatia could be decisive for us. But if we have to go to the main round, we know what we need to do. I know we would all be disappointed if we didn't.”
On the Faroe Islands:
“They have a lot of good individual players also who play in the Danish league. So I think we have to get them under control. They're playing fast and we have to stop that, they have good one-against-one players, so we have to be compact. Our key is just to push them over 60 minutes and I think I think we should be the better team over the whole period of time and not get stressed if we don't succeed from the very beginning.
“They are an upcoming handball nation and we know how it is to be in their position. They don't have to lose anything. This was really fun for us to play two years ago, if you don't have any pressure at all, it's easier to play, so that's their advantage.”
MONTENEGRO
Suzana Lazovic (MNE) - head coach
On the opening match against Serbia:
"The first match against Serbia, a Balkan mentality; I think it will not only be a tough match against them, but also our group every match will be tough. I'm sure my players will give 100 per cent, all times between Montenegro and Serbia is a big motivation with this energy between them, with a big fight.
"I believe in my players, I believe how we do this preparation period since September, I think now we finish already, we prepare everything, and tomorrow we start this match with a good mood, what is important, with good health, and tomorrow we will see."
On her first big job as head coach:
"It's a big difference being a player, because in that moment you think only about yourself, of how you prepare yourself, and what is important, what is your task in this match, what (the) coach tell to you you must do.
"For the coach you're only thinking about all players, you're thinking about all tactics.
"I like this job, I have a chance to after (being) part of this handball player career, be a head coach, and this is a big honour for me. I want to give everything that I can, teach what coaches with who I worked with before as a player give to them.
"Also I have some players with which I play, I think we know each other very good, how we function in that moment player-player. But now we meet each other as a coach-player, but we didn't have problems. Tomorrow when we come together with this energy, with the old and the young generation, with me and my staff on the bench, that we can give some new power, some new strength, some new energy."
On their goals:
"I don't like talking only about the last championship. Montenegro is a small country with a big heart, and we have a rich history. If you talk about all these results in the Montenegrin history, of course will be a hard task, but I think every coach have their challenges what they want in this, and this is my way."
Milena Raicevic (MNE) - centre back
On the first match against Serbia:
"Every first match is hard, but we will prepare really good Serbia because we've had a lot of games that we've played with them. What we promise is that we will fight from the first minute, and like Montenegro all these years show big energy on the court.
"We cannot forget that Serbia also have a good team, all the girls play good handball in good leagues, and because of that we need to be 100 per cent focused from the first minute until the end of the game. When today you play handball you can't be relaxed in any part of the game."
On preparing the younger players for the EHF EURO:
"In Montenegro this is special how we prepare young players. If you come to be in the national team you are ready for that. We just help them to feel this energy. In Montenegro this is the most important thing in our team, to show the energy and young players come with this fire and ice. There is not a lot of things that we need to learn them, because this is what you have in the heart, you need to show on the court."
NETHERLANDS
Henrik Signell (SWE) – coach
On their EHF EURO 2024 expectations:
“We have focused more on shorter goals, process goals, performance goals. We haven't set a result goal, a specific position. We will try to go to the main round with the optimum of points. From there, we will have a new discussion.”
On the second match against Germany:
“I think all who know about handball think that the Netherlands and Germany are the two best teams in our group. But you never know. We want to play good in all three matches. But of course it's a key match to win.”
On their opener against Iceland:
“They are a team which is improving. Many players are good in one against one. They play a modern handball. And we know, the first match is always difficult.”
On the changes in the Dutch squad:
“It is of course to be strong as a team and to make sure that every player we select wants to improve and to fight for medals again. It was five years since we took a medal and we want to improve and fight for it again.”
Dione Housherr (NED) – right back
On the atmosphere in the team:
“The atmosphere in the team is really good. Playing another championship is just really something special. And this one is really close to the Olympics, so it feels a little bit strange to already have a new tournament, but I think everyone is feeling good, and especially really exciting how it's going to be this tournament.
“We have some changes in the team, so it's always exciting how this group can perform now. So we're just really looking forward to start and see where we are with this team now.”
On their EHF EURO goals:
“Especially now with this little different team, we just really want to focus on the first games. We want to six points and go to the next round, and from there we will see. It's good for us that we have some small goals in the team.”
On their first opponents, Iceland:
“We did not play that often against them, but we know they are good, they have some good individual skills. They have also played against some good teams and they challenged them.
“It's hard to really describe what the game will be, but the first game in a tournament is always a little difficult, everyone has to get this feeling of the championship again. I think it will be exciting, but it's also a little strange to play against a team you haven't played against many times.”
On the match against Germany:
“This game will be really important. I think Germany and us, we are the best in this group, so this will be already a little final. We played many times against them, so we know each other really well, and many of us played against some players from them in the clubs, so of course it's all about the details, that make the difference.”
On the playing style under their new coach Henrik Signell:
“It is a Dutch-Scandinavian mix. Through the years we created our own Dutch style, so I think we still have this, and of course Scandinavian handball is really good. With his ideas and experience he has, he also brings this to the team, but I think we have a good basic in the national team, and he just adds many details and experience he has from different teams before, this a good combination.”
On the majority of Dutch players playing in clubs abroad:
“It is really good that we play all over the world, so everyone gets a different experience. Unfortunately the league in the Netherlands is not the best, so we need to go abroad. So against every team we play with the national team we know some players from the clubs.
“It's a strength for our team that we get a lot of experience abroad, and to stand up or survive in that way in another country also gives me as a team mental strength.”
Lois Abbingh (NED) – left back
On their EHF EURO expectations:
“Our goals are always high, but we also have to say that we obviously have lots of new players, including young players. We want to play for the medals, but first we have our goal of finishing on top of our group in Innsbruck.
“We lost a bit of experience, but when you come here as a player you always expect a medal, but I don't think we're ready yet to say that we're fighting for the medals, because there are so many good teams here.”
On their preparation:
“We saw it in the last test matches that it still takes a bit more time, especially in defence. Kelly Dulfer was in the middle block for years, now without her it still needs a bit of time.
“In attack we obviously always have the people we played with a lot, but the defence can be difficult, if we aim for a medal. I don't think attack has ever been the problem for us, but we would like to play better defence, so that's our goal again now with a new coach.
“Players like Dione Housherr and Larissa Nüsser will take more leadership, and they are ready for it. Inger Smits and I are the last old ones.”
On the key match against Germany:
“We know them well, there will be not that many surprises. A lot of our players still play in the Bundesliga or we know them from the other international clubs. It's always nice to play against Germany.
“This match will be crucial in terms of the rest of the tournament. Both have to win, this match will decide the base for both in the main round. With Norway and Denmark and both of us, there will be four contenders for the semis, you just have to win the group in Innsbruck to remain in the race.”
