Szeged, 15 January – Quotes from France coach Guillaume Gille (FRA) and left back Romain Lagarde (FRA), and Ukraine coach Michael Biegler (GER) and left back Ihor Turchenko (UKR) after France beat Ukraine (36:23) in Szeged on Saturday.
Guillaume Gille (FRA) - coach, France
On the importance of winning a second straight game:
"It was for us very important to take the points in the preliminary round. We expected a good game from our side to share playing time to all players. It was very satisfying to see that every player brought something positive in this game."
Romain Lagarde (FRA) - left back, France
On playing a favourite before the game:
"We knew that Ukraine did not play well against Serbia. We needed also to play better than we did on Thursday because we wanted to prepare the game against Serbia on Monday. We wanted to show we are ready to play against Serbia."
Thibaud Briet (FRA) - left back, France
On his first appearance at an EHF EURO:
"It was my first time in an international competition and I wanted to play my game without feeling the pressure. I have waited five years for this opportunity, and it is a pleasure I was able to do well. The next game against Serbia is going to be tough as they have a lot of fans at the arena, and it is almost like they are playing at home. We have a revenge to take for the defeat in the qualifiers.”
Michael Biegler (UKR) – coach, Ukraine
On what Ukraine missed to win the game:
"It was a big honour to play against France. I wanted my guys to have fun in the game. Fora long time, we did not look so bad. We must find better solutions against their defence, we made too many mistakes, but overall this looks like a pretty good performance from us. My team needs time and games, I repeat that again."
Ihor Turchenko (UKR) - left back, Ukraine
On being the underdog in the group:
"We are a young team, we learn with every game. France played an aggressive defence and it was hard for us. I’m sure we will improve in the future and that we will show a better performance in the next game against Croatia."
Dmytro Horiha (UKR) – left back
On the match:
“Today it was a very good atmosphere with a lot of people not only from Ukraine, but from Serbia and Croatia to support our team. It was a lot of pleasure to play in this atmosphere. It was a decision of the federation to plan for the future. We think in one or two years it will be much better.”
Kasai Oleksandr (UKR) – left wing
On the match:
“It was a good game, and to play before such supporters was amazing. It was just crazy, that the Croatian supporters cheered for us, it gives you so much power you know. Yesterday, I celebrated my 25th birthday with some training. I did also last year, but I do not mind. We must focus on the fact, that still one match has left from the tournament for us. And who knows, we might have a chance to beat Croatia on Monday.”
Croatia vs Serbia 23:20
Szeged, 15 January – Quotes from Croatia coach Hrvoje Horvat (CRO), goalkeeper Mate Sunjic (CRO) and line player Zeljko Musa (CRO), and Serbia coach Antonio Gerona (ESP), goalkeeper Vladimir Cupara (SRB), centre back Lazar Kukic (SRB) and right wing Bogdan Radivojevic (SRB) after Croatia beat Serbia (23:20) in their group C preliminary round match in Szeged on Saturday.
Hrvoje Horvat (CRO) - coach
On what he said to his players before the game:
“We came here and we wanted a perfect defence to stay in the tournament. In these two games, you can see our progression. Today, we knew that the team better in defence would take the points. We knew it could be a game with loads of goals, so we really focused on defence.”
Mate Sunjic (CRO) - goalkeeper
On their performance:
“Serbia could back in one moment, but we managed to find a force to finish good first half with the two goals. The half time was good for the morale.”
On the atmosphere in the arena:
“It affected the team performance, we almost felt like at home as the arena was full. It pushed us a little bit in the second half when we struggled physically. Such an atmosphere is a dream when you are a professional player.”
On the fans:
“It is always a story between Croatian public and Croatian players because there are a lot of people from Croatia today here in the hall. For sure it was a team explosion in the second half, special because we were leading with a few scores and with this public we can’t lose this game.”
Zeljko Musa (CRO) – line player
On the fans and the game:
“That was the greatest support that I’ve heard here. We played a good game in defence, but some mistakes in the attack. We had no fear, we always want to win. That was a game ‘go home or stay’ for us. We should stay positive and focused till the end of the last game against Ukraine.”
Antonio Gerona (ESP) – coach
On what Serbia lacked to win the game:
“The biggest problem that we had was at the end of the first half, when we took a 0:3. In the second half, we fought but sometimes it was tough, their goalkeeper made saves, we lost some balls and Croatia had the best defence. This game shows what kind of work we still have to do. We played good, but this was not enough.”
Vladimir Cupara (SRB) - goalkeeper
On the forthcoming game against France on Monday:
“The fans gave us power but it was not enough. Against France, everything will be in our hands. If we want to go to the main round, we have to win. We will give everything so we can progress in the competition.”
Lazar Kukic (SRB) - centre back
On their emotions:
“It was a very emotional game. The toughest match we have ever played. It was amazing to see so many people from our country: fans, friends, family. We enjoyed it, but unfortunately we lost. We are totally disappointed with the result, but there is no time to be sad.”
On their next match, against France:
“We have to prepare against France. They have a strong team, but we have already shown in the qualifiers that we can beat them.”
Bogdan Radivojevic (SRB) - right wing
On their emotions:
“It is hard to find the words. We are sad, we will not sleep tonight, and that is for sure. It was more than just a handball game, it was more than that. Obviously, we did not play how we wanted and this result is the cost of that. We need to win against France and I am sure that in the locker room we will speak a lot about how to do it on Monday. We will never give up, to be Serbian is the proudest thing in the world for me. We will keep fighting for Serbia.”
