Sandra Santiago: “Games are won on defence”

“I trust my teammates and I'm very happy playing with them. The fact that I'm playing happier and more confident than in other years is also very important and makes a difference,” she says.

Throughout the European Cup season Atlético Guardes have kept their opponents to low scores – only Faroese side H71 managed to put more than 26 goals past the Spanish club, when they lost 31:34 in the Last 16. Santiago says this will continue to be key to Atlético Guardes’ success.

“Games are won on defence and I think that applies perfectly in this case. For me, the strong point of our group is the defence and I believe that if we defend like we know how, we will be able to win this game,” she said.

“Antalya have a very tall and very physically strong team, with a very experienced first line that can cause us problems with the outside shot. No doubt it will be a challenge to play against them, but we are ready to fight.”

“I love playing at home”

The Spanish side want to get the best result possible in Pontevedra in front of their fans so that they can travel to Türkiye one week later with some safety margin.

“We want to win with the greatest possible difference in goals. We know that they are going to be two very complicated games, especially in Turkey, so having the support of our fans will be very important,” Santiago thinks.

Indeed those supporters are vital to create the “incredible atmosphere” that exists in the Pavilion A Sangriña in Pontevedra.

 “I think our supporters are one of our assets. I love playing at home thanks to them and I am sure they will help us a lot in this first game,” Santiago adds.

Santiago is the top scorer in the current edition of the EHF European Cup with 55 goals scored so far. But she says teamwork has been key to this success.

“I think what really makes the difference are my teammates, I'm sure that alone I couldn't score even half of the goals I already have. We know that handball is a team game and in this case that joint work is reflected a lot in my performance,” she says.

Sandra was born in Aveiro, Portugal, and started playing handball because her sister had also signed up for the local club, CP Valongo Vouga.

“When we were little we never thought too seriously about the future, but over time I started to love handball and thought I could become a professional,” Santiago reveals.

Now 26 years old, Santiago arrived at Atlético Guardés in 2019 after five seasons at Colégio de Gaia, a team from the north of Portugal.

“It impressed me how different it was from handball in the rest of Europe and the handball I knew. The Spanish championship is characterised by being very fast but also based more on 1v1,” she says of adapting to a new country.

And the handball in Spain has also changed Santiago’s way of playing.

“In Portugal I considered myself an outside shot player, here in Spain I had to adapt and change my way of playing. It's funny because this championship helped me to improve other skills and to be a different player.”

Asked about her biggest handball dream, the answer is very direct. “I don't know if it's because we're so close to the final, but right now it would be winning the EHF European Cup,” Santiago concludes.