Interview with Szabolcs Zubai before the first CL match of season 2015/2016

Of course our first question is - how are you ? (smaller thigh injury previously)

Szabolcs Zubai (mentioned as Szabi later on): Thank you, much better. I still 'feel my thigh' a bit but with the treatments it is improved a lot, so cannot be a problem, I will be there in the match. I have already trained together with the guys since Wednesday.

What happened?

Szabi: I was running when I felt a little bit of pain. But the problem only became bigger when I sit on the bench. The examination's result was a 1,5 cm tear in my thigh.

MOL-Pick Szeged had all in all 122 Champions League matches, you were participating 60 times and you scored 128 goals. What are your expectations regarding the new season ?

Szabi: It will be really hard ! Because of the new system we will have more matches, there is no "easy" (weak) team. The draw is quite difficult as after Kielce we will play against Vardar and then the defending champion Barcelona. The start could have been easier but of course it is not a request show.

Kielce won 3 times in a row against us. Can we break this series ?

Szabi: I hope so. At home, with our fantastic fans I can't even imagine anything else but a victorious CL-start. It will be very difficult but we are able to win.

What can be the key of winning ?

Szabi: Obviously, first of all, to do what Juan Carlos Pastor head coach ask to do. To play what we are prepared for. If we will do this, it couldn't be a problem. Moreover, we can't forget as well that we have more players now in the team than last year. If somebody is going to be tired, another player can replace him on a similar level. It can give an advantage as well as the extra power which our fans give us. And if they would give us power by cheering , the victory will come too as everybody knows : CSAK ELŐRE (JUST AHEAD) !!!


original content (in Hungarian) on the club's official webpage

Interview with Piotr Wyszomirski before the first CL match of season 2015/2016

Soon the Champions League will start and our first match is coming too...

Piotr Wyszomirski: Every handball players' dream is to play in the Champions League. Our preparation went very well in Kopaonik. So we are prepared and ready for the start of the Champions League which will be maybe harder than ever before.

You will play against your compatriots and in this new system every victory is really-really important...

Piotr Wyszomirski: A Champions League match is totally different than a match in the Hungarian Championship. Our fans are so enthusiastic and passionate that helps and pushes us forward. I can't even imagine anything else but the victory of MOL-Pick. I am goalkeeper of MOL-Pick Szeged and I have to do 100 percent here. And this is my aim every time, to do my best, just like now against Kielce as well. It is very important to win because there is a greater importance of every victory in the new system.

original article (in Hungarian) on the club's official webpage

A short interview with Marko Curuvija

What do you expect from your period here, in Szeged ?

Marko Curuvija: In my opinion, we will have a very good season next year with MOL-Pick Szeged and we can make a step forward. I trust in that we will make our fans proud through our success.

How big challange for you be a part of this team (Szeged) ?

MC: Of course, every game is a challange for me. Especially, because I can be a member of one of the best team of Europe. It is a big challange to me to performance well, to do my best on all the games, for the team, for the coaches and of course for the fans.

You will replace Attila Vadkerti who is a real legend in Szeged. Are you excited about it ?

MC: I am so proud of playing on the same position as he did. I hope I can be as valuable and useful for the team as he was. He is a real legend of this club.





original content in Hungarian on the club webpage

interview with Aron Pálmarsson after arriving in Veszprém

First of all, welcome in Veszprém !

Aron Pálmarsson – Thank you very much. I am happy to be here.

What is your first impression about the city and the environs of Veszprém ?

AP – It’s really hot here for an Icelandic (laughing J ). I was here three or four times to play against Veszprém. I like the environs of Veszprém and Lake Balaton as well. I am look forward to living here.

How was your last season in Kiel ?

AP – I think it was ok as we won the German championship which is always one of the main goals. On the other hand, I wasn’t happy with our final result in the Champions League. I think, one trophy is enough in Kiel if it is the German champion title but obviously you always want more, especially, if you play for as strong team as Kiel is.

What was the reason that you left Kiel and why you chose Veszprém ?

AP – I wanted to try something new and I didn’t want to stay in Germany. And Veszprém showed a big interest in me. I talked to my manager and I told that I’d like to come to here because this club is growing year by year. Afterwards, I talked to the club’s managers (of Veszprém) who persuaded me.  They told me how big goals they have, among them, winning the Champions League of course, and they want to win everything. Then we made an agreement.

Did you talk with your ex-teammates before signing a contract with Veszprém ?

AP - Yes, I talked about it with Momir, who was already here for a year and I talked a lot about it with Marko Vujin as well. Momo told me that it’s great to be here and Marko told me lots of good things about the club and about living here as well. He said that being here was one the best periode of his life and that I won’t regret it. So I talked a lot about it with them, also because they are my very good friends and I took their opinion into consideration as well, before making my decision.

You played a couple times against Veszprém. How do you remember these, especially the last time ?

AP – Well, yes, I lost with Kiel against Veszprém the last time. I like this Spanish style how Veszprém plays. The team is very good, the defence is big and strong, and obviously that the team does a very good job as they perform better and better in Champions League from year to year. I like how the team is built up and I look forward to helping  the team as much as I can.

What is essential for winning the Champions League ?

AP – Well, you need two equally strong player for all positions and of course you have to be well prepared for all the teams as you can’t know in advance who will be your opponent. You have to be very strong mentally as well, because you have two very tough games during two days. And you have to score during both games at least one goal more than your opponent. Moreover, you need to have discipline as well.

What are your expectations from yourself for the next season ?

AP – My main goal is to win trophies with my new team and I will do everything in order to help Veszprém to succeed. If we could win further titles, I will be happy.

Do you think about yourself as a Centre Back or as a Left Back ?

AP- It doesn’t really matter to me. I rather played Centre Back in Kiel, but I usually play Left Back in my national team. I form my play how is the best to the team according to the given situation and of course according to what the coach asked for. As a Centre Back you sometimes have to be just „playmaker”, look at the game and find the chances for scoring a goal, while sometimes you have to step forward and score goals.

How would you describe yourself ? How is Aron Pálmarsson on and off the court ?

AP – I am absolutely not selfish on the court, I don’t care that I score ten goals or one as far as my team wins. I do everything for winning, I hate losing.

Off the court, I am pretty relaxed and easy-going guy, there is no stress around me. I like being home, relaxing, playing videogames. So nothing special.

How did you spend your summer holidays ?

AP – I was at home in Iceland as I had lots of things to do because of moving here. But, of course, I could spend lots of time together with my family and friends. I was very happy about it.

What is your message to Veszprém fans ?

AP – The fans amazed me every time I played here, although I stepped on the court as an opponent. I was always thinking about that how fantastic would it be if this crowd was support me. So I really hope they will be with us during the whole season and I can experience it.

original content in Hungarian on the official club website

MOL - Pick Szeged vs THW Kiel rematch - interviews before the match

Juan Carlos Pastor: We know that it will be an extremely difficult rematch against Kiel. We have to be even more better but we are working on it. First of all, we have to improve in defence. We can't lose any balls in offence and we have to run back after offences as fast as possible. We have to trust in our game, in our system and the most important is that the players trust in each other. I am sure that Sparkassen Arena will help Kiel but for Final Four we have do our best in Germany as well. We have to focus on only ourselves and enjoy playing handball.

Szabolcs Zubai: This two days were really good (they got free day on Monday and Tuesday - editor) as we had a very tough game against Kiel on Sunday. Of course, this free days were not completely about relaxing. I went to the gym, work out, cycling and some of my teammates went for rehabilitation as that fight had left some traces. But luckily everybody is fine now. In my opinion, in that kind of situation there is no injured person, you can feel less pain as usual during the season. We are facing a serious challenge, we made a step, the advantage is with us now, our destiny is in our hands. We believe in ourselves and in the victory. We prepared a lot both physically and mentally. We watched videos to analyze our mistakes, we tried to memorize what not to do. We had a training session in Szeged on Friday and then we had one in Kiel in Sparkassen Arena yesterday. We dream about Cologne and I believe that we can aim this dream.

original content in Hungarian

original content in Hungarian

MKB - MVM Veszprém vs PSG - interviews before the match

Antonio Carlos Ortega : We had a good match in Paris last Sunday, we were especially good at defence but we have to improve in offence. We did not play well in the last 2-3 minutes. However, my opinion regarding the end result is that : if  somebody told us before the match that our home game will decide about Final Four, probably we would sign the "contract". We have to focus on Paris and prepare carefully for the home game. We have to do our best as we want to be in the Final Four. We will be more powerful with our fans at home for the rematch.

Carlos Ruesga: This match will be very difficult as PSG is a very good top team. However, our aim is cannot be anything else - with the support of our fans - than to reach our dream and to be in the Final Four. We have to improve in offence compared to the previous game but of course, we have to concentrate and be perfectly focused until the last moment. If we can do our best, we will have a great chance for winning.

Péter Gulyás: We can put the blame on only ourselves for losing the 5 goals difference to the end of the match. We chose wrong solutions in defence but mainly in offence. Because of this we will have an extremely difficult rematch. We will need emphasized concentration for 60 minutes to be able to beat our opponent. However, it is compulsory to win in front of our fans at home.

Roland Mikler: We made many mistakes in the end of the previous match but we drew the conclusion from it. First of all, we have to keep our stability in defence. The opponent cannot get more than 24 goals. Moreover, we have an opportunity to score, we can't miss it. Then we will have the victory. But for this, our fans' usual amazing support is essential.









original content in Hungarian

interviews - Pick Szeged vs THW Kiel - CL match

Szabolcs Zubai : It was a very tough game but there was nothing new under the sun. This is what we expected. I've just told to the coach that the he had the greater part of the success as he had to make a plan, a strategy to beat Kiel. And it seems that it was successful. I am very happy now.  Although, I have to mention that we were leading by 5 goals too soon, if we talk about perfectionism. But all in all, we had a great match. Kiel was leading in the second half but we showed that how much power and perseverance do we have. We could stand up and win by 2 goals.

Dean Bombac : We had a great victory against one of the best team of the world. They have many top players. We are very lucky because of our fans as we couldn't win without them. We will prepare carefully to the next match as well. We can play without pressure so we will see. The point is that our dreams are still alive.

Marko Vujin: I am happy that I could play again here, in Hungary. And it is true that we lost this game by 2 goals but in handball this difference means nothing nowadays. So we will prepare carefully to the home match and we will try to correct the mistakes which we made. And then hopefully we can be in Final4. Every match is a "different world", I cannot say now who has greater chance to win next week. As I said, we will prepare and then we will see.

Szabolcs Zubai in Hódmezővásárhely

Szabolcs Zubai was a guest in Hódmezővásárhely and he was telling about his career to the kids.

We could know some new informations about Szabolcs. For instance he started as a swimmer and it was not a question that he will be sportspeople as his mother is PE teacher. But he highlighted to the kids that the education must be the first and the sport afterwards. As if this is working, probably parents will support their kids more likely to be a top athlete. For a successful career needs to be lucky as well but positive behavior always pays off.

MKB-MVM Veszprém KC - PPD Zagreb 25:24 , interviews after the match

Luka Sebetic (PPD Zagreb): Congratulations to Veszprém. We were very close, the difference is just one goal. We didn't give up even with 4-5 goals difference. Veszprém showed its power, talent and improvisational skills with which they won finally. Good luck to the final.


Vujovic Veselin (coach PPD Zagreb): First of all, congratulations to Veszprém and good luck to the final. As I said before, this match was about defence. During the match there was 4-5 goals difference and to be back in game consumed so much from our energy. To the end Veszprém showed its real power. Congratulations again.



Carlos Ortega: Zagreb believed in winning from the first until the last moment. I knew that we could have a very tough game. We made some mistakes in some important situations in offence in the second half of the game. But finally we could win, so we can be pleased.


Gergő Iváncsik: We had a great match. Both clubs were playing tough. We were preparing to this during the whole week. In the first half of the match we played quite well but in the second half our game was faltered. But in the last minute we could win by one goal so we are in the final.





link to the original content ( it is in Hungarian )

SEHA - press conference before Veszprém vs Zagreb semi-final

Antonio Carlos Ortega:  I expect a difficult match. Zagreb is in a very good condition. We are at home in front of our fans, of course we want to win and show what we can do, to do our best. Both clubs are very good at defence, probably this will be the key element.


Péter Gulyás: I can say the same, we will see two tough, strong defence. We hope that we will be the winners in front of our fans. We have to play our game during the match, we have to dictate the pace, if we want to win.


Veselin Vujovic (coach of PPD Zagreb): As the coach of Zagreb, my first goal was to see what are the bounderies of my team. This is how we reached the SEHA semi final and fighting for the Final4 in CL going game by game. We believe in each other and we believe that we can beat anybody. In this faith are we preaparing against Veszprém as well as against Barcelona in CL. There is no pressure to us. We have a young team and except Celica we don't have legionnaires which is unique among the top teams. The opponents had the bigger chance to win against us in many cases but despite this fact we could win. I cannot tell you what will happen tomorrow but if we play as a team anything can happen. Moreover, it is a great and useful experience to play against Veszprém in the Veszprém Aréna.

Luka Stepancic (Player - PPD Zagreb): First of all, I can say that it is a great honour to be in the semi-final. We played a lot against Veszprém, we know each other. In my opinion, the defence will be the key element. We will see what will happen tomorrow.

Pick Szeged vs THW Kiel for the Final4 in CL

Juan Carlos Pastor: We will have a German lesson again. Kiel plays in a similar style as Löwen so we have only chance if we will play as strict and tactical as we did against Löwen. The match at home will be very important and we have to win. The team has already shown that it is able to beat anybody.



Zsolt Balogh: There was only one team which I wanted to avoid and this was Veszprém. Maybe the "German style" is better to us than "Spanish style" which Kielce, Barcelona and Veszprém play. I am sure that they will focus on us more than Löwen did. It is a big thing and great honour to fight for the Final4. We will prepare carefully, we have nothing to lose.

Veszprém vs PSG again for the Final4 - reactions

Roland Mikler: We would get easier opponent, I wanted to avoid PSG though going again to Skopje wouldn't be better as well. The duel will recur from last year, hopefully with the same result. Between the best 8 there is no easy / weak opponent. You cannot expect an easy win against any of the clubs. My previous team, Szeged can have a chance against Kiel if they will play as they did against Löwen.

Bruno Martini (PSG): We don't have nice memories regarding the match against Veszprém. Their home arena is a real hell, the atmosphere is incredible. Our arena is not the same yet but our fans create better and better atmosphere during our matches and against Veszprém it will be even better. Veszprém has a strong season so far, Mikler and his collegues provide great performance. Veszprém's chance to win against us is 70-30, in my opinion.

Antonio Carlos Ortega: (his first word when we called him was - again ? it is incredible.) In the best 8 there is no weak opponents or easy wins, these matches are always very tough and difficult. We have to prepare carefully as all our matches. PSG has fantastic roster with many great players. We have to face with this big challenge.

László Nagy: For being in the Final4, you have to beat every opponents. I hope that we can achieve the same match result from last year, we will have to work on this during the following weeks.











original content in Hungarian

Interviews after match - La Rioja vs Veszprém

Antonio Carlos Ortega: Congratulations to La Rioja, we played a great match. The game was very fast but it wasn't surprising as this is their style. The fans, both La Rioja's and ours, made a great atmosphere. My team's attitude to this match was great for which I am so happy.

Chema Rodriguez: I am very happy about the result as we had a tough game again. We were leading from the beginning, both teams were focusing on playing handball which is of course, not surprising as both of us are in the best 16 clubs of Champions League.

Gonzalez Fernandez: We hoped to have better result, we tried to give our best but Veszprém's defence was very strong. Their goalkeepers were amazing, moreover they prevented our combinations. We mad many mistakes and we lost the ball many times. Veszprém was very good at offences and the basic reason of this significant difference was the amount of technical faults which we made.

Migallon Sanchez: We knew from the beginning that our opponent is a very good team. We could stay in game for long but to the end we couldn't do anything against their defence and their efficient offences.

La Rioja vs MKB-MVM Veszprém
23 - 31

La Rioja – Veszprém expectations before CL match

Carlos Ortega: La Rioja is one of the best at fast break, therefore we have to be careful. The other main reason why we really respect this team is that they are very tactical at offence. We have started to focus only on this match on Wednesday. And we tried to prepare as much as possible. I am sure that we will have a tough game.

Timuzsin Schuch: We have started the preparation against La Rioja on Wednesday as we had matches in the SEHA League and in the Hungarian Championship as well. Although, we had practiced already some combinations on previous training sessions which we can use against the spanish team as well. I expect a very tough game as the second best spanish team is our opponent. The stakes are very high so we can’t have a bad day. We want to have a significant difference already to the end of the first match.

Gergő Iváncsik: La Rioja is a very fast and strong team. But there is nothing new under the sun for us as we are playing based on the same system for some years. (since the Spanish trainers are there – editor’s comment) La Rioja represents the typical „Spanish school” and they do it great. They are pretty good and fast both at defence and offence. So it won’t be easy to win. Of course, our aim is the victory therefore we have to concentrate 100 percent but not only for 60 minutes but for 70-80 minutes as we will play against a very strong opponent.

Andreas Nilsson: It will be a tough game. La Rioja has a good team with fast players who run a lot. We have to give 100 percent on the court if we want a positive result. First of all, we have to be very good at defence and react with fast breaks to their mistakes and last but not least we have to run back as soon as possible after our offences.