BL Women’s Handball: The Power of Community – Interview with Gábor Danyi

Gábor Danyi (Photo: Attila Török)

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– Can we call blind group fights given the known uncertainties?
“In the sense that the circumstances of the implementation cannot be said to be plannable or predictable,” he replied. Gábor Danyi, ETO head coach. “We try to adapt and we do well in group fights. Although great teams have entered as our opponents, we have to see what kind of playing force Brest, Odense or Moscow represent and is quickly catching up with the European elite.

THE NEW ROLE OF ANITA GÖRBICZ

Anita Görbicz, the ETO legend, will end her playing career in the summer, as our newspaper already reported. Of course, it is not separate from the sport or the club, according to the official announcement of the team, the record for goals in the Champions League will be a sports director in the association. Görbicz said that he was not scared by the new challenge and that he was happy to continue working for the team in Győr. At the same time, the most important thing for him now is winning as a player on all fronts with his teammates until the summer.

– ETO are undefeated in BL since 51 games, but had some ups and downs in January, when they also drew with Odense and Brest and CSKA took the lead. Even then, did your faith that you would be successful as a group leader wavered?
“No, because I know my team and I know how my players react to difficult situations. We have developed a team spirit, a means that if there is a problem, if someone falls, we will unite even more. This team is not one or two people, but a really good team. Let’s not be hypocrites either, we had difficult periods, few of our strangers against Odense and Brest would have given us a chance to hold on, but the situation was similar in Moscow. Luckily, when we were in the most difficult situations, I managed to stay calmer, and that’s when I always have to highlight the qualities of my players, their great attitude.

– Did these qualities help even when few were left because many dropped out due to illness or injury?
– Definitely yes. If we only watch the last game, before the clash against CSKA, I did not ask the girls to replace Eduarda Amorim because there is only one of them. I encouraged them to get ten to fifteen percent more of themselves on the field, because if they add up, they could come out even more than if “Duda” were with us. But I can mention our last game before the Euro Cup in December against Buduchnos at home, when I had 11 players at my disposal, three of them goalkeepers, and I didn’t have a left back. When I sent left-handed Dorottya from the Village to that position, she didn’t even care that my lord, what I’m going to do there, accept what her coach asked her to do and solve her task. This is what characterizes ETO and fills me with pride as much as the successful game itself.

– Did the player movements announced during the season, or the fact that you will be the Siófok coach from the summer, affect the work?
“I believe that an honest, open and normal communication can solve this. We are a professional team where everyone knows what they are doing. Unusual changes and events are constant in life, but it is important to talk about them, and also to be able to calmly close them. If this fails, the problem is caused by lack of information or simply by false rumors. In my case, we discussed with the management that I would continue elsewhere from the summer, but I asked the girls that by then everything should go the same as before and the team would continue to fight for the objectives set. It happened in early January, we’ve had quite a few games since then, and maybe there wasn’t any interruption in the band. I think the ETO management has also handled the situation professionally, the club management is also trying to rule out any distractions that could harm the team.

– Is it difficult to close a season without a left-handed shooter? Amanda Kurtovic was here until November, but she didn’t become a dominant player and then she left.
– Is not easy. While right-handed play has advantages, it is more of a disadvantage when played against a wall. Even in this situation, clear communication was needed, we discussed with the team that this is the way to bring out the best in us now. In positional play, especially in relation to the right, that was an advantage, but we had to reorganize our inner game, but the girls realized and did not regret why we do not have a left-handed shooter.

– What was your first reaction when you learned last week that the European federation was reorganizing the process?
– It’s not about the newspaper columns … I don’t think it’s fair to announce two weeks before our planned and well-deserved participation that we still have to play. According to the announcement, the top two spots in the group shouldn’t have hit the field. There are financial and professional setbacks in the decision. We have scheduled Hungarian league matches for that time, our match against DVSC will be lost, and this is disadvantageous not only for us, but also for him, and it is almost impossible to find a suitable date until June.

– The schedule was already tight …
– We can talk about many things in the period from January to May, but we cannot talk about any kind of relaxation or rest. The Hungarian championship goes alongside the BL, we join the Hungarian Cup, and the Olympic qualifiers await the teams, which is almost abnormal use. At those times, I always have to mention the team members who work alongside me, from my direct assistants to the rehab staff to the doctors, they all do a great deal of work for a successful performance.

– Your team hasn’t started this season, if you don’t lose in the jump, nothing happens.
– I would be satisfied if we could achieve our goals, that is, be at the forefront in all series. Preserving undefeated is already somewhat in the phantasmagoria category, because I think defeat is part of the sport, and the only question is when the big series breaks. This is perfectly normal, but of course we are working to make it last longer. It is not the goal to achieve our undefeated goals, it would only be an advantage.

EIGHTH FINAL PAIRING
M1: BBM Bietigheim (German) – AUDI ETO KC
M2: Podravka Koprivnica (Croatian) –Rostov-Don (Russian)
M3: Crimea Ljubljana (Slovenia) – CZECH REPUBLIC Moscow (Russia)
M4: Borussia Dortmund (German) – Metz Handball (French)
M5: Esbjerg team (dán) –Brest (france)
M6: SCM Ramnicu Valcea (Romanian) –CSM Bucharest (Romanian)
M7: Vipers Kristiansand (Norwegian) –Odense Handbold (Danish)
M8: Buducsnost Podgorica (Montenegro) –FTC-RAIL CARGO HUNGARIA
the first matches on March 6 and 7, a retaliation it will take place a week later.

QUARTERLY PAIRING
M8 – M1
M7 – M2
M6 – M3
M5 – M4
the first matches on April 3 and 4, a retaliation it will take place a week later.

Quadruple end: May 29-30, 2021, Budapest