Hungarian elite teams lead Europe: it could be a unique season

It seems that Europe's two teams in the best shape are currently the two Hungarian elite teams, Győri Audi ETO KC and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungária.

Our prediction is based on the fact that FTC and Győr lead Champions League groups A and B, respectively. As of Wednesday night, both teams are unbeaten so far, both in the CL and in the national league.

If we separate them and look at their performance, they both are surprising in some ways. ETO has been almost unable to be held back on the European stage so far. Defending champion Vipers, CSKA Moscow of Russia that Győr defeated in the bronze match in the final four in May, Metz, that's considered the strongest team in France, and Danish Odense all bowed. What they have in common is that they were a little weaker than Győr, and this can be scary not only for them but also for the rest of the competing teams... what if they have to clash with Ambros Martín's team in the future.

Ferencváros' brilliance is an even more sensation and it's extremely joyful because after one round, only the away draw against Borussia Dortmund in Germany and the home draw against Esbjerg spoil the picture. On the other hand, the five wins against great teams (Russian Rostov-Don, French Brest, Romanian CSM București) look impressive.

The performances so far can predict that since the Champions League final four has been around for seven years, two Hungarian teams can be in the semifinals. However, as they say, anything can happen until then...

Concerning ETO, there can be no other expectation than to play in the Final Four, all the personal, economic, and infrastructure conditions are given for them. At least two, sometimes three, legendary players can be deployed in each post, so the professional staff can easily substitute one if someone is not playing as well. In addition, Győr is now also paying attention to giving Hungarian players a bigger role to play. Only our compatriots are playing on both sides of the court, and Noémi Hafra has also barely been given the playing time alongside the world-class players. Even if we look carefully, we do not see any weak point of ETO at the moment, because the defense is concrete, the tempo is fast, the individual qualities are outstanding, the attacking game is effective against fastbreak and set up defenses. The big question is whether this performance can be improved further, or whether the performance status was timed for fall, and perhaps the lows may come later. The latter is hard to imagine at the moment.

Even then, although FTC has lost Zita Szucsánszki and Anikó Kovacsics for a long time, the team started the season with a great psychological surplus after winning the NB I gold medal in May. The coaches invited Montenegrin national team player Itana Grbić who quickly integrated into the squad. Head coach Gábor Elek was most pleased that, despite these problems, the core of the team remained intact, there was no need to build it from scratch, and this permanence can be seen on the field, even in the unified team game. The only uncertainty about Fradi is that the squad may not be as broad as Győr. There are still plenty of matches ahead of them, the series load can bring injuries, mental and physical fatigue, which are more difficult to deal with in such circumstances. In any case, Ferencváros has never started so well in the Champions League and has every right to dream of breaking the curse and finally reaching the final four of the series. It's also true that while Győr has won five CLs in the last ten years and handles the stake with great experience, Ferencváros has not yet been able to leave its own shadow. Maybe now.

Of course, it would certainly be great if they were both in the CL endgame. We also wish the Hungarian national team players the same as it would be nice if as many of them could experience what it is like to get close to and even lift the most valuable club trophy.

Translated by Vanda Orosz

WOMEN'S HUNGARIAN HANDBALL LEAGUE
ROUND 9
GYŐRI AUDI ETO KC–FTC-RAIL CARGO HUNGÁRIA 25–20 (13–12)
Győr,5029spectators.R:Andorka, Hucker
GYŐR: LEYNAUD – V. Lukács 2, V. KRISTIANSEN 6 (1), S. Oftedal 1, Brattset 1, ANNE M. HANSEN 4 (3), NADINE SCHATZL 4.Substitutes:Silje Solberg (goalkeeper), Nze Minko, Blohm 4, Rju 2, Cs. Fodor 1.Coach:Ambros Martín
FTC:JANURIK – Malestein 3 (2), Stolle 2, GRBIĆ 3, Behnke 1, Bölk 1, Márton 3.Substitutes: B. Bíró (goalkeeper), Csiszár-Szekeres, Klujber 2, A. Kovács, SZÖLLŐSI-ZSÁCSIK 4 (1), Kisfaludy 1, Hársfalvi.Coach:Elek Gábor
Results.6^th minute: 3–2. 11^th m.: 6–3. 18^th m.: 9–7. 24^th m.: 12–7. 29^th m.: 12–11. 35^th m.: 13–13. 39^th m.: 15–13. 47^th m.: 18–15. 50^th m.: 20–16. 55^th m.: 23–18
Exclusions:–, and 4 minutes
7m throws:5/4, and 5/3
COACHES' CORNER
Ambros Martín:– The two Champions League group leaders fought each other for a topflight title. In particular, both team's defense and goalkeepers were outstanding. This time, the better our defense worked out, the less our attacking game was on point. When we getting into the flow, most of the mistakes slipped in our game, and we need to fix that in the future.
Gábor Elek:– ETO deserved the win; Győr grinded us up. We're tired, the last couple of weeks have taken a lot of our energy away, we've made a lot of mistakes in finishing our attacks. But I can't be dissatisfied as long as the players' hearts kept them going. They have an important task ahead of them this weekend.