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Veszprém's champion celebrates Szeged's departing legend with praise
🇭🇺 Hungary /Sports

Veszprém's champion celebrates Szeged's departing legend with praise

From Magyar Nemzet · () Hungarian

Translated from Hungarian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Veszprém defeated OTP Bank-Pick Szeged 36-34 in the second match of the men's handball NB I championship final, securing a 2-0 series victory.
  • Szeged's goalkeeper Roland Mikler cited fatigue and injuries as key factors in their loss, noting Veszprém's deeper squad.
  • Mikler expressed disappointment but acknowledged the team gave their maximum effort under difficult circumstances, highlighting a season plagued by injuries.

Veszprém clinched the men's handball NB I championship title by defeating OTP Bank-Pick Szeged 36-34 in the second final match, completing a 2-0 sweep of the series. The victory capped a challenging season for Szeged, whose goalkeeper Roland Mikler reflected on the team's performance.

We ran out of steam in the second half. Unfortunately, I felt the team struggled tactically and physically. I can't really say anything after a match like this. Unfortunately, Veszprém managed to win the championship in two matches.

— Roland MiklerSzeged's goalkeeper Roland Mikler described the team's performance in the final match.

Mikler acknowledged the difficulty of playing end-of-season matches, especially with departing players like Rodrigo Corrales, Gasper Marguc, and Bjarki Már Elísson for Szeged, and Bodó Richárd, hailed as a legend in Szeged. He noted that in today's handball, spending many years with a top team is rare, and Richard had given his all.

Reflecting on the match, Mikler stated that Veszprém's dominance was evident in the second half. "We ran out of steam in the second half," he said. "Unfortunately, I felt the team struggled tactically and physically. I can't really say anything after a match like this. Unfortunately, Veszprém managed to win the championship in two matches."

Obviously, we feel they are a step ahead. Perhaps they have more players, perhaps they make better decisions in critical situations, fresh players come in. We had a lot of injuries, our season was very up and down, so I regret it turned out this way.

— Roland MiklerMikler attributed Veszprém's victory to their squad depth and Szeged's injury struggles.

The Szeged goalkeeper pointed to Veszprém's squad depth as a decisive factor. "Obviously, we feel they are a step ahead. Perhaps they have more players, perhaps they make better decisions in critical situations, fresh players come in. We had a lot of injuries, our season was very up and down, so I regret it turned out this way." Mikler emphasized that injuries significantly hampered Szeged's ability to rotate players and prepare adequately, with weeks where they trained with academy teams. "A team like Veszprém cannot be beaten if we don't have two full lines capable of providing quality substitutions."

A team like Veszprém cannot be beaten if we don't have two full lines capable of providing quality substitutions.

— Roland MiklerMikler explained the impact of injuries on Szeged's ability to compete with Veszprém.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Magyar Nemzet in Hungarian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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