Daria Dmitrieva: "I hope we have learned our lesson"

FTC can earn a direct quarter-final spot, but only with a win against Odense on Saturday (live on EHFTV at 18:00 CET), and centre back Daria Dmitrieva is looking forward to a hard-fought game.

"It's a very important match, which will definitely be tough. The game will determine our final position in the group, and obviously we want to finish as high as possible," she told eurohandball.com.

Notably, last season Odense denied FTC a place in the EHF FINAL4, as the Danish side narrowly won the quarter-final between the two (27:27, 25:24) and then went on to reach the final in Budapest.

In the opening round of the current EHF Champions League season, last season's runners-up again had the upper hand in their head-to-head encounter, winning 34:32 in Hungary.

A difficult group phase finale awaits

Dmitrieva hopes that FTC have made the right conclusions after those setbacks: "It's always hard to play against Odense, they are a fast team. Last year, it was very frustrating to lose in the quarter-final, especially after we drew in the first leg in Denmark. But I hope we have learned our lesson."

Dmitrieva does not have close friends or acquaintances in Odense's squad. "But next season, I will," she says with a smile, hinting at the fact that fellow Russian player Anna Vyakhireva will move from Brest Bretagne Handball to the Danish team in the summer.

But even without Vyakhireva, Odense have a good squad, and FTC's playmaker is perfectly aware of it: "They are a strong team full of quality players such as their leader Thale Rushfeldt Deila. Ingvild Bakkerud did not play in the recent games, and her absence may help us, as she is their key defender. However, Odense have many players who can defend well," she admitted.

After a somewhat shaky start to their current European campaign, FTC enjoyed a five-match winning run between rounds 8 and 12, which improved their position in the group a lot. "This season, we have a new coach, Jesper Jensen, and it took some time to get used to his system. But after a few months, we understood what the coach wants and started to get good results," Dmitrieva says.

For Dmitrieva personally, working with Jensen has been quite a special experience:

Last week, FTC's winning run ended with a home 35:30 defeat against CSM Bucuresti, notably Dmitrieva's future team, as she will move from Budapest to Bucharest in the summer. The Russian player scored nine goals in that encounter, which is her personal best tally in the current EHF Champions League campaign.

"I can't say I was extra motivated, but somehow I always play well against CSM. I had a good game, but unfortunately we lost. We didn't start well, and it's always hard to catch up. I don't know what went wrong in the opening minutes, maybe we were just nervous. Against Odense, it's important to do well from the very beginning."

And why will Dmitrieva actually move to CSM next season?

"Bojana Popovic was a big factor to my decision. It will be exciting to work with her. When I played for Krim, we often faced her Buducnost, also in friendly games, and I was always interested in Bojana's system of working, she notably helped young players to develop."

Unfinished business in Budapest

For now, the Russian player is fully focused on FTC, and her team's goal in the current season is to reach the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4. "I played in the FINAL4 with Dinamo Volgograd when I was young, and later with CSKA, but never with FTC. Last year, we were very close to it, so I hope we can do it this year."

In her home country of Russia, Dmitrieva had spells at Dinamo Volgograd, Lada Togliatti and CSKA before moving abroad in 2022. After two seasons at Krim, she joined FTC in 2024, making this the 30-year-old's second season in the Hungarian team.

"I enjoy living in Budapest, it's a big and cool city. The girls in our team are very nice. The time at FTC has also helped me to change my vision a bit. In my previous teams, I always spent a lot of time on the court, but here I realised that sometimes it's also useful to look at the game from outside, which helps you to develop," the player admits.

Since 2022, the Russian national team and clubs have not been able to participate in international competitions, but FTC's centre back is happy to have an opportunity to perform in the continental top flight.

"It's cool that there are Russian players in the Champions League. We want to show that we are still here, and we can play at this level. The Russians should not be forgotten," she says.

Broadening horizons in a new city

Dmitrieva admits that she would probably still be playing for CSKA if the clubs from her home country continued to play in the European competitions after 2022: "Why change anything? I had a good time in Moscow," she says with a smile.

However, she does not regret her decision to move abroad, which helped her to broaden her horizons: "During the last three-and-a-half years, I have learned a lot. I have seen other handball styles, which are different from the Russian one. I have lived in foreign countries and learned about their culture. I improved my English, I learned Serbian from Krim's former coach Dragan Adzic, I know some words in Hungarian. Overall, this experience has helped me to develop both as a player and as a person," she reflected.

Main photo © FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, feature photos © Nasz Nikolett, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria