Tjaša Stanko: "I can't wait to experience it myself"

The 28-year Slovenian left back, who joined Györ from Krim OTP Group Mercator last year, is looking forward to a new experience.

"This is my ninth season in the Champions League, but I will play in the FINAL4 for the first time. I'm really happy to get there. I've heard a lot of talk about it, and now I can't wait to experience it myself," she told eurohandball.com.

"We are happy to reach the EHF FINAL4, which was the objective at the start of the season. We will defend our title in Budapest, and we know what our next goal is, but it will be very tough."

In Budapest, the titleholders from Hungary will compete for the title with the two French sides, Metz Handball and Brest Bretagne Handball, and Romania's CSM Bucuresti.

"This year, all four teams are equal. All of them have performed well throughout the season. Each team have their advantages and disadvantages, and everybody has a chance to win. It's hard to say who the favourites are," Stanko said.

In the semi-final, Györ will face Brest, and as both sides won their respective groups in the opening stage of the tournament, the left back expects a tough battle.

"We want to reach the final, so we aim to win. But Brest have performed really well this season. They have a lot of individual quality and very experienced players, such as Ana Gros and Anna Vyakhireva. I think that defence will play the most important role, and if we develop our game, we can beat them."

It has not been a perfect season for the team coached by Per Johansson, as they lost two matches in the group phase, against fellow Hungarian team DVSC Schaeffler (31:30) and Denmark's Team Esbjerg (33:28).

However, Györ were dominant in the quarter-final against the Danish team that were their opponents in last season's final, Odense Håndbold, clearly winning both legs: 36:28 and 40:25.

"Overall, it has been a good journey. We had some ups and downs, and we had quite a few injuries, including mine. But we showed character and demonstrated how strong we are, which matters the most. And we put on a really good team performance in both quarter-final games. We knew what we were aiming at, and we prepared very well for the matches," Stanko said.

The Slovenian missed a few games in September through an injury, but recovered and adjusted well to her new team, having already scored 34 goals in the EHF Champions League campaign. So what does Stanko think about her debut season at Györ?

"So far, so good. Unfortunately I got an injury during a preparation match, but it's part of an athlete's life. I'm grateful to all the team, who helped me a lot to make this journey easier. The team has done an amazing work, and I hope for a good finish of the season."

Stanko also finds some nice words for Györ head coach Per Johansson: "Per is a good coach, who has his own way to bring up the team. He is a very good motivator who finds the way to cheer us up."

Born in Maribor, Stanko spent most of her career at Krim, but Györ is not her first team away from Slovenia, as she also played for HC Podravka in 2019/20 and Metz Handball in 2020/21.

"Each year abroad is different. I think this experience makes me better as a player and as a person. But it is easier to move to a foreign club when you have already been abroad. Each team gives its own experience, and I can't really compare. My previous spell abroad happened during the COVID-19 time, so I was unfortunate. Now it's much better."

Moving to another country is not easy, but it seems like the left back feels comfortably in Hungary.

"I like it here," she said. "Györ is a nice city, and while it is calm, it offers everything we need."

all photos © Roland Peka