First ever SEHA Gazprom League match in Slovenia will be played on Saturday in Celje. Two great teams - Celje Pivovarna Lasko and Telekom Veszprem will surely have a lot to offer to enthusiastic fans in famous ‘Zlatorog’ hall.  

Both teams have opened new season well. Slovenians have celebrated in domestic Super Cup face off in Portoroz against Koper with 26:25. Branko Tamse’s  boys have that way prolonged domination in all domestic competitions despite of the fact they were left without their Olympic team members - Janc, Zarabec, Lesjak and Poteko.

Hungarians have on the other side celebrated the first victory in a comeback season in Hungarian League easily sailing past Balmazujvaros with 40:17. Xavi Sabate has refreshed roster on disposal and it will be especially interesting to see Blaz Blagotinsek come back to Zlatorog after leaving Celje this summer to join Veszprem.

Match is scheduled for 20.00 CET.

Branko Tamse, Celje Pivovarna Lasko’ coach:

We will play without Arthur Patrianova and Ziga Mlakar. I hope everyone else will be fit and ready for the match against Veszprem. I hope Zlatorog will be sold-out and that our fans ‘Floriani’ will prove to be louder that Veszprem’s famous fans. I expect 60 minutes of great battle. We are focused on our performance but of course we’ve spent some time watching some of Veszprem’s most recent matches. Veszprem has amazingly big roster giving coach Sabate a chance to choose who he will use in domestic matches and who will play in both SEHA and Champions League. Individual quality is their biggest strength as they are all important national team members.

Luka Zvizej, Celje Pivovarna Lasko’ player:

We play against Veszprem almost every season. We have our plans and goals - we are going for a win and that won't change even in case we’re facing a team like Veszprem. The club is ready for the upcoming event and we will try, from our side, to ensure an interesting match and good result.

Xavi Sabaté, Telekom Veszprem’ coach:

This will be our first game in this season’s SEHA League. We will visit Celje, the new team in this competition. You must always expect a very hard game in Celje because their team is very young and runs a lot. Their defense is very aggressive and they have one of the quickest fast-breaks in Europe. This is the 5th week of preparations and their two wingers have participated in Olympics. I am sure fans will see a great game where offense will have an important role. We should not commit a lot of turnovers and let them to score easy goals from fast-breaks if we want a good result. They are incredibly fast and that can cause us a lot of problems.

Mirko Alilovic, Telekom Veszprem’ goalkeeper:

I am sure that Celje will step on the court with extra motivation. This will be their first big game this season and they will face us in a match in which they will also celebrate their 70 year long history. They will do everything for the victory and for a successful start of the new season. They always tend and in the end manage to start the season well but I believe we have a team which will have favorite role in each match this season. For us only victory will be acceptable this Saturday and any other outcome would be a disappointment. We will fight hard for the victory in our first clash in 2016/17 SEHA League season.