The MHB goes to Kiel with a nine-goal advantage obtained in the first leg, but a completely different match awaits it this Thursday (6:45 p.m.) during its quarter-final second leg of the Champions League.
A small piece of French handball history will be played out this Thursday on the shores of the Baltic Sea, about a hundred kilometers from Denmark. Right up there, Montpellier Handball can win a new qualification for the Final 4 of the best in the world.
Above all, the club with the two stars on the coat of arms could continue the odyssey of its Ulysses of thirty years, Patrice Canayer, a little more before his departure at the end of the season. To, why not dream, try to win a third European title in Cologne and demonstrate that the destiny of this man and this club are decidedly unique.
Read also :
Kiel – MHB: Simonet spared, a nugget could return from injury for the Germans… the latest information before the return match in Germany
The hell of the north awaits them
As in Homer’s epic, there are nevertheless many obstacles to overcome for Montpellier before being able to think of what still seems like a chimera. Yes, Valentin Porte’s teammates struck a big blow by crushing this German great that is THWKiel, during a first leg match controlled from start to finish (39-30).
Thanks to a defensive diversity that exhausted the “Kielers”, a transition game as fast as lethal and a fiery Rémi Desbonnet in the cages. But the hell of the North and a quarter-final second leg of the Champions League awaits them this Thursday, in a legendary Wunderino-Arena which only wants that to explode, too.
The beast is injured
“When you have a nine-goal lead you can’t hide by saying you’re not the favoriteCanayer advances. Beyond qualification or not, what matters is to assume this type of status in a difficult match against an opponent who has been injured, certainly a little humiliated and who will want to get back together. But I’ve already said it, we’re not a team of baltringues or an ordinary club, we’re Montpellier.”
The Nîmes man knows what he is talking about in terms of turnarounds. In 2003, his men lost the first leg of the European Cup final in Pamplona (27-19) before climbing to the roof of the continent after the return match (31-19). Or again in 2005 when Montpellier had to save thanks to an incredible direct free kick from Grégory Anquetil in Flensburg (read above).
“Play and win with as much audacity as the first leg
But this MHB 2023-2024 version has experienced none of that. Even less such a lead before a return match against such a great team. “It’s new for everyone, that might be good because we don’t ask questions“, explains Captain Valentin Porte.
“Patrice knows this kind of situation, he shared some experiences with us and that allows us to understand what the procedure to follow ishe continues. By not starting the match looking at the score and the clock. Sixty minutes is a long time and too much is going to happen. The state of mind is to play and win with as much audacity as the first leg.”
