The champions are back
“No opponent will enjoy playing against West Wien”
After a one-year excursion into the HLA Challenge, West Wien is back in the top flight of handball. Economic problems had forced the reigning champions into the second division, where the traditional club made an attempt to return to the Champions League with a new, young team. With success - the 31:20 win against Medalp Tirol on Wednesday went hand in hand with promotion for coach Roland Marouschek's squad. In an interview with krone.at, captain Paul Pfeifer sums up the past season and looks ahead to the new mission.
Krone.at: Pauli, welcome back to the HLA Champions League!
Pfeifer: That sounds very cool! When I sat down with Roli (Marouschek, note) a year ago and we talked about the squad and the project, our goal was of course to get promoted back to the HLA. Of course, nobody expected us to achieve that in our first season. The fact that we managed to do it with the Cup weekend in our legs, which cost us so much strength and nerves - as nice as it was - is very, very strong.
You tackled promotion with a completely new team - what did it take to harmonize so well so quickly?
What makes our team special is this good mix of young, incredibly talented players - for me the most talented players in Austria - paired with two or three experienced players who have already experienced a lot and can take younger players by the hand. This mixture has made us so strong, this will, this motivation that the whole team has brought to every training session every day. That's what makes us unique.
By winning the Cup, you showed that you can keep up with the big boys, even beat them. What can we expect from West Wien next season? What can West Wien expect?
We're going into the games without any pressure, we're going to annoy our opponents. No opponent in the HLA likes to play against us. I think we can definitely surprise one or two big names. We can't expect to always play like we did in the Cup, but on a good day we can deliver an exciting game against any opponent.
You are HLA champions and Cup winners. Three years ago, hardly anyone in West Vienna would have expected such a resume ...
That's unbelievable, of course, when you consider what incredibly good teams and incredibly good players have emerged for West Vienna since the last Cup title, who are now playing in the best leagues in the world. Hardly anyone would have thought it possible to win another title with this team last year without legionnaires and then again this year.
West Wien were relegated as champions in 2023 for financial reasons - now they're back in the top flight. For how long - also from a financial point of view ...
The budget for the upcoming season is there, we can play through without hesitation. We are constantly working to ensure that it stays that way in the long term. I'm focusing on helping the club as much as possible in sporting terms, and in terms of business we have a lot of motivated and capable people working in the background to ensure that things can continue financially.
How do you motivate young players to fight for promotion if there is no guarantee that they will be able to stay in the Champions League in the long term?
We don't play to get rich. We play because we enjoy it and want to have a good time. Nevertheless, West Vienna has proved to be a good springboard abroad in recent years, and young players are presenting themselves for higher tasks with us. With Seppo Frimmel (Szeged), Constantin Möstl (Lemgo) and Elias Kofler (Potsdam), for example, we have often seen where the path can lead.
We will turn the next season into a green festival.
Paul Pfeifer
Bild: GEPA pictures
Will you also make use of the springboard in the summer, or will Paul Pfeifer remain a Green?
I'm definitely staying with West Wien. I joined this project to get back into the first division and of course I want to play there. We will make next season a green festival.
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