Ambros Martin has been working as the head coach of ETO since 2012. In the first season he made club history by leading his team to victory in the Champions League which he could repeat in 2013, 2014 and 2017 not to mention the Hungarian Cup and Hungarian Championship victories. He is very popular among the fans, he often speaks to them in Hungarian, let’s see his expectations.
Are you satisfied with the work and motivation of the team in the training period? How would you evaluate their work?
The new season is really right around the corner, we can say that the previous season was very successful since we won the Hungarian Championship as well as the CL. The group knows what the goals are. An even more difficult season is ahead of us, and we are going to need extra power to make this season as successful as the previous one. I can see that the girls are working hard and if they keep working like this, we have the chance to get to the top in this season too.
What is the atmosphere in the team like? There are new comers from the youth program as well as from abroad.
The players know each other well even if they haven’t played in one team. The new members have come to fill very important positions such as center and pivot. They have a lot of things to get used to. It is not easy for the first time, but we aware of this as the other also went through this earlier and they help each other. Since we are talking about top players this period is also shorter, because they are professionals.
We had to face some negative events during the training period. The recovery period of Grimsbö and Groot’s tonsil operation. How is their recovery going?
We are never happy when we have to start the season with bad news, but maybe it’s our destiny because we started the previous season the same way and we could come over it. It is not new for the team either. The most important is that both of them get fully recovered before they return so we have to be patient.
The previous season was very successful, what are your goals for this one?
The most important is to accept that the previous season is over. We know well what it is like to be on top and also the road to the peak. Our goals is to proceed step by step, match by match while doing our best. We also have to forget to excuse us with last year success. The biggest challenge might be to repeat the success of last year even if we know that it is getting a bigger challenge in every season.
Beside the CL, the teams of the Hungarian Championship has also gone through several changes. Which teams do you think will cause the biggest problem in the new season?
I have to say that the teams of the Hungarian Championship and CL are getting stronger and stronger. Many team in the Hungarian Championship has improved a lot in quality, I’m expecting big fights in the season since everybody wants to win. The matches are not about the strength of the team but the preparation. In CL, we know Rostov well, we know how strong they are not to mention Midtjylland which could cause surprise many time in the past seasons. All in all, we can’t complain, we have to defeat everyone if we want to stay in top.
If you had to characterize yourself, what features would you highlight?
I’m competitive and like winning. I want the girls to try their limits all the time, be under pressure and learn to react well in these situations. I don’t like losing, however I know this is part of sport. If we lose, I consider it to be a lesson which makes us stronger.
The summer holiday went really fast? How did you relax?
I try to do things that I don’t have time for during the season. I like everything that is in connection with sea sides, but I realized that going hiking is also a good spare time activity. Activities that make my adrenalin level increase energize me the most. Of course, the best is when I can be with my kids. During the season, I have no opportunity to be with them because everything is about handball, but I have to admit that sometimes I get more exhausted when I spend some weeks with them than during the whole season (laughing)
What is your message for the ETO fans?
I think, even if not personally, but they know me and the team. However we don’t speak the same language, but I understand that they are frustrated when the team loses, but they also have to understand that this what sport is like. We are not working to win a match, but to be the best step by step. Undoubtedly, the Hungarian Championship is the strongest national championship and our fans are not used to seeing their team losing. I haven’t analyzed the statistics of the previous years because I don’t live in the past, but if we took every sport, our team is the one that has lost a match the fewest times. This is the real value of these players, this team and these fans. The point is to know who we are and what we are fighting for. This mindset has helped us get where we are now. It is almost impossible to win every match but we are working for it. We constantly feel the support of our fans who are with us in good and bad times, we hope that they will ensure us of their support this year too.
Good luck for the new season.
