What's the key to success? – Handball Inside interview

In the latest issue of the German handball magazine, Handball Inside, a two-page article about our club's unbeaten streak was published, in which the author asked the president of Győri Audi ETO KC, Dr. Csaba Bartha, about the key to success, and our former player Anja Althaus was nostalgic for her time was spent in Győr.

You can read the full interview with our club president below.

- What's the key to years of quasi-unbroken success?

Recently, an employee of EHF asked a similar question, and my answer is almost the same – looking back on my entire career as a sport leader, my main slogan has always been that I believe in work and that is what I expect from all the staff at the club, as players, coaches, health staffs or management members. From my point of view, it is both the quantity and quality of the work that, basically determines that we belong to the elite of women's handball for many years.

- What is the biggest challenge for you in the current situation (Covid19)?

It is no exaggeration to say that, practically, the COVID situation requires almost daily planning routine for sports clubs. Unfortunately, every day, considering the club as a whole (the youths, the management or the adult players) an illness or contact situation occurs, that requires a redesign of everyday life – which I consider to be the biggest challenge.
Of course, we also need to handle the fact that last year's and this year's seasons are extremely difficult from both sporting and economic approaches. Last season, THE CL and the national championship were declared as finished during the season, and the FINAL4 was not played, which caused us to suffer huge amount of damage from the perspective of sports profession.
At the same time, we have not received the expected revenues that were included in our budget.
This year's form the view of sports profession is more fortunate as the matches are currently taking place, however we can operate undisturbed and safely under difficult circumstances, with many sacrifices.
From an economic approach, the current season is even more stressful, since our ticket and season ticket revenue, apart from the minimum revenue at the beginning of the season, has not taken at all for months, while the level of expenditure is increasing, due to international trips to CL matches, the necessary precautions and prevention (tests, disinfectants, etc.), all of which are unexpected expenses that could not have been calculated.

- Is it still possible to cheer for the many CL victory - if the club has a nearly-"season ticket" for the cup?

The thought that "we have a season ticket" to the cup I don’t shared and I don’t like it, although I heard this statement in many places, it is used by commentators and journalists, thereby suggesting that it’s naturally. As a result, it has become now a slogan among the supporters.
However, this is not the case at all, that has shown of the conscious work of our club's management according to transfers, since every year we have players who can reach the FINAL4 for the first time in their lives; someone who can win a FINAL4 for the first time and someone who, with another CL victorys, can achieve a kind of sporting history success that could make her the most successful player.
Handball is a team sport, but it is important to assemble a team with individual aspects that do not more comfortable for its members and create the right motivation to achieve great goals.
No one has a rented place, which I can confirm by an example: the team of Brest was easily eliminated from the Group Phase in four or five years ago and didn’t even make it into the Play-offs, but in recent years they have gone step by step, while today they are perhaps one of our biggest opponent in the CL. CSKA Moscow has recently debuted in CL, and in the first year they represent a playing force that had to be taken very seriously. Not to mention the other teams who see defeating Győr as the biggest scar in every match.

- How do you keep in touch with the fans and sponsors?

First of all, I would like to start with saying thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters for their tenacious support.
I think that without modesty we can be proud that both our sponsors and supporters have stood by us – so we have worked a lot too for it.
I would like to take the point that none of our sponsors have left us from last year to this season, and this is not only a very good feeling, but also a paramount importance to us, because our club can feel the confidence and support coming from them.
Of course, nowadays we are not able to meet our sponsors at matches, but about a month ago the relationship with them became even closer, because whenever I can, I visit everyone individually or, if this is not possible, I inform them about the club's sports profession situation via online meetings, phone calls or videoconferencing – and I can see that this kind of care is extremely appreciated by them.
Maybe it says it all about our fans, that every single home game they decorate the arena with flags and banners, to make them feel like they're cheering for the team from a distance. We have a great relationship with the leaders of the supporter community from the beginning, they know they can count on us and we think they are very important because their messages to us before and after matches mean a lot to our players.