Ivan Čupić: Vardar Showed Character, But We Lacked Experience and Luck
HC Vardar 1961 concluded their EHF Champions League campaign with a 26:26 (14:12) draw against German side MT Melsungen. After four consecutive defeats at the start of the group stage, the Macedonian champions demonstrated their quality in the final two rounds, first securing an impressive 33:27 away victory over Nantes and then earning a point against the German representatives.
Vardar finished their Champions League campaign with three points, recording one victory, one draw and four defeats, but with the feeling that they could have achieved more. Ivan Čupić’s team competed on equal terms with their opponents throughout much of the group stage, although a lack of experience and costly mistakes in decisive moments ultimately proved decisive.
Vardar head coach Ivan Čupić admitted his disappointment with the final points tally but expressed satisfaction with the character shown by his players.
“Congratulations to Melsungen on progressing to the next stage, and I would like to thank them for a fair match. We were close, but once again we paid a heavy price for another lesson. This game showed once more that our team has great character, that everyone stands together and that we are a real team.
“After six matches, I can say that we lacked a little experience and perhaps some luck as well. I am only disappointed with the number of points we collected in this group, but overall we presented ourselves in an excellent light. We represented Macedonian and Balkan handball really well,” said Čupić.
The Croatian coach believes his team deserved more from the campaign, particularly considering their performances against strong European opposition.
“If we exclude the home game against Wisła Płock, we were competitive until the very end in every match. Looking at the results, we cannot be satisfied. Whether it was realistic for us to qualify or not, I will leave that for others to judge.
“Vardar is one big family that always wants more than it may realistically be capable of achieving. In that sense, we can say that we failed to accomplish our internal objective.”
Analysing the match against Melsungen, Čupić particularly praised his team’s defensive performance.
“I think we were very good defensively in all our variations. In attack, we had some problems with our shooting, but later, with smaller players on the court, we became much more fluid.
“As always in the Champions League, every mistake and every little detail comes at a high price. We will take this draw as another valuable experience, starting with myself as a coach and then everyone else.”
European League Offers Another Opportunity
Vardar will continue their European campaign in the EHF European League Last 16, where they will enter as an unseeded team. However, Čupić does not want to discuss expectations before the potential opponents are known.
“It is difficult to talk about the European League when we still don’t know who our opponents will be. Until the group stage is completed, we cannot make any concrete plans. We will try to represent ourselves well there too, taking things step by step,” concluded the Vardar coach.
Conclusion: Vardar Proved They Belong Among Europe’s Elite, But Fell Short of Their Goal
Four defeats, one victory and one draw – that is Vardar’s final record in their return to the EHF Champions League. Three points were not enough to advance, but the way the Macedonian champions finished the group stage provides reasons for optimism.
After four consecutive losses, the impressive victory over Nantes in France and the draw against Melsungen demonstrated that Čupić’s side possesses the quality to compete with strong European opponents.
However, the difference between producing good performances and collecting points ultimately came down to experience, concentration and execution in decisive moments.
Vardar leave the Champions League with the feeling that they could have achieved more, but also with confirmation that their return to Europe’s elite was far from symbolic.
The European journey now continues in the EHF European League, where the main challenge will be to turn the quality displayed against Nantes and Melsungen into more tangible results.
