The French handball club “Paris Saint Germain” (PSG), represented by Dainis Krištopāns, has started the season in the Handball Champions League less successfully, winning only one in four games. During the conversation, the leader of the Latvian national team told Latvijas Radio that his role in the club is not the same as in the national team, because many PSG players can take the leading role on the field.
PSG is a very professional team, which was affected by injuries at the beginning of the season. A lot of new players joined PSG before the season, but the problem was that there weren’t many quality test games, Krištopāns explained. A lot of injuries followed and PSG was still looking for an undiscovered team spirit.
Dainis Krištopāns about the experience gained in the French club PSGInita Kresa-Katkovska00:00 / 00:00
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Krištopāns emphasized that his changed role in the team can be seen very well in the French League games, where the Latvian is involved not in the final stage, but at the beginning of the attack, when cooperation must begin. Therefore, Daina does not have so many goals. He admits that each game is different and some also had more throws, because the team match allowed to end the attack. There was also a rather unfortunate period when “everything flew on poles” in the litters.
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-PSG players spend a lot of time training individually and Kristopāns sees that the prospect for the team is huge, but something is still missing. “It’s as if everything is beautiful on paper, but not everything on the square is as good as we would like it to be,” said Kristopan. “We are still working and many, including me, have more to learn.”
Krištopāns emphasizes that nowadays everyone can play handball, therefore
In the Champions League group, you cannot relax against any team.
Also with the latter – the Norwegian club “Elverum” – everyone is counting and is aware that there will be no jokes on the field, the Latvian handball player added.
The pressure in the French club is quite high, because everyone understands what is reasonably expected from the team, said Kristopan. According to him, PSG may lack psychological stability, but the team is working on it.
All losses in the Champions League PSG are with a deficit of one or two goals.
Kristopan is grateful to French President Emanuel Macron for supporting professional sport in a pandemic. PSG handball players have been issued with documents that allow them to move freely to both training and games, and there are no special restrictions in the team.
Dainis Krištopāns
Foto: SCANPIX/imago images/PanoramiC
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