Raul Gonzalez: 'Ready and raring to go'

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On Monday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will take on Barcelona in the Velux EHF Champions League Final4 in Cologne. Ahead of this massive occasion, we sat down for a chat with Paris Saint-Germain Handball coach Raul Gonzalez.

Psg.fr: How do you feel the team is doing on the eve of the clash with Barcelona?
Raul Gonzalez: Very well. We didn't play this week, so we were able to rest. It also gave us more time to prepare for this semi-final. We worked well on our defense and our attack. We also prepared ourselves for several different scenarios. We are all very motivated! We are ready and raring to go.

It is an event that you know well. Is that an advantage?
It will be my first one with Paris, but every Final4 is different. There are always surprises! To win, you have to be totally focused right from the first match. For the moment, we are only focused on this battle against Barcelona.

Has the pandemic made everything complicated?
Yes, but it's the same for everyone and it has been that way for four months, since the beginning of the season... We must respect the rules!

This Final4 is unusual in that it's being played in December. Will that fact make a big difference?
Everything will be different. We're going to be playing behind closed doors, whereas typically in this event the players get a lot of energy from the fans. But we've grown somewhat used to that, as we've been playing with little or no support since the beginning of the season. Holding the Final4 at this point means that the internationals won't get the break they would otherwise get in case of victory, as they will head off straight away for national-team duties.

Are you satisfied with the team's latest performances?
Yes, because we won some very important matches, away to Nantes (24-26) and Montpellier (32-36)! We did a good job and we are in good shape in the Lidl StarLigue. But we can't say that we are champions yet; we have to respect our opponents.

(Credits: TeamPics/PSG)