As the winners of the previous two IHF Super Globe tournaments and the 2014/15 VELUX EHF Champions League, FC Barcelona came to Doha with big expectations. Newcomer to the powerhouse Spanish side, Filip Jicha, said after their first game that they were at the tournament to win, so the side were visibly disappointed to be knocked out in the Semi-Final stage by Fuchse Berlin. 

Their loss in the Semi-Final sent them to the Bronze medal game where they met Sydney University Handball Club, defeating the Australian team by 10 goals (30:20) to claim third place on the final ranking. 

After the victory IHF.info spoke with captain Victor Tomas about their 2015 IHF Super Globe campaign and the status of the team as they begin their 2015/16 season. 

IHF.info: The IHF Super Globe is over for FC Barcelona now. What do you think about your campaign this year? 

Victor Tomas: Of course we are disappointed because we are not in the Final. After two years in a row winning the title, and being the club we are – in all the competitions we play we are big candidates to win – we are of course disappointed, but everything we have done in the past is more valuable when we lose because then we give it the importance it deserves. So we have to learn from this, we have to get back on our feet and get better. 

IHF.info: How does the Super Globe fit in with your season? 

Victor Tomas: We started on the 3rd of August and we’ve only played three or four games in our season. But it’s not an excuse, because we did the same thing in the last two years, this kind of pre-season, so we are used to these kinds of things, these kinds of pre-season. So it’s not an excuse, we should have played better, we should have done better. 

IHF.info: There have been some changes in Barca ahead of the 2014/15 season. How is it going with the new players?

Victor Tomas: It’s step by step because there are key players like Nikola [Karabatic] who left. The players who come are very good players but they are playing in the key positions, and we need to get all the team, all the tactics together – that takes time and it’s early in the season. 

IHF.info: What do you think about Sydney Uni’s performance this year?

Victor Tomas: I was quite surprised because they improved a lot this year. They are playing much better. It’s very important that the goalkeeper is playing so well, and that they are tougher. I think if they continue improving like this it’s going to be a tough team in the next years.