“Szeged took us off our feet” – fans from the PICK Arena
On Saturday, more than 8,000 people were able to enjoy quality handball at the PICK Arena in Szeged, the French-Ukrainian and Serbian-Croatian matches.
All the national teams of the group were able to greet their fans in the stands, they came from France, Ukraine, Serbia and Croatia in smaller or larger numbers (mainly larger).
We asked them about their experiences, Szeged and the arena.
Antoine and Emma (Szeged)
“We have been living in Szeged for 17 years. My wife graduated at the law school here, we felt in love with the city and the country, and we decided to stay here. Our daughters were born here and one of them, Emma came with me today. We all support PICK Szeged, but it was not a question we come to cheer the French team. This new arena is a real jewelry box, the atmosphere was fantastic on the first game as well and I hope we can visit this arena a lot in the future.”
Martinez (Varasd)
„I have been attending mostly handball and football games for decades. I have been at least 180 matches and I have a jersey like this here. We gather together with my friends; we drink a couple of good beers, and we support with all of our heart the Croatian team. Sometimes we have to travel a lot and it needs a lot of sacrifices, but all the problems are gone, when I hear our national anthem and I can cheer my team.”
Dragan, (Novi sad)
“After ten years of waiting it is time to beat the Croatian team again. We love the new arena in Szeged, the atmosphere is phenomenal. A lot of Serbian and Croatian players play and have played for PICK Szeged, but hopefully the Hungarian fans will cheer for our success. Of course, I expect Serbian victory.”
(The game ended with Croatian victory.)
Alicia (Zaporizhzhia)
“My husband played for the team of our city, Shakhtar Donetsk, and even played a few games for the Ukrainian national team, so he was keen to see the Ukrainian team live at the EHF EURO. We bought a bundle for the group games, so we had time to explore the city and the surrounding area. Szeged is beautiful, and the Hungarian cuisine, especially the fish soup blew us away. And of course, the Hungarian wines deserve an honorable mention to say the least...”
Photos: EHF
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