Champions League Men | 29 Mar 2024

Frane KOJIC: No one expected but we dreamed about Final 4

The biggest upset of the 2023/24 edition of the Champions League Men was created by Austria’s Solex Consult TT Wiener Neustadt. The team had to navigate through both stages to reach the semi-finals. In Saarbrücken, they will face Borussia Düsseldorf in the semi-final.

"It is a success of enormous scale. No one expected something like that. But we hoped and dreamed about it. That is why we are in the sport, to make our dreams come true. I have to give great credit to our coach, Martin DOPPLER, who was telling us from the first day that we are worthy of the Final Four and that we can reach it. From the first point played in Stage one in Dubrovnik, he believed in us," said Croatia’s player Frane Kojic.

KOJIC continued to talk about the club’s journey to the Final 4.

"In Stage two, we had a little help of luck. French GV Hennebont decided not to go with their top stars Liam PITCHFORD and Kristian KARLSSON, so it eased our way."

While they gained some ease on one side, challenges arose on the other.

"We faced a great obstacle against KS Dekorglass Dzialdowo in the return leg. After the defeat in Austria, they strengthened their lineup with Zhou Yu of China. They thought it would help them pass through. Ivor Ban destroyed their plans by beating the Chinese player. Then again, Jakub Dyjas was not playing in the return leg… A lot of things came together in that puzzle that led us to the Final tournament," admitted KOJIC.

Croatia’s player added that everyone needs a stroke of luck when facing giants with much bigger budgets. Continuing with the matter of budget, he said:

"It will be the same story now in the Final Four where we will face clubs with much bigger budgets, results, and traditions of playing in the biggest competitions. We are very proud that we will represent Wiener Neustadt among all these giants at such an important tournament."

KOJIC expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the match will be played in Germany.

"We all know that Germany has a great base of fans, and I am happy that we will play in a great atmosphere. I have no doubts the venue in Saarbrücken will be full. We do not have an everyday opportunity to play in front of two or three thousand people."

Speaking of the semi-final adversary Borussia Düsseldorf, KOJIC said:

"We did not have any preferences before the draw. All three clubs are giants. We have nothing to lose. I only regret that Jin Ueda is not with us anymore. He had a great influence on our success and played an important role in our passage to the Final 4. Due to some procedural errors, he was not able to play for his club TSV Bad Königshofen in Germany. He was not registered for the first part of the season and was looking for an alternative club he could play for from September to December. We knew he would leave us after three months," explained KOJIC.

Speaking of his current form, KOJIC said:

"Currently, I am in Croatia, and in the recent past, I was not very active in the WTT tournaments. I was focused on the club’s duties in leagues and European competitions."

Frane KOJIC was one of the members of the Croatian team which secured a place at the team event at the Olympic Games. They played at the World Championships recently held in Busan, before being halted by the team of Portugal.

"We made our way to the Last 16 and gained a ticket for the Olympics," specified Kojic.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, the competition is much fiercer than in previous years.

"This year, we clinched the National Cup, and in the League, we are currently third in the standings before the start of the playoffs. This year, the League improved in terms of quality. This is my eighth season in the Austrian League, and I can say that I have never faced such fierce competition. In the past, no matter which club I was playing for, we were not under pressure to lose our spot in the top four and play off. The league is much stronger now. Now we have five or six clubs fighting for the four positions, and in the past 10 days, we have had four very important rounds in the League. I played well, and currently in 2024, I have only one defeat in both the Cup and League. So I am very satisfied with my play. And of course, the club always aims for titles in the Cup and League. The hardest competition is coming from Wels."

For all those unable to attend in person, the matches will be broadcast live via ettu.tv except in some specific countries due to exclusive broadcasting agreements. 

Please refer to the list of channels below for viewing options in your country:

• France (DROM-COM), Monaco, Andorra and Mauritius: L'equipe
• Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Sportdeutschland.tv
• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan: V Broadcasting