CSKA hosts Belgian Decospan Menen on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. The match in "Hristo Botev" Hall is part of the Challenge Cup 1/8 finals. On the eve of the match, we speak with Stefan Chavdarov. To the club's website, he shared what he expects from the match and urged fans to fill the hall so that CSKA can more confidently look towards eliminating their opponent.
Stefan, with what mindset are you entering the match against Decospan Menen?
– With the mindset to win the match. I believe Menen is not as strong as the Ukrainian team we eliminated. I hope we achieve a good result in this challenge. We are yet to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses.
They arrive after a victory over Leuven in the Belgian Cup…
– Honestly, my observations are that the Belgian championship is not among the strongest. Of course, I am in no way underestimating this opponent.
The elimination of the Ukrainians was received as a bit of a surprise…
– The truth is, we played two very solid matches against them. Given the performance of both teams, the result is completely fair.
How possible is participation in the quarter-finals in Europe?
– Completely realistic. I even believe we can go further, as the difference between us and other European teams is not that great. We will give our best to eliminate the Belgians.
Nevertheless – Hristo Botev Hall remains unfamiliar to CSKA.
– I strongly hope that more people will come to support us. I notice that matches in Europe, not only for CSKA but also for other teams I've played for, are not very well attended. I don't know why this is. I hope we receive solid support, because that will help us. We will also be guests, in terms of the conditions in the hall, so the fans will truly be needed.
Do you think you've settled into a better rhythm after the fluctuations at the start of the season?
– Definitely. With each match, we play better and more confidently. The bad thing is that there are changes in the squad. Niki Penchev is still unavailable after his injury. Now we've signed Bardarov, and Parapunov has left. From this perspective, it's a bit difficult because we don't have time to adjust. But with time, we will play better and better. We are still finding ourselves as a team.
It's been three months since you arrived. How do you feel?
– Excellent. We get along very well with the guys, we have a great team spirit, which is very important. I have full support from the staff and everyone on the team. I hope that I will show my skills more consistently and continue to develop.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
