Hugo Canela praises his players for their dedication in Challenge Cup win

Hugo Canela was understandably full of praise for his players this weekend following the Challenge Cup final win in Romania, highlighting his side's dedication in bringing European silverware to Alvalade.

"The players were really physically intense, even though Potaissa Turda had a lot of support from the crowd. We were really strong", said the Sporting CP handball coach, adding: "This is the first of three objectives we have this year. It has been a really fantastic first year for me and I want to thank president Bruno de Carvalho for travelling with us. You can't do this kind of thing on your own and I have to thank the players who came with us, like Pedro Solha and Oneto who are both injured, or Manuel Gaspar who is a young player who has spent a lot of time with us. Of course a special word for our director Jorge Sousa too. Thank you Jorge for the confidence and for putting such a good team together. Finally I want to thank my wife. None of this would be happy without our wives supporting us."