Xepkin, a luxury reinforcement

Xepkin, a luxury reinforcement

Andrei Xepkin joined the team in the second half of the season, a quality addition to the squad for Manolo Cadenas. The Barça player brought experience and his presence in defence was particularly important.

Aged 43 years, Andrei Xepkin lived a second youth. The pivot was added to Manolo Cadenas’ side during the second half of the season and solidified the defence alongside Garabaya and Noddesbo. The former Dream Team member joined the team to help out in training and ended up playing in the team. “He sparked of a real change in us through his attitude and excellent defensive performances, with Nagy in the centre of defence they played some top class games”, said Manolo Cadenas.

Good performances over half a season

His stats were notable. Of fifteen games over the second half of the league season, Andrei played in twelve, as well as two cup matches and eight in Europe. “It took seven or eight years off my life. I felt like one of the team”, explained Xepkin. “I didn’t want any special treatment, I just wanted to treated as a player and I enjoyed it a lot. I want to thank my team mates for the way they accepted me because I got a lot of joy out of it”, he added.

Setting an example

His Passion for handball and Barça is such that he was upset not have won any titles. “I am sure we deserved to win at least one title and we showed that we were in the hunt for them all and the work we did was excellent. We did everything we could do”, said Xepkin. “There is a strong base for the future. I am sure the titles will come next year, and the team will bring plenty of happiness”, added the Barça veteran.