Media Guide - European Handball...

Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19Group Phase

Media Guide

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Foreword 4

Media contacts - EHF/M, club contacts 5

2018/19 Playing system diagram - stages & dates 6

EHF Cup Finals goes to Kiel 8

Playing system - organiser Kiel 9

Important regulations - ranking of teams 9

GROUP A

Head-to-head stats 11

Füchse Berlin 12

BM Logroño La Rioja 14

Saint-Raphael Var Handball 17

Balatonfüredi KSE 20

GROUP B


TSV Hannover Burgdof 24

Grundfos Tatabanya KC 27

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik 30

RK Nexe 33

Table of contents

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GROUP C


FC Porto Sofarma 37

TTH Holstebro 40

Liberbank Cuenca 43

HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta 46

GROUP D


Fraiklin BM Granollers 50

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA 53

THW Kiel 56

GOG 59

Qualification top scorers 62

Past seasons’ winners 63

Table of contents

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Foreword

Dear media representative,

As we move towards into a new Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase, the event continues to leave a mark on the sporting market. As the competition grows increasingly popular among the handball fans of Europe, we look forward to our continued and growing cooperation with you, media representatives.

Germany and Spain lead the way with three teams each still in the competition. Denmark and Hungary follow closely with two teams each remaining. Croatia, Romania, Poland, Portugal and FYR Macedonia and Switzerland are pinning their hopes on their solo teams.

The group phase features 16 clubs from 10 nations with a raft of interesting teams such as last season’s finalists Füchse Berlin and Saint-Raphael Var, FC Porto and three-time EHF Champions League winners THW Kiel, who will host the EHF Cup Finals on 17/18 May.

The new batch of social media channels will provide fans with near-live clips and compilations of the best moments from the Men’s EHF Cup, alongside the latest news and features from both EHF Cup and Challenge Cup competitions.

The increased interest in the EHF’s second tier competition is also reflected in international television coverage, with 15 partners set to broadcast to over 20 territories, while ehfTV.com will broadcast worldwide.

The stage is set for six weeks of group phase action and the battle to take a step closer to the Men’s EHF Cup Finals in Kiel, Germany.

This season’s competition is the penultimate in the current format, before the EHF club competition reform, which will see this competition turn into the European Handball League with 24 teams from the 2020/21 season onwards

We pride ourselves on our positive and cooperative relationship with the press and media and I am sure this will continue and develop in the future. Should you require any information, help or assistance during the course of the season, your first point of contact is the EHF Media and Communications Department based in our office in Vienna. They will be more than happy to assist you with any questions you might have.

We look forward to working with you in the upcoming season!

Michael WiedererEHF President

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EHF/M Media contacts

Clubs – media contacts

Media matters

Vlado BrindzakMedia and Communications European Handball Federation+43 1 80 151 [email protected] Twitter: @ehfmedia

TV and Radio

Miguel Mateo MarcellánMedia ManagerEHF Marketing GmbH+43 1 80 151 [email protected]

GROUP A

Füchse BerlinStefan Güter+49 177 4054946 [email protected]

BM Logroño La RiojaJaime Luis Gonzalez Gutierrez+34 941 [email protected]

Saint-Raphael Var HandballJean Francois Krakowski+33 6 62719230 [email protected]

Balatonfüredi KSETamás Bene+36 20 [email protected]

GROUP B

TSV Hannover-BurgdorfGeorg Müller+49 511 [email protected]

Grundfos Tatabanya KCKatalin Marosi+36 30 [email protected]

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik Dimitar Mitrevski+389 71 [email protected]

RK Nexe Franjo Lelic+385 98 [email protected]

GROUP C

FC Porto SofarmaFernando Santos+351 22 [email protected]

TTH Holstebro Line Kristoffersen+45 28 [email protected]

Liberbank Cuenca Javier Palacios Blanco [email protected]

HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta Ionut Rudi [email protected]

GROUP D

Fraikin BM. Granollers Josep Blanchart+34 655 [email protected]

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA Jerzy [email protected]

THW Kiel Christian Robohm+49 [email protected]

GOG Sport 2010Kasper Jorgensen+45 62 [email protected]

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published version, 10.07.2018

Qualification Qualification EHF CupRound 1 Round 2 FINALS

22 teams 32 teams 32 teams 16 teams 8 teams 4 teams01/02.09.2018 06/07.10.2018 17/18.11.2018 R1: 09/10.02.2019 20/21.04.19 17.-19.05.2019

first leg first leg first leg R2: 16/17.02.2019 first leg TournamentR3: 23/24.02.2019 played in semi-finals

08/09.09.2018 13/14.10.2018 24/25.11.2018 R4: 02/03.03.2019 27/28.04.19 and finalssecond leg second leg second leg R5:23/24.03.2019 second leg in one venue

R6:30/31.03.201917.07.2018 17.07.2018 16.10.2018 29.11.2018 02.04.2019 30.04.2019

1 Def. Champ. Füchse Berlin2 GER SC Magdeburg3 ESP Fraikin BM Granollers4 GER TSV Hannover-Burgdorf5 ESP BM. Logrono La Rioja6 DEN TTH Holstebro7 HUN Grundfos Tatabanya KC8 POL KS Azoty-Pulawy SA9 MKD HC Eurofarm Rabotnik Bitola

10 GER THW Kiel11 FRA St. Raphael var Handball12 ESP Liberbank Cuenca13 DEN GOG14 SWE HK Malmö15 HUN Balatonfüredi KSE16 CRO RK Nexe17 BLR SKA Minsk18 SUI Pfadi Winterthur19 SLO RD Riko Ribnica20 ROU Dobrogea Sud Constanta21 POL KPR Gwardia Opole22 POR SL Benfica23 NOR Drammen HK24 ISL IBV Vestmannaeyjar25 RUS HC Spartak26 CZE HCB Karvina27 UKR HC ZTR Zaporozhye28 BEL Achilles Bocholt29 ISR Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion30 AUT ALPLA HC Hard31 SRB HC Vojvodina32 GRE Olympiacos S.F.P.33 NED Heren Green Park Tigers134 MKD HC Prolet 6235 FRA PAUC Handball36 DEN Aalborg Handbold37 HUN Sport36-Komlö38 CRO RK Dubrava39 SUI Kadetten Schaffhausen40 SLO RK Gorenje Velenje41 ROU CSA Steaua Bucuresti42 POR FC Porto43 ISL Selfoss44 CZE Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen45 SRB RK Zeleznicar 194946 NED OCI-Lions47 EST Pölva Serviti48 KOS KH Besa Famgas49 LUX HB Kaerjeng50 LTU Dragunas Klaipeda51 GEO BSB Batumi52 GBR Glasgow HC53 SWE Alingsas HK54 CRO GRK Varazdin 193055 SUI BSV Bern56 SLO RD Koper57 ROU AHC Potaissa Turda58 ISL FH Hafnarfjordur59 AUT SG Insignis HB West Wien

2018/2019 MEN'S EHF CUP Qualification

Round 3Group Phase

Quarterfinals

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NATION

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The seventh edition of the EHF Cup Finals in 2019 will be hosted by THW Kiel.

The tournament will take place on 17 and 18 May 2019 with the competitions' four best teams descending on the Sparkassen Arena in Kiel, Germany, which has a capacity of 10,285. The first edition of the tournament took place in Nantes, France, which also hosted the tournament in 2016. In 2014 and 2015 Füchse Berlin staged the final tournament in the Max-Schmeling Halle in Berlin, while Göppingen was the venue in 2017. The last edition in 2018 was hosted by SC Magdeburg.

THW Kiel reached the group phase courtesy of two commanding victories and an aggregate score (70:41) in the third qualification round tie against Drammen HK from Norway.

Kiel to host the EHF Cup Finals in 2019

Playing hallSparkassen-Arena-KielEuropaplatz 1 24103 Kiel GermanyCapacity: 10,285

Media Accreditation for the EHF Cup Finals

The accreditation procedure of media representatives for the EHF Cup Finals 2019 will start on Tuesday, 12 March through the HTML form on the EHF official website. The accreditation procedure will be open to all media professionals and will run until Friday 3 May.

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Important regulationsScoring of the matches and ranking

General

All matches of the Men’s EHF Cup shall be played in 2 x 30 minutes with a half-time break of 10 minutes. The EHF reserves the right to extend the half-time break in special circumstances to 15 minutes.

The matches shall be scored as follows: a) win = 2 points b) draw = 1 point c) loss = 0 points

Teams’ rankings are obtained by adding up the number of points won.

Group Phase

If two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

During the Group Phase:

a) higher goal difference in all matches;b) greater number of plus goals in all matches;

After completion of the Group Phase if two teams have scored the same number of points:

a) number of points in matches of the two teams directly involvedb) goal difference in matches of the two teams directly involvedc) higher number of goals scored in the away matchd) goal difference in all matches of the groupe) higher number of plus goals in all matches of the group

After completion of the Group Phase if three or more teams have scored the same number of points:

a) number of points in matches of all teams directly involvedb) goal difference in matches of all teams directly involvedc) higher number of plus goals in matches of all teams directly involvedd) goal difference in all matches of the groupe) higher number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined.

If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by drawing lots. Lots shall be drawn by the EHF, if possible in the presence of a responsible of each club.

If one of the participating clubs is the organiser of the EHF Cup Finals the ranking of the 2nd ranked teams of the Group Phase is as follows:

a) number of points in matches against all teams of the group;b) goal difference in those matches as mentioned in a);c) greater number of plus goals in those matches as mentioned in a);

If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by drawing lots. Lots shall be drawn by the EHF, if possible in the presence of a responsible of each club.

Find all the Men’s EHF Cup regulations on eurohandball.com

Possibility no. 1The organisers finish 1st in their group or are one of the three best 2nd ranked teamsThe organisers qualify directly for the EHF Cup Finals and the other six teams play three quarter-finals.The worst second ranked team will be eliminated.

Possibility no. 2The organisers are the 4th ranked of the 2nd ranked teamsThe organisers play the quarter-finals and are qualified for the EHF Cup Finals if they win the quarter-final.

Possibility no. 3The organisers are ranked 3rd or 4th in the group and are not qualified for the EHF Cup Finals.All 1st and 2nd ranked teams play the quarter-finals. The organisers will still stage the EHF Cup Finals for the four quarter-finals winners.

Playing system – organiser Kiel

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Group A head-to-headsHistoric encounters of the Group A opponents in the EC

Füchse Berlin vs BM Logroño La RiojaNo previous encounters in European competitions

Füchse Berlin vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball 4-0-2 (172:158) 8:419.02.2017 Füchse Berlin vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball, EHF Cup – Group A 33:31 (19:14)01.04.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup – Group A 27:21 (11:12)20.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup Finals – Semi-final 24:35 (10:17)07.02.2018 Füchse Berlin vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball, EHF Cup – Group B 21:26 (7:13)24.03.2018 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup – Group B 25:34 (12:17)20.05.2018 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup Finals – Final 25:28 (13:14)

Füchse Berlin vs Balatonfüredi KSENo previous encounters in European competitions

BM Logroño La Rioja vs Saint-Raphael Var HandballNo previous encounters in European competitions

BM Logroño La Rioja vs Balatonfüredi KSENo previous encounters in European competitions

Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Balatonfüredi KSENo previous encounters in European competitions

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FOXES DETERMINED TO OVERCOME TOUGH ROUTE TO FINALIn the past four seasons, they were finalists three times and raised the trophy in 2015 on home ground and 2018 in Magdeburg - now Füchse Berlin are out to go all the way to the EHF Cup Finals once again this season.There may have been a number of chances since last season, with the departures of German international Steffen Fäth and goalkeeper legend Petr Stochl and a long injury list, but hopes are high at Berlin.The opening match of the group phase will be a case of deja-vu for the Foxes as they face Saint-Raphael Var Handball in a repeat of last season’s final. Both clubs have locked horns six times in the past two seasons, each in the group phase, then at the EHF Cup Finals, once in the semi-finals, once in the final.“Again, we have not been lucky with the draw. La Rioja and Saint-Raphael Var are maybe the toughest possible opponents,” says coach Velimir Petkovic, adding: “But we feel confident and will give anything to reach the quarter-finals and the finals in Kiel.”Berlin welcome back new team captain Hans Lindberg, the two-time top scorer of the competition and newly crowned world champion with Denmark, and their German back court stars Fabian Wiede (WCh 2019 All Star Team player) and Paul Drux.In contrast, Croatian defence specialist Marko Kopljar and German talent Simon Ernst are ruled out with long-term injuries and the short-term contract of Tunisian Wael Jallouz has ended.Their qualification victory against former Danish champions Aalborg was far from easy, but on home court, Berlin turned things around and qualified, like in the 2017/18 quarter-finals when came from eight behind to beat Nexe.“The two matches against Aalborg were very tough. But now we have six games ahead of us to reach the next round. The international matches are very good for our young players to make the next step in their development,” says Petkovic, who has previously steered Göppingen and Berlin to EHF Cup glory and believes the 2019 champions will again come from Germany.“The Bundesliga teams are always favourites, but this time THW Kiel stand out. However, we have a good team too and want to give our best to defend our title.”

GROUP A

Newcomers: Jacob Tandrup Holm (Ribe-Esbjerg HH), Simon Ernst (VfL Gummersbach), Mijajlo Marsenic (RK Vardar), Malte Semisch (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf)

Left the club: Steffen Fäth (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Drago Vuković (VfL Gummersbach), Petr Stochl (retired), Ignacio Plaza Jiménez (SC Magdeburg)

Coach: Velimir Petkovic (since December 2016)

Team captain: Hans Lindberg

Road to the Group Phase

EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ Aalborg Handbold L 31:29 (13:13)2nd leg: vs Aalborg Handbold W 28:23 (11:13)Aggregate score: 57:54

Füchse Berlin (GER)

Past achievements

EHF CupWinners (2): 2014/15, 2017/18Runners-up (2): 2016/17, 2013/14,Qualification Round 3 (1): 2015/16

OtherVELUX EHF Champions League: 2011/12 VELUX EHF FINAL4- fourth place, 2012/13 Last 16

Club Address:Füchse BerlinMarkgrafenstraße 3410117 BerlinGermany

Media contact:Stefan Güter+49 177 4054946 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.fuechse-berlin.deFacebook: @fuechseberlinInstagram: @fuechse_berlinTwitter: @FuechseBerlin

Playing hallMax-Schmeling-HalleFalkplatz 110437 BerlinGermanyCapacity: 8,521

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: greyGoalkeeper shirt: yellowDarkPlayer shirt: bluePlayer short: blueGoalkeeper shirt: red

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No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals11 Tim Bielzer GER Line Player 7/11/97 Berlin, GER 195 51 Kevin Deisting GER Goalkeeper 16/9/96 Oranienburg, GER 187 95 Paul Drux GER Left Back 7/2/95 Gummersbach, GER 192 32 Tolga Durmaz GER Line Player 18/1/00 Mainburg, GER 193 4 Bjarki Mar Elisson ISL Left Wing 16/5/90 Reykjavik, ISL 191 92 Simon Ernst GER Centre Back 2/4/94 Düren, GER 195 50 Tim Folgmann GER Goalkeeper 10/1/00 Berlin, GER 189 20 Fynn Ole Fritz GER Left Wing 3/5/97 Berlin, GER 194 11 Bastien Genty FRA Right Wing 1/7/92 Saint-Germain, FRA 179 01 Frederik Genz GER Goalkeeper 8/3/97 Waldbröl, GER 194 027 Erik Gerntke GER Right Back 14/5/99 Herzberg, GER 190 97 Lennart Gliese GER Right Back 16/11/97 Berlin, GER 190 110 Jakov Gojun CRO Left Back 18/4/86 Split, CRO 203 012 Silvio Heinevetter GER Goalkeeper 21/10/84 Bad Langensalza, GER 194 16 Jacob Tandrup Holm DEN Centre Back 5/9/95 Esbjerg, DEN 194 842 Wael Jallouz TUN Left Back 3/5/91 Grombalia, TUN 197 077 Johan Koch DEN Line Player 29/11/90 Svendborg, DEN 185 553 Gustav König GER Goalkeeper 18/3/01 Frankfurt am Main, GER 192 35 Marko Kopljar CRO Right Back 12/2/86 Pozega, CRO 210 15 Loris Kotte GER Right Wing 13/5/01 Oschatz, GER 180 33 Aron Krai GER Centre Back 10/9/00 Berlin, GER 186 18 Hans Lindberg DEN Right Wing 1/8/81 Höje Taastrup, DEN 188 139 Stipe Mandalinic CRO Left Back 9/9/92 Split, SRB 195 93 Mijajlo Marsenic SRB Centre Back 9/3/93 Berane, SRB 202 731 Tim Matthes GER Left Wing 5/5/99 Berlin, GER 181 05 Torben Matzken GER Centre Back 1/2/00 Mons, BEL 188 114 Julius Porath GER Right Wing 30/5/96 Rostock, GER 183 43 Christoph Reißky GER Right Back 11/8/95 Freiberg, GER 187 28 Erik Schmidt GER Centre Back 28/12/92 Mainz, GER 204 123 Dorian Schnabel GER Left Back 3/3/94 Berlin, GER 190 37 Julius Schroeder GER Centre Back 24/4/98 Gummersbach, GER 188 16 Malte Semisch GER Goalkeeper 5/9/92 Rehburg-Loccum, GER 208 24 Frederik Simak GER Left Back 24/1/98 Gengenbach, GER 197 734 Linus Skroblien GER Centre Back 8/10/97 Schwerin, GER 185 71 Petr Stochl CZE Goalkeeper 24/4/76 Pilsen, CZE 195 7 Kevin Struck GER Left Wing 31/12/96 Berlin, GER 193 52 Erik Ullrich GER Goalkeeper 8/1/01 Jena, GER 196 25 Rolando Urios Gonzales ESP Line Player 10/4/99 La Havanna, CUB 193 3 Fabian Wiede GER Right Back 8/2/94 Belzig, GER 192 421 Mattias Zachrisson SWE Right Wing 22/8/90 Huddinge, SWE 178

Team roster


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Coach and key players profiles


Velimir Petkoviccoach• born in former Yugoslavia, but with German citizenship now

• as player won the European Champions Cup in 1976 with Borac Banja Luka

• as coach of the same club he won the IHF Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991

• after six-year stint with Wetzlar he was at the helm of Frisch Auf Göppingen for nearly 10 years

• led Göppingen to two EHF Cup titles and the inaugural EHF Cup Finals in 2013, before arriving at Berlin

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, 2018; IHF CWC 1991 (as coach); Champions Cup 1976 (as player)

Silvio Heinevettergoalkeeper• goalkeeping stalwart of the German national team

• his former goalkeeper coach at SC Magdeburg was legendary Wieland Schmidt (Olympic champion 1980)

• famous for his unusual style of saving shots

• has played 190 international matches for Germany sofar

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2007, 2015, 2018OG: B 2016

Fabian Wiederight back• transferred from Potsdam to Füchse’s youth team at age 15, has won 10 (junior and senior) titles with Füchse since

• defeat in EHF Cup Final 2017 was first time he and club director Bob Hanning lost a final in any competition

• made his debut in the German national team at age 19, started an apprenticeship at a bank in Berlin only two days after winning EHF EURO 2016

• part of the WCh 2019 All-star Team

Hans Lindbergright wing• joined Berlin after a long stint with HSV Hamburg

• was top scorer of the CL and the Bundesliga in 2012/13

• member of the WCh 2013 All-star Team

• started career in Viborg; his nickname these days was ‘Majestæt’

• played more than 240 times for Danish national team since 2007

• EHF Cup top scorer in 2016/17 and again in 2017/18

EC trophies: CL 2013; EHF Cup 2018WCh: G 2018

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015, 2018EURO: G 2016; OG: B 2016

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LOGROÑO LA RIOJA HOPE FOR POSITIVE RETURN TO THE EHF CUPBM Logroño La Rioja might not feature in the VELUX EHF Champions League this season, after being surpassed by Abanca Ademar Leon domestically, but they still have a chance in the Men’s EHF Cup.The club has had a tricky couple of years. In summer 2017 they lost their main sponsor, and since then have seen a high turnover of players. Nevertheless they are still in the top five of the ASOBAL League at home, and have secured a place in the EHF Cup Group Phase.The current season is the first for Miguel Angel Velasco as head coach. Velasco succeeded Jesus Javier “Jota” Gonzalez, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain as assistant coach.Velasco’s promotion followed six seasons as a player for Logroño and four as assistant coach. He picked retiring player Ruben Garabaya as his assistant after becoming head coach.With a number of changes in the team, Logroño is aiming primarily to be competitive both domestically and in the EHF Cup. Reaching the group phase is already a better result in the latter competition, after the team was knocked out in the third round of qualification last year.Their EHF Cup Group Phase place was secured by outgoing captain Gurutz Aginagalde, who saved a goal in the last second. The save was even more special as it was Aginagalde’s last match before leaving to become president of Bidasoa Irun.Logroño will face defending champions Füchse Berlin and last year’s runners-up Saint-Raphael Var Handball as well as Balatonfüredi KSE in Group A.

GROUP A BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP)

Club Address:BM Logroño La RiojaAvenida de Moncalvillo 226007 LogronoSpain

Media contact:Jaime Luis Gonzalez Gutierrez+34 941 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.cbclogrono.comFacebook: @cbmlogrorioja Twitter: @clogronolarioja

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: redGoalkeeper shirt: yellowDarkPlayer shirt: blackPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: blue


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs Kadetten Schaffhausen W 26:22 (13:13)2nd leg: @ Kadetten Schaffhausen L 28:24 (17:10)Aggregate score: 50:50

Past achievementsEHF Cup:Semi-final (2): 2009/10, 2010/11Group Phase (1): 2012/13

OtherEHF Champions League: last 16 2014/15, group phase 2013/14, 2015,16, 2016/17

Newcomers: Vanja Ilic (Metalurg), Erik Balenciaga (Helvetia Anaitasuna), James Scott Junior (HBC Nantes), Balint Fekete (MOL Pick Szeged), Tomas Moreira Rodríguez (Angel Ximenez Avia Puente Genil), Sergey Hernandez Ferrer (Helvetia Anaitasuna), Claudio Ramos (Centro Deportico Cerro Pelado)

Left the club: Jakub Krupa (CSM Bucuresti), Angel Fernandez Perez (PGE Vive Kielce), Pablo Paredes (Quabit Guadalajara), Juan Castro (Angel Ximenez Avia Puente Genil), Angel Montoro (Liberbank Cuenca), Ruben Garabaya (retired), Gurutz Aginagalde (retired)

Coach: Miguel Angel Velasco (since 2018)

Team captain: Miguel Sánchez Migallón

Playing hallPalacio de los deportes de la RiojaAvenida Moncalvillo 2LogronoSpainCapacity: 3,831

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No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals12 Gurutz Aguinagalde Aquizu ESP Goalkeeper 26/10/77 Irun, ESP 201 06 Erik Balenciaga Azcue ESP Centre Back 10/5/93 Zarautz, ESP 170 334 David Cadarso Caballero ESP Right Wing 14/12/01 Logroño, ESP 192 033 Eduardo Cadarso Caballero ESP Centre Back 13/2/99 Logroño, ESP 192 031 Juan Del Arco Perez ESP Left Back 29/11/91 Leganes, ESP 191 215 Balint Fekete HUN Right Back 27/6/95 Gyula, HUN 195 341 Imanol Garciandia Alustiza ESP Right Back 30/4/95 Urretxu, HUN 201 1425 Sergey Hernandez Ferrer ESP Goalkeeper 17/6/95 Kropotkin, RUS 197 03 Vanja Ilic SRB Left Wing 25/2/93 Belgrade, SRB 186 824 Lazar Kukic SRB Centre Back 12/12/95 Beograd, SRB 187 49 Tomislav Kusan CRO Line Player 16/12/94 Zagreb, CRO 201 120 Tomas Moreira Rodriguez ESP Line Player 22/8/92 Vigo, ESP 191 714 Javier Munoz Cabezon ESP Right Wing 22/5/92 Madrid, ESP 191 72 Claudio Leandro Ramos Madrigal CUB Line Player 28/7/98 La Habana , CUB 197 90 Javier Romeo Lopez ESP Goalkeeper 1/6/90 Logroño, ESP 193 02 Miguel Sanchez Migallon Naranjo ESP Left Back 8/2/95 Ciudad Real, ESP 200 111 James Junior Scott FRA Left Back 27/5/96 Lens, FRA 200 7

Team roster

BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP)

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Miguel Angel Velascocoach• came out of five-year retirement in the summer of 2018 to succeed ‘Jota’ González as head coach

• previously worked as an assistant coach at the club for four years

• he was a centre back at Valladolid, where he spent whole his playing career before moving to Logroño in 2008

Vanja Ilicleft wing• Serbian player who joined Logroño in the summer of 2018 from Metalurg

• replaces Angel Fernandez, who moved to Kielce, on the left wing

• shares playing time on the left wing with captain Miguel Sánchez-Migallón

• scored 22 goals for Serbia at WCh 2019 and is also a prolific scorer for Logroño

Imanol Garciandia right back• is in his fourth season with the club and one of the leading payers on the team

• was second-best scorer for the club in the Spanish league last season with 108 goals, second only to Angel Fernandez’s 174 goals

• was voted best right back of the ASOBAL League in 2017/18

James Edward Scott Juniorleft back• French player who joined the club on loan from Nantes from this season until 2020

• brings in CL experience from his time at Nantes

• part of French national under-21 team which won silver at junior WCh 2017 in Algeria

• son of American parents; his father, James Scott, was an NBA player


BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP)

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SAINT-RAPHAEL AIM FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE FINALSFrench side Saint-Raphael have reached the EHF Cup Finals twice over the last two seasons. After qualifying for the semi-final for the first time in 2016/17, they jumped over one more hurdle last year, only to be beaten in the final by Füchse Berlin.Now that some experienced players have left the club, the team will have to write another story – but the goal is nevertheless to repeat the success of the last two seasons. After last season, three players that had been with the club for years decided to stop their careers. Left back Aurelien Abily, defender Wissem Hmam and centre back Geoffroy Krantz had known everything with the club. Now, coach Joel Da Silva has had to replace them with younger players. “This is almost like a new cycle to us. Players that had been in the backroom for a long time have stepped up and have more responsibilities in the team. I think they are ready now,” said the French coach.So far in 2018/19, Saint-Raphael have recorded mixed results in the French league. In European cup competitions, last year’s finalists had a scare against Israeli side Maccabi Srugo Rishon LeZion, but managed to qualify for the group phase. This season is the fourth time in a row that Saint-Raphael have reached the group phase of the EHF Cup.Most of the Saint-Raphael squad have become routinely part of the European circuit. Seven players were already wearing the club’s colours in 2015/16, when they reached the group phase of the EHF Cup for the first time. Some of them are now even regulars in their respective national teams, which was not the case for Adrien Dipanda and Raphael Caucheteux when they arrived at Saint-Raphael.

GROUP A Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA)

Newcomers: Jeremy Toto (US Créteil), Vadim Gayduchenko (Dinamo Bucuresti)

Left the club: Aurelien Abily, Geoffroy Krantz, Wissem Hmam (retirements), Artsem Karalek (Kielce)

Coach: Joel Da Silva (since 2014)

Team captain: Adrien Dipanda


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion W29:36 (14:17)2nd leg: vs Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion L27:30 (15:15)Aggregate score: 63:59

Club Address:Saint-Raphael Var HandballPO Box BP 50383705 Saint Raphael CedexFrance

Media contact:Jean Francois Krakowski+33 6 62719230 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.srvhb.comFacebook: @SaintRaphaelHandballInstagram: @srvhbTwitter: @SRVHB

Playing hallPalais des Sports JF KrakowskiRue des Chataigniers83700 Saint RaphaelFranceCapacity: 2,000

Kit colours

LightPlayer shirt: white / yellowPlayer short: white / yellowGoalkeeper shirt: whiteDarkPlayer shirt: green / blackPlayer short: green /blackGoalkeeper shirt: blue

Past achievements

EHF CupFinalists (1): 2017/18Semi-finalists (1): 2016/17 Quarter-finalists (3): 2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16

Other

VELUX EHF Champions League: 2012/13 qualification

18

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals4 Xavier Barachet FRA Right Back 19/11/88 Nice, FRA 195 318 Paolo Bardi FRA Centre Back 18/8/99 FREJUS, FRA 181 9 Geoffrey Bourasseau FRA Left Back 18/2/99 PARIS, FRA 187 20 Raphael Caucheteux FRA Left Wing 9/5/85 MONTPELLIER, FRA 202 912 Alexandre Demaille FRA Goalkeeper 22/4/93 DRAGUIGNAN, FRA 196 032 Adrien Dipanda FRA Right Back 3/5/88 DIJON, FRA 202 877 David Eponouh CIV Left Back 1/4/99 ABIDJAN, CIV 193 13 Theo Gaspari FRA Line Player 5/12/99 CAGNES SUR MER , FRA 187 95 Vadim Gayduchenko BLR Left Back 24/4/95 Bobruisk, BLR 192 633 Loic Gschwind FRA Goalkeeper 24/1/98 Mulhouse, FRA 188 19 Miroslav Jurka CZE Right Wing 7/6/87 VALASSKE MEZIRICI, CZE189 17 Aleksa Kolakovic SRB Centre Back 10/8/97 PODGORICA, MNE 189 031 Nicolas Krakowski FRA Left Back 31/10/87 FREJUS, FRA 196 014 Alexander Lynggaard DEN Line Player 27/3/90 KOGE, DEN 198 48 Jonathan Mapu FRA Line Player 10/3/98 FREJUS, FRA 181 21 Romain Mathias FRA Line Player 13/9/97 PARIS, FRA 197 3 Quentin Mazoyer FRA Right Wing 11/5/01 Lyon, FRA 175 10 Drevy-Noah Paschal FRA Left Wing 16/7/01 Angers, FRA 192 128 Timmy Petit FRA Line Player 16/10/00 Baie Mahault , FRA 195 16 Mihai Catalin Popescu ROU Goalkeeper 15/3/85 GAESTI, ROU 190 229 Romain Quatrevaux FRA Goalkeeper 29/12/99 FREJUS, FRA 188 11 Daniel Sarmiento Melian ESP Centre Back 25/8/83 LAS PALMAS, ESP 188 77 Alexandru Viorel Simicu ROU Left Back 8/10/88 Timisoara, ROU 202 85 Anass Talib FRA Right Wing 20/4/01 Fréjus, FRA 188 026 Jeremy Toto FRA Line Player 15/5/92 Courbevoie, FRA 197 227 Alexian Trottet FRA Left Wing 13/5/97 VERNON, FRA 175 124 Arthur Vigneron FRA Right Wing 30/1/95 SAINT-MICHEL, FRA 182 10

Team roster

Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA)

19


Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA)

Joël Da Silvacoach• after training Toulouse for four seasons, he signed for Saint-Raphaël in the summer of 2014

• voted best coach in the French league two seasons ago

• has never played handball at a high level and started coaching at the age of 14

• worked in a gardening store before joining Toulouse in 2009

Daniel Sarmientocentre back• arrived from FC Barcelona Lassa in the summer of 2016

• was part of the FC Barcelona team which broke all records in the 2013/14 season, scoring 1,146 goals in only 30 games

• feels so good with Saint-Raphael that he extended his contract to 2020

• the only player in the French side to have ever won the Velux EHF Champions League

Adrien Dipandaright back • played in Montpellier before moving to Ademar Leon and then to Saint-Raphaël in 2012

• late bloomer, he played mostly in defence until his arrival in Saint-Raphaël. There, he developed into a complete player

• he also was a late-comer to the national team, in which he now is a regular fixture. He is among others, won the world championship at home last january

• although he is one of the top scorers for Saint-Raphael, he is only used in defence with the national team

Raphaël Caucheteuxleft wing• at 202cm, one of the tallest wings in the handball world

• stayed in Saint-Raphael since signing from Montpellier in January 2007 – only one in the current squad has played for the club longer

• the top scorer of all time in the French league, with more than 1,500 goals so far

• enjoyed his first France national team gathering in 2018, at 32. He came back from the EHF EURO with a bronze medal

EC trophies: CL 2011, 2015

WCh: G 2013; EURO: G 2018, B 2014OG: S 2016; WCh: G 2017; EURO: B 2018

EURO: B 2018

20

BALATONFÜRED LONG FOR EUROPEAN EXPERIENCESince Balatonfüredi KSE joined the Hungarian first league in 2007, they never finished worse than 10th. And in the last five seasons, the team has been ever present in the top six.The consistency is based on their successful academy system. Teaching and training underage players, then let them further evolve at bigger teams.It’s the strategy of the club’s management, which barely buys any player. From many Hungarian talents, Tamás Iváncsik and Bence Bánhídi are just two examples of players who started at the Lake Balaton’s shore.The top-two spots in the Hungarian top flight are usually occupied by the two powerhouses, Szeged and Veszprém. But Balatonfüredi KSE is usually close to the fire.The expectations of the club’s management for the 2018/19 season have been strict but doable: finishing in the top four of the domestic league, and fighting until the last breath in the Men’s EHF Cup in order to learn and get as much experience as possible.This is the way of building the team believes in. And it provides a perfect opportunity for young players to evolve and get a familiar with international handball.“We are in the toughest group as last year’s two finalists and Logrono, with also a great squad, are our opponents,” said István Csoknyai, head coach of Balatonfüred and co-head coach of the men’s national team.“Our goal is to play in our style and collect more and more points after each round. Although, we know that this is going to be hard,” he added.Balatonfüred has a legion of great fans, but they will have to travel to attend the EHF Cup home games of their favourites. Balatonfüred will have to play in the Veszprém Aréna, 20 kilometers away, as their own arena at the lake does not match the criteria for hosting European Cup games.“It is great to be in the group phase and face excellent line-ups. We hope that playing in Veszprém will help us, as many of our supporters will join and cheer as they always do,” Csoknyai said.As for the main title contenders, he believed “there is a huge chance that the German clubs can continue their success in this tournament.”“THW Kiel, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf and Füchse Berlin, one of them can bring the trophy home,” he added.

Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN)

Club Address:Balatonfüredi KSEHorvath Mihaly u. 08/2 hrsz.8230 BalatonfüredHungary

Media contact:Tamás Bene+36 20 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.balatonfuredikc.huFacebook: @balatonfuredikcInstagram: @balatonfuredikse

Playing hallVeszprem ArenaKülso Kadartai ut , 8200 Veszprem, HungaryCapacity: 5,019

Kit colours

LightPlayer shirt: redPlayer short: redGoalkeeper shirt: blackDarkPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: red

Past achievementsEHF Cup:Group phase (1): 2014/15Round 3 (1): 2011/12Round 2 (1): 2012/13

Others

EHF Cup Winners’ Cup: Last 16 2010/11


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 1st leg: @ HBC Karvina W33:34 (16:20)2nd leg: vs HBC Karvina W32:29 (17:16)Aggregate score: 66:62

GROUP A

Newcomers: Da Silva Ferreira Uellington (Csurgói KK), Balázs Szöllősi (Grundfos Tatabánya KC), Bence Zdolik (returning after injury)

Left the club: Kasparek Stanislav (MOL-Pick Szeged), Dávid Debreczeni (FTC), Milán Varsandán (HE-DO B.Braun Gyöngyös)

Coach: István Csoknyai (since 2014)

Team captain: Nándor Fazekas

21

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals30 Balint Ag HUN Left Wing 26/3/99 Székesfehérvár, HUN 188 96 Arian Ando HUN Goalkeeper 29/1/99 Pásztó, HUN 191 12 Daniel Bösz HUN Goalkeeper 21/1/91 Budapest, HUN 190 07 Bendeguz Bóka HUN Left Wing 2/10/93 Veszprem, HUN 190 38 Bence Déber HUN Right Wing 3/6/97 Várpalota, HUN 185 01 Nandor Fazekas HUN Goalkeeper 16/10/76 Kecskemet, HUN 192 015 Uelington Ferreira da Silva BRA Left Back 13/8/86 Rondonopolis, BRA 202 147 Peter Hornyak HUN Right Wing 4/10/95 Debrecen, HUN 180 313 Otto Kancel SVK Left Back 1/2/95 Kralovsky Chlmec, SVK 202 043 Artur Karvatski BLR Right Back 21/1/96 Preili, LAT 195 13 Laszlo Kemeny HUN Line Player 23/2/93 Budapest, HUN 191 799 Dominik Mathe HUN Right Back 1/4/99 Nyíregyháza, HUN 195 1334 Alex Nemeth HUN Centre Back 18/9/98 Budapest, HUN 188 10 Balázs Németh HUN Centre Back 27/12/93 Veszprém, HUN 185 155 Yury Semenov RUS Centre Back 30/7/90 Chelyabinsk, RUS 194 421 Zoltan Szita HUN Left Back 10/2/98 Veszprém, HUN 197 149 Oliver Szöllösi HUN Line Player 6/2/98 Budapest, HUN 196 22 Petar Topic CRO Line Player 30/12/91 Split, CRO 204 104 Huba Vajda HUN Line Player 5/3/00 Gyor, HUN 192 06 Marton Varga HUN Centre Back 1/1/99 Debrecen, HUN 192 092 Bence Zdolik HUN Left Back 16/5/92 Bekecsaba, HUN 198 9

Team rosterBalatonfüredi KSE (HUN)

22

Istvan Csoknyaicoach• joint-coach of the Hungarian national team with Vladan Matic

• had one other spell as head coach of the Hungarian national team in the 2009/10 season

• played for Veszprém for 15 yeara

• made 170 appearances for the Hungarian national team

• father of three children, who also play handball

Nandor Fazekasgoalkeeper• 42.years-old goalkeeper returned to Balatonfüred in 2015 after playing a number of years abroad

• played 237 matches for the Hungarian national team until 2017

• in 2014 he released an award-winning autobiography

Peter Hornyakright wing• played his first senior league match at the age of 16

• got a contract from Germany (TUSEM Essen) when he turned 18, but soon returned to Hungary due to homesickness

• the 175 cm tall athlete is known for being among the fastest players in Hungary

• made his Hungarian national team debut in 2015


Dominik Matheright back• made his World Championship debut in Germany and Denmark with six goals and three assists against Sweden

• at just 19 has the responsibility of taking penalties for the club

• leads the club in scoring this season with 61 goals

• named as the best junior handball player in Hungary in 2018

Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN)

EC: EHF Cup Winners’ Cup 1992, EHF Champions Trophy: 2002, 2008 as player EC: EHC Cup (2009)

23

Group B head-to-headsHistoric encounters of the Group B opponents in the EC

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs Grundfos Tatabanya KCNo previous encounters in European competitions

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs HC Eurofarm RabotnikNo previous encounters in European competitions

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs RK NexeNo previous encounters in European competitions

Grundfos Tatabanya KC vs HC Eurofarm RabotnikNo previous encounters in European competitions

Grundfos Tatabanya KC vs RK NexeNo previous encounters in European competitions

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik vs RK NexeNo previous encounters in European competitions

24

SPANISH COACHES STRIVE FOR HANNOVER’S NEXT STEPDespite losing the German Cup final last year, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf were handed a significant consolation as they earned a ticket for the EHF Cup.It was a sign of the progress made by the club in their first season under the new all-Spanish coaching duo of Antonio Carlos Ortega, previously at Veszprém, and former Barcelona and Berlin player Iker Romero.Ortega won the EHF Champions League six times with Barcelon and Romero won the Champions League with Barcelona and the EHF Cup with Berlin, which makes this European campaign nothing out of the ordinary for the pair.Although the Bundesliga results are not as good this season, the “Recken” have once again qualified for the final tournament of the German cup and have reached the EHF Cup Group Phase for just the second time in club history – the first was in the 2013/14 season.Five years ago, Hannover lacked the international experience to qualify for the quarter-finals as they fell one point short. This time around, Ortega sees a path through the group for his team.“On paper, we have a very equal and strong group. We’ll face three tough away games, because the fans in Bitola, Nexe and Tatabanya will be very loud.“We have to win our home matches and steal one win on the road to have a chance of reaching the knockout stage.”In qualification, Hannover comfortably beat Benfica from Lisbon, victories which were “huge for the whole club, for our fans and our players,” according to coach Ortega.“Now it means a lot for the club to be part of the group phase again, because it is only the second time that we are in Europe. We are really looking forward to the upcoming matches,” says Ortega.Hannover had to replace last season’s Bundesliga top scorer over the summer as Casper U. Mortensen transferred to FC Barcelona. He was replaced by experienced Spaniard Cristian Ugalde.They also signed two Slovenian internationals, Urban Lesjak and Nejc Cete, and Croatian/American defensive specialist Domagoj Srsen.

GROUP B TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER)

Club Address:TSV Hannover-BurgdorfExpo Plaza 730539 HannoverGermany

Media contact:Georg Müller+49 511 [email protected]

Online information:Website: http://www.die-recken.deFacebook: @DIERECKENInstagram: @diereckenTwitter: @DIERECKEN ‏

Playing hallSwiss Life Hall HannoverFerdinand Wilhelm Fricke Weg 8, 30169 Hannover, GermanyCapacity: 4,097

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: bluePlayer short: whiteGoalkeeper shirt: orangeDarkPlayer shirt: greenPlayer short: greenGoalkeeper shirt: grey

Newcomers: Urban Lesjak (RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko), Nejc Cehte (Gorenje Velenje), Cristian Ugalde (Telekom Veszprém), Domagoj Srsen (Orosházi FKSE)

Left the club: Casper Mortensen (Barca Lassa), Rúnar Kárason (Ribe-Esbjerg), Dominik Kalafut (unknown), Sven-Sören Christophersen (retired), Malte Semisch (Füchse Berlin)

Coach Antonio Carlos Ortega (since 2017)

Team captain: Kai Häfner

Past achievements

EHF CupGroup Phase (1): 2013/14

Other-


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs SL Benfica W41:36 (26:18)2nd leg: @ SL Benfica D33:33 (16:16)Aggregate score: 69:74

25

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals19 Pavel Atman RUS Centre Back 25/5/87 Volgograd, RUS 190 20 Fabian Böhm GER Left Back 24/6/89 Potsdam, GER 198 944 Ilija Brozovic CRO Line Player 26/5/91 Split, CRO 196 774 Vincent Büchner GER Left Wing 30/5/98 Hildesheim, GER 180 3 Nejc Cehte SLO Right Back 4/9/92 Brezice, SLO 196 139 Malte Donker GER Right Back 13/2/98 Peine, GER 193 56 Hannes Feise GER Left Back 5/6/96 Neustadt a. Rbge., GER 200 017 Kai Häfner GER Right Back 10/7/89 Schwäbisch Gmünd, GER 193 102 Torge Johannsen GER Right Wing 6/4/83 Husum, GER 187 Petar Juric CRO 14/7/00 73 Timo Kastening GER Right Wing 25/6/95 Stadthagen, GER 180 1424 Jannes Krone GER Right Wing 23/4/97 Hildesheim, GER 184 015 Lars Lehnhoff GER Left Wing 20/9/86 Celle, GER 181 890 Urban Lesjak SLO Goalkeeper 24/8/90 Celje, SLO 188 08 Veit Mävers GER Centre Back 3/12/00 Hameln, GER 190 034 Morten Olsen DEN Centre Back 11/10/84 Lejre, DEN 190 199 Mait Patrail EST Left Back 11/4/88 Pölva, EST 202 14 Evgeni Pevnov GER Line Player 13/2/89 Taschkent, UZB 198 233 Domagoj Srsen CRO Line Player 31/12/90 New York, USA 202 013 Joshua Thiele GER Line Player 10/6/98 Pinneberg, GER 193 023 Cristian Ugalde Garcia ESP Left Back 19/10/87 Barcelona, ESP 187 422 Jonas Wilde GER Goalkeeper 22/1/98 Ostercappeln, GER 198 1 Martin Ziemer GER Goalkeeper 14/4/83 Rostock, GER 187 0

Team roster

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER)

26

Carlos Antonio Ortegacoach• arrived at Hannover in 2017, accompanied by Spanish assistant coach Iker Romero

• led Veszprém to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 twice, later coached Kolding and Japan’s national team

• was part of the ‘golden generation’ of players at FC Barcelona

• has won all three EHF club competitions

EC trophies: CL 1996-2000, 2005, EHF Cup 2003, CWC 1995OG: B 2000, EURO: S 1998, B 2000

Coach and key players profilesTSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER)

Morten Olsencentre back• played for four Danish clubs before joining Hannover for the first time in 2010

• returned to the club in 2015 after stints with Saint-Raphael (FRA) and Al-Rayyan (QAT)

• a classical playmaker with a huge number of assists

• also a key player for the Danish national team, which won the WCh 2019

OG: G 2016, WCh: G 2019

Kai Häfner right back• started his career as a right wing at Frisch Auf Göppingen, where he turned to right back

• went to Balingen in 2011, arrived at Hannover in 2014

• at EHF EURO 2016, as a late replacement for injured Steffen Weinhold, he scored the crucial goal in semi-final against Norway

• at WCh 2019, he was again a late replacement for Weinhold

Fabian Böhmleft back• started his professional career at SC Magdeburg and played for five more Bundesliga clubs between 2010 and 2016

• had just had his debut in the German national team when he joined Hannover in 2016

• has scored more than 750 Bundesliga goals

• nicknamed ‘The Warrior’ by German national team coach Christian Prokop

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011OG: B 2016, EURO: G 2016

27

TATABÁNYA READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEPTatabánya’s blue tigers enjoyed their prime in the 70’s and 80’s, when they stood top of Hungarian handball on a number of occasions.A setback followed the glorious period, but with the help of the many members from the successful era, the club has made strides in the right direction in recent years.Grundfos Tatabánya KC have finished the domestic league with a bronze medal for the past four years, leaving them as four times in a row, results which has seen them emerge as the best hope to challenge perennial favourites Szeged and Veszprém.Not surprisingly, the club is yet again in third position in the Hungarian league with the best defensive record in the whole competition, conceding and average of only 23 goals per game. Led by Vladan Matic, who won the championships in 2008 with Szeged, playing defence will be always the coach’s main focus.For the management of Tatabánya to reach the bronze medal for the fifth time in a row is a must, while Veszprém are their next cup opponents.However, hopes for success remain in the EHF Cup and progressing from the group phase is their first goal.“I think we can reach the quarter-finals. The squad of Hannover is the strongest in our group, but I believe in my players and we have a chance to win against RK Nexe and Rabotnik,” said Vladan Matic.“We have been in the same situation two years ago. In the group phase, we need to play at the highest level in more competitions and this could be harmful to our line-up.“It is a great success for us that we reached this stage and this can be our time. We have to show our supporters, that the team is ready for the next step internationally,” adds Matic.According to the Tatabánya coach, it is difficult to look beyond the German sides winning the competition, with THW Kiel and Füchse Berlin his favourites to bring home the trophy.

GROUP B Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN)

Playing hallDragao CaixaVia Futebol Clube do Porto4350419 PortoPortugalCapacity: 2,225

Newcomers: László Bartucz (Csurgói KK), Zsolt Schäffer (NEKA), Mátyás Győri (Telekom Veszprém HC), Bence Nagy (CYEB Budakalász), Uros Borzas (Telekom Veszprém HC on loan)

Left the club: Gergely Harsányi (retired), Szabolcs Szöllősi (Dabas KK). Iancu Ionut (CSM Bucuresti), Balázs Szöllősi (Balatonfüredi KSE)

Coach: Vladan Matic (since 2014)

Team captain: János Dénes


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs OCI-LIONS W31:18 (14:9)2nd leg: @ OCI-LIONS W27:27 (12:12)Aggregate score: 58:45

Club Address:Grundfos Tatabanya KCSzent Borbála út 11.2800 TatabanyaHungary

Media contact:Katalin Marosi+36 30 [email protected]

Online information:www.tatabanyahandball.comFacebook: Grundfos Tatabánya KCInstagram: @tatabanyahandball

Playing hallAudi Arena GyörToth Laszlo utja 9027 Györ HungaryCapacity: 5,500

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: WhitePlayer short: WhiteGoalkeeper shirt: light green /redDarkPlayer shirt: bluePlayer short: blueGoalkeeper shirt: purple

Past achievements

EHF CupQuarter-finals (1): 2016/17Last 16 (1): 2010/11Round 3 (3): 2004/05, 2005/06, 2011/12Round 2 (1): 2012/13

Other-

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No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals

16 Laszlo Bartucz HUN Goalkeeper 5/11/91 Oroshaza, HUN 192 02 Milos Bozovic MNE Left Back 10/12/94 Budva, MNE 199 11 Xaver Demenyi HUN Goalkeeper 16/4/99 Budapest, HUN 185 24 Janos Denes HUN Line Player 15/11/84 Dunaujvaros, HUN 195 051 Daniel Fekete ROU Left Back 14/6/99 Székelyudvarhely, ROU 198 023 Demis Cosmin Grigoras ROU Right Back 30/6/93 Vaslui, ROU 194 1022 Matyas Györi HUN Centre Back 2/2/97 Debrecen, HUN 194 18 Ferenc Ilyés HUN Left Back 20/12/81 Székelyudvarhely, ROU 198 47 Adam Juhasz HUN Centre Back 6/6/96 Debrecen, HUN 183 104 Akos Pasztor HUN Right Wing 24/6/91 Miskolc, HUN 187 319 Miklos Rosta HUN Line Player 14/2/99 Gyor, HUN 199 49 Kevin Rozner HUN Right Wing 30/4/98 Tatabánya, HUN 180 044 Zsolt Schäffer HUN Right Back 13/5/99 Tata, HUN 195 18 Adrian Sipos HUN Line Player 8/3/90 Szombathely, HUN 198 212 Marton Szekely HUN Goalkeeper 2/1/90 Budapest, HUN 194 014 Balazs Szöllösi HUN Centre Back 24/10/92 Veszprem, HUN 192 777 Vladimir Vranjes BIH Line Player 14/12/88 Banja Luka, BIH 200 293 Jakov Vrankovic CRO Right Back 12/6/93 Split, CRO 198 16 Milos Vujovic MNE Left Wing 5/9/93 Cetinje, MNE 181 13

Team rosterGrundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN)

29


Vladan Maticcoach• joint-coach of the Hungarian national team with István Csoknyai

• played 105 times for the Yugoslavian national team

• he was born in a town called Sabac, Serbia, home of two-time Champions Cup winners Metaloplastika

• as a rookie coach, he led MOL-Pick Szeged to win the domestic title in 2007

Ferenc Ilyesleft back• the 37-year-old was born in Romania, but took Hungarian citizenship

• has played 213 matches for Hungary and scored 501 goals

• made his international debut in 2003 against Czech Republic

• has played for both of Hungary’s powerhouses, Szeged and Veszprém

Jakov Vrankovic right back• the two-metre-tall athlete joined Tatabánya in 2017

• in 2015 won the “Best Foreign Player” award in Romania

• his first appearance in the Croatian national team was in 2017 and he played in January’s World Championship

• one of the best defender’s in Tatabánya and is a reliable goalscorer in crucial situations

Milos Vujovicleft wing• Tatabánya is the 25-year-old’s first foreign club

• leading the team in scoring with 76 goals in thirteen league matches

• his speed and accuracy makes him dangerous

• the Montenegrin player has represented his country 27 times, scoring 52 goals

Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN)

WCh: B 1999, 2001 (as player)

EC: EHF Cup (2010, 2014)

30

RABOTNIK WRITE NEW PAGE IN CLUB HISTORYEight years after they were founded, HC Eurofarm Rabotnik Bitola are playing their third consecutive season in the Macedonian Super League. And they are doing well: they finished third in the last two seasons and also reached the domestic cup final.This season, they have had 13 victories and one draw so far to lead the standings and secure a spot in the play-off series, where the Bitola-based team will fight for the championship with Vardar and Metalurg.Now Rabotnik are also leaving their mark in Europe. In their first season in the competition, they have qualified for the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19.In Qualification Round 3, they eased past Swiss opponents BSV Bern. After winning the home game by 10 goals (29:19), they defeated Bern also in the away game in Switzerland (30:28), reaching the group phase as one of the youngest squads among all teams.The home city is proud of Rabotnik’s achievements.“We have the smallest budget among our competitors but we aim for more than leaving a good impression and waving the white flag,” head coach Djordje Cirkovic says. “I think that we have to set bigger goals in order to progress. When the impossible becomes an obligation, this leads to progress.”Rabotnik will face TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Grundfos Tatabanya KC and RK Nexe in Group B.“Stronger leagues, bigger budgets, better rosters, significantly more experience playing in European competitions... All factors except our ambition are on the side of our opponents,” Cirkovic says. “When it comes to favourites, I would like to emphasize my desire and see other teams than German and French playing in the finals."

GROUP B HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD)

Newcomers: Nikola Markovski (HC Oroshazi), Blagojce Trajkovski (HC Ohrid), Milan Dzukic (HC Zeleznicar Nis), Filip Kuzmanovski (HC Metalurg), Mirko Radovic (HC Lovcen), Nikola Ivanovic (HC Crvena Zvezda)

Left the club: Zlatko Mojsovski (HC Butel), Stefan Drogriski (HC Pelister), Igor Trajkovski (HC Pelister), Nikola Ivanovic, Yevhen Umovist, Rati Mskvhvilidze, Nikola Ivanovic

Coach: Djordje Cirkovic (since 2018)

Team captain: Goce Ojleski

Past achievements

EHF Cup-

Other

Challenge Cup: Last 16 2017/18


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs BSV Bern W29:19 (15:7)2nd leg: @ BSV Bern W28:30 (15:13)Aggregate score: 59:47

Club Address:HC Eurofarm Rabotnik7000 BitolaFYR Macedonia

Media contact:Dimitar Mitrevski+389 71 [email protected]

Online information:www.rkeurofarmrabotnik.comFacebook: @rkeurofarmrabotnikInstagram: @hceurofarmrabotnik

Playing hallSportska sala "Mladost" BitolaPartizanska b.b. 7000 Bitola FYRO MacedoniaCapacity: 4,100

Kit colours

LightPlayer shirt: N/APlayer short: N/AGoalkeeper shirt: N/ADarkPlayer shirt: N/APlayer short: N/AGoalkeeper shirt: N/A

31


88 Dimitrija Blazevski MKD Right Wing 15/11/01 Bitola, MKD 184 21 Gradimir Chanevski MKD Goalkeeper 4/3/88 Skopje, MKD 189 010 Filip Curlevski MKD Centre Back 22/2/92 Bitola, MKD 177 466 Milan Djukic SRB Right Wing 16/8/85 Kragujevac, SRB 185 1455 Stefan Drogrishki MKD Left Back 9/9/94 Bitola, MKD 192 59 Elmir Gradjan BIH Line Player 28/12/93 Gorazde, BIH 190 81 Nikola Ivanovic SRB Right Back 19/12/98 Subotica, SRB 195 012 Filip Ivanovski MKD Goalkeeper 2/5/94 Bitola, MKD 191 013 Boban Kakovski MKD Centre Back 13/4/00 Bitola, MKD 188 25 Goran Krstevski MKD Left Back 29/3/96 Resen, MKD 198 724 Milorad Kukoski MKD Left Back 7/12/87 Struga, MKD 195 177 Goran Kuzmanoski MKD Centre Back 30/11/82 Prilep, MKD 190 18 Filip Kuzmanovski MKD Left Back 3/7/96 Bitola, MKD 197 1227 Andrija Mandic MKD Left Back 19/5/01 Bitola, MKD 195 4 Nikola Markoski MKD Line Player 22/5/90 Struga, MKD 198 117 Faruk Memic MKD Line Player 17/4/84 Bitola, MKD 186 13 Goce Ojleski MKD Left Wing 10/10/89 Struga, MKD 180 48 Dejan Pecakovski MKD Left Back 12/1/86 Bitola, MKD 192 183 Mihail Petrovski MKD Right Back 22/12/83 Bitol, MKD 193 59 Stefan Talevski MKD Left Wing 9/2/93 Bitola, MKD 182 116 Blagojce Trajkovski MKD Goalkeeper 6/10/86 Prilep, MKD 184 0

Team roster

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD)

32

Djordje Cirkoviccoach• as a player he wore the jersey of several clubs, including Novi Sad Vojvodina and Partizan

• before joining Eurofarm Rabotnik, he was head coach at Vojvodina and Constanta

• his biggest coaching success came with Vojvodina, winning several titles in the Serbian championship and participating in SEHA League and EHF Cup


HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD)

Mihail Petrovskiright back• at 34, is an experienced backcourt player who played for 10 domestic and international clubs in his career

• before joining Eurofarm Rabotnik in January 2018, he played in the Hungarian league for Dabas

• also played for Eurofarm Rabotnik’s city rivals, Pelister Bitola, in the past

• graduated in computer science

Milan Djukic right back • Serbian right wing, arrived in Bitola in 2018 on a two-year contract

• played for Radnicki Kragujevac, Vojvodina and Zeleznicar in Serbia, and Borac Banja Luka and Meshkov Brest in Belarus, winning several domestic titles in both countries

• has broad European Cup experience, in EHF Cup, Challenge Cup and former Cup Winners’ Cup

Filip Kuzmanovski left wing• started career at Pelister Bitola, and played in the Challenge Cup with them, before moving to Metalurg in 2015 on a three-year contract

• debuted for Macedonian national team at the EHF EURO 2016

• scored 11 goals for Metalurg in his debut CL season 2015/16

• will move to SC Magdeburg in the summer of 2019

33

NEXE AIM TO REPEAT LAST SEASON'S SUCCESSAfter reaching the quarter-finals in 2017/18, long-time Croatian vice-champions RK Nexe are aiming high in this season of the EHF Cup. Following their place as third best second-ranked team in the group phase last season, Nexe faced Füchse Berlin, who went on to win the competition, in the first round of knock-out matches. It was not an easy clash, and the German side blocked Nexe’s way to the EHF Cup Finals – but the players gained important experience, and their ambition is to show that this time around. Nexe had a strong start to the season, as they claimed an historic win over PPD Zagreb. The first victory ever against the big rivals motivated the team for what is coming next, especially in the European competition. The goal is to stay on the same route and become one of the eight teams in pursuit of a place at Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel in May.The Nasice-based team have a few new names on their list, forming a mixed squad of young and experienced players. One of the most prominent transfers was Halil Jaganjac, a 20-year-old Croatian talent who has already ranked among the top scorers in both the VELUX EHF Champions League and the SEHA-Gazprom League. From his many choices, Jaganjac decided to return to Croatia from Metalurg this season. Another fresh face in the team this season is Tomi Vozab, who arrived from Nimes. One player from the transfer list who is missing is Mihailo Radovanovic. The Serbian goalkeeper was injured in the qualification match against Greek club Olympiacos SFP and will be recovering for the rest of the season.“We have some new and some old faces in our roster. The main goal is to repeat last season’s result. We will give our best and then you never know. Surprises are always possible, but we know that we have tough opponents,” said coach Hrvoje Horvat. “

GROUP B RK Nexe (CRO)

Newcomers: Halil Jaganjac (HC Metalurg), Moreno Car (HC Porec), Mihailo Radovanovic (Ramat Hasharon HC), Ivan Vida (HC Dubrava), Vladan Loncar (HE-DO B. Braun Gyöngyös), Can Celebi (Göztepe SK), Tomi Vozab (USAM Nîmes Gard)

Left the club: Josip Juric Grgic (RKHM Dubrovnik), Kristian Pilipovic (Kadetten Schaffhausen), Matjaz Brumen (RD Izola Butan Plin), Dinko Baricevic (MHC Metalac)

Coach: Hrvoje Horvat (since November 2016)

Team captain: Marko Mrdenovic


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ Olympiacos SFP D22:25 (14:13)2nd leg: vs Olympiacos SFP W30:25 (14:13)Aggregate score: 55:47

Club Address:RK NexeMatice Hrvatske 131500 NasiceCroatia

Media contact:Franjo Lelic+385 98 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.rknexe.hrFacebook: @rknexenasiceTwitter: @rknexeTwitter: @rk_nexe

Playing hallOS Kralja Tomislava, NasiceMatice Hrvatske 131500 NasiceCroatiaCapacity: 2,000

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: redDarkPlayer shirt: greenPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: yellow

Past achievements

EHF CupQuarter-final (1): 2017/18Group Phase (1): 2014/15Last 16 (1): 2011/12Round 3: 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11Round 2: 2012/13

Other-

34


9 Saša Barišic Jaman SLO Left Back 10/11/82 Brežice, SLO 200 015 Marko Buvinic CRO Right Back 28/6/92 Rijeka, CRO 190 812 Moreno Car CRO Goalkeeper 22/4/96 RIJEKA, CRO 184 049 Can Celebi TUR Right Back 27/4/90 Ankara, TUR 194 25 Bruno Cuic CRO Left Back 20/8/01 Našice, CRO 189 6 Albin Eter CRO Left Wing 20/3/84 Zagreb, CRO 183 24 Ante Gadža CRO Centre Back 26/8/92 Zagreb, CRO 194 917 Marin Greganic CRO Left Wing 18/8/00 Našice, CRO 182 45 Halil Jaganjac CRO Left Back 22/6/98 Rijeka, CRO 200 518 Marin Jelinic CRO Left Wing 7/12/96 Metkovic, CRO 189 139 Tomislav Kvastek CRO Line Player 7/12/01 Našice, CRO 195 32 Aljaž Lavric SLO Left Back 14/7/93 Novo Mesto, SLO 199 5 Patrik Leban SLO Centre Back 7/9/89 Ljubljana, SLO 187 21 Perica Lelic CRO Goalkeeper 11/10/82 Zagreb, CRO 186 24 Vladan Loncar BIH Left Back 25/1/97 Sarajevo, BIH 195 18 Marko Mrdenovic CRO Line Player 19/8/84 Rijeka, CRO 197 016 Mihailo Radovanovic SRB Goalkeeper 18/12/92 Cacak, CRO 194 034 Ryan Safar CRO Centre Back 5/4/02 Osijek, CRO 182 2 Marin Sipic CRO Line Player 29/4/96 Soden am Taunus, GER 190 988 Stjepan Strmecki CRO Left Wing 15/6/00 Nasice, CRO 185 33 Mario Tomic QAT Line Player 22/6/88 Zagreb, CRO 191 319 Ivan Vida CRO Right Wing 14/3/95 Zagreb, CRO 186 066 Tomi Vozab CRO Centre Back 26/4/90 Zagreb, CRO 188 57 Vedran Zrnic CRO Right Wing 26/9/79 Zagreb, CRO 188 10

Team roster

RK Nexe (CRO)

35


RK Nexe (CRO)

Hrvoje Horvatcoach• son of the legendary Croatian playmaker Hrvoje Horvat Cveba

• former successful Beach Handball player, with seven medals won at major competitions, including World Championship gold

• cut his playing career short to focus on coaching

• one of the most talented Croatian coaches, having plied his trade at Dubrava and youth ranks of Croatia

• current Croatia national assistant coach, and the right hand of Lino Cervar

Vedran Zrnicright wing• legendary Croatian international who scored 570 goals in 189 appearances for the national team

• a “Franjo Bucar” award laureate in 2004 – the highest accolade for sports achievements in Croatia

• three-time EHF Champions League runner-up with Zagreb (1997, 1998, 1999)

• EHF Cup winner in 2009 and two-time EHF Cup Winner's Cup champion (2010, 2011) with Gummersbach

• played for Zagreb, Prule, Gorenje, Gummersbach, Wisla Plock and Besiktas before joining Zagreb’s

biggest rivals, Nexe, in 2015

Halil Jaganjacleft back• member of the Croatia national team; was the youngest in the team at the EHF EURO 2018 Croatia

• part of the Croatia national youth categories team (1998-born) and won a silver medal at the Men's 18 EHF EURO 2016 Croatia

• scored 57 goals in VELUX EHF Champions League in his debut season

• top scorer in the SEHA-Gazprom League 2017/18 (100 goals) at just 19 years of age

• started his career in MRK Kozala, from where he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain's second team and later to Metalurg. He joined Nexe at the beginning of November 2018

Marin Sipicline player• member of the Croatia national team that won gold at the XVIII Mediterranean Games in Tarragona in 2018

• a member of the Croatia national youth category teams (1996 born) since 2013

• first handball steps taken at the Balic & Metlicic Academy in Split; also played for Split and GRK Varazdin 1930 before arriving in Nasice

Trophies: EURO: S 2010, OG: G 2004, WCh: G 2003, S 2005, 2009

36

Group C head-to-headsHistoric encounters of the Group C opponents in the EC

FC Porto Sofarma vs TTH HolstebroNo previous encounters in European competitions

FC Porto Sofarma vs Liberbank CuencaNo previous encounters in European competitions

FC Porto Sofarma vs HC Dobrogea Sud ConstantaNo previous encounters in European competitions

TTH Holstebro vs Liberbank CuencaNo previous encounters in European competitions

TTH Holstebro vs HC Dobrogea Sud ConstantaNo previous encounters in European competitions

Liberbank Cuenca vs HC Dobrogea Sud ConstantaNo previous encounters in European competitions

37

AMBITIOUS PORTO AIMING FOR FIRST FINALS APPEARANCEWith a consistent and growing project, FC Porto aim to reach the Men’s EHF Cup Finals for the first time. The club has been collecting 20 national titles but is now eager for more.“Playing the group phase of the EHF Cup is a very good and important stage of our season. Our team will play against very good teams and the enthusiasm is big among the players,” Porto coach Magnus Andersson said.Starting in Qualification Round 1, Porto defeated reigning Challenge Cup winners AHC Potaissa Turda and SKA Minsk in the early stages of the competition, but truly underlined their European ambitions in Round 3, when they eliminated the third-place team and hosts of last season’s finals, SC Magdeburg.The German side looked set for the group phase again when they defeated Porto 26:23 in the first leg. But backed by a strong blue-white home crowd in the Dragão Caixa, Porto turned the tie around with a blistering 34:27 victory, led by eight goals from António Areia - a twist that history will never erase.“A little luck and a lot of team work, with great defence and goalkeeping,” Andersson said when asked about the secrets behind Porto reaching the EHF Cup Group Phase.Goalkeeper Alfredo Quintana, Daymaro Salina, Víctor Iturriza and Alexis Borges constitute a real defensive wall, which will be hard to break through for any team. The Portuguese team's defensive performance will be key to their performance in the group stage of this competition.

GROUP C FC Porto Sofarma (POR)

Club Address:FC Porto SofarmaEstadio do Dragao Via FC Porto,Portugal

Media contact:Fernando Santos+351 22 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.fcporto.pt

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: white and bluePlayer short: white or blueGoalkeeper shirt: blueDarkPlayer shirt: greyPlayer short: greyGoalkeeper shirt: grey

Newcomers: Thomas Bauer (no club), Djibril Mbengue (Stuttgart), Yoan Balasquez (SD Teucro), Leonel Fernandes (ISMAI), Fábio Magalhães (Chartres), Alexis Borges (Barça)

Left the club: Yoel Cuni (Istres), Jose Carrillo (Ademar Leon), Nikola Spelic (Maribor), Aleksander Spende (Metalurg)

Coach: Magnus Andersson (since 2018)

Team captains: Hugo Laurentino and Daymaro Salina

Past achievements

EHF CupGroup Phase (2): 2014/15, 2016/17Last 16 (3): 1998/99, 2010/11, 2011/12

OtherVELUX EHF Champions League: Last 32 1999/00, group phase 2013/14, 2015/16

Cup Winner's Cup: quarter final 2000/01, 2001/02, Last 16 1996/97, 2007/08


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ SC Magdeburg L26:23 (14:11)2nd leg: vs SC Magdeburg W34:27 (18:12)Aggregate score: 57:53

EHF Cup, Qualification Round 21st leg: vs SKA Minsk W34:29 (18:14)2nd leg: @ SKA Minsk L25:24 (14:14)Aggregate score: 58:54

EHF Cup, Qualification Round 11st leg: vs AHC Potaissa Turda W41:21 (19:12)2nd leg: @ AHC Potaissa Turda W24:27 (15:12)Aggregate score: 68:45

Playing hallDragao CaixaVia Futebol Clube do Porto 4350419 PortoPortugalCapacity: 2,225

38

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals92 Nuno Almeida POR Back 10/2/00 porto, POR 189 29 Miguel Alves POR Wing 22/7/96 Porto, POR 184 915 Daymaro Amador Salina POR Line Player 1/9/87 Havana, CUB 202 1724 Thomas Bauer AUT Goalkeeper 24/1/86 Wien, AUT 188 07 Yoan Blanco Balasquez CUB Back 26/12/95 Havana, CUB 193 023 Diogo Branquinho POR Wing 25/7/94 AVEIRO, POR 184 141 Alfredo Bravo Quintana POR Goalkeeper 20/3/88 Havana, POR 202 021 Leonel Fernandes POR Wing 12/3/98 Porto, POR 186 827 Andre Gomes POR Back 27/7/98 BRAGA, POR 195 2322 Alexis Hernandez Borges POR Line Player 6/10/91 Habana, CUB 197 1013 Angel Hernandez Zulueta CUB Back 4/2/94 Havana, CUB 196 44 Victor Manuel Iturriza Alvarez CUB Line Player 22/5/90 Havana, CUB 200 1187 Manuel Lima POR Back 18/7/00 porto, POR 178 16 Hugo Madeira Laurentino POR Goalkeeper 22/7/84 Evora, POR 188 088 Fabio Magalhães POR Back 12/3/88 Lisboa, POR 193 1511 Djibril Omar Mbengue GER Back 13/5/92 Stutgard, GER 198 699 Filipe Morais POR Wing 12/4/00 Porto, POR 188 90 Francisco Oliveira POR Goalkeeper 15/3/02 SJMaderia, POR 194 17 Miguel Pinto POR Wing 26/4/99 Porto, POR 193 25 Antonio Rodrigues Areia POR Wing 21/6/90 Lisboa, POR 191 4158 Alejandro Romero Carreras CUB Goalkeeper 17/9/94 Havana, CUB 198 6 Leandro Semedo CPV Back 24/12/95 Praia, CPV 192 397 Goncalo Silva POR Wing 12/9/00 Porto, POR 180 10 Miguel Soares Martins POR Back 4/11/97 Porto, POR 194 85 Andre Sousa POR Back 3/3/02 Porto, POR 184 014 Rui Sousa Martins Silva POR Back 28/4/93 Guimaraes, POR 186 1490 Tiago Sousa POR Line Player 6/12/00 Porto, POR 186 98 Alfredo Torres POR Wing 4/10/00 Guarda, POR 192

Team roster

FC Porto Sofarma (POR)

39

Antonio Areiaright wing• Portuguese player, who moved to FC Porto from Benfica in 2015

• he is a true penalty expert

• won two Portuguese Super cups with SL Benfica

• the left-handed wing is a technically-gifted player


FC Porto Sofarma (POR)

Alfredo Quintana goalkeeper• originally from Havana, Cuba, Quintana arrived in Porto in 2010

• current Portuguese national team player

• won several Portuguese titles, all of them with Porto

• a confident goalkeeper who can change a game when he hits form

Daymaro Salinaline player• one of the most experienced players and one of the team’s captains

• won several Portuguese titles, all of them with FC Porto

• a defensive machine, but very capable of scoring at the other end

• has a great mentality and is a complete line player

Magnus Anderssoncoach• took charge at Porto in June 2018

• former Swedish international played as a center back and was the MVP at EHF EURO 1994 in Portugal

• as a player was also a two-time world champion and four-time European champion

EHF Cup 2016 and 2017 (as a coach)

40

QUARTER-FINAL THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE FOR HOLSTEBROPlaying in Europe is far from a new experience for the men at TTH Holstebro.Although they have never made it as far as the club’s women’s team, who have three European titles on their CV, the men’s side are in Europe for the eighth time.They have been in the VELUX EHF Champions League group phase once, while their finest achievement in the EHF Cup so far was reaching the final tournament in 2013.Compared to the squad which qualified for the EHF Cup by winning the Danish Cup last season, there have been changes in central positions.Goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud, who played an important role in Holstebro’s fine season, left for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and has been replaced by one of Denmark’s greatest goalkeeper talents, Sebastian Frandsen, who joined from Bjerringbro-Silkeborg.Another key player, right back Simon Birkefeldt is also playing in the Bundesliga now, for MT Melsungen.Holstebro still have former Danish international Peter Balling in that position, while Dutch international right back Kay Smits has joined him.TTH have an experienced man in the coaching seat, former Finnish international Patrick Westerholm, who won four Danish championships with KIF Kolding, and he is happy to have his team in Europe once again.“We enjoy playing those EHF Cup matches and facing some non-Danish opposition.“We hope to gather some experience ahead of the play-offs in the Danish league, where we aim to at least reach the semi-finals,” says Westerholm, who has the quarter-final as his first objective.

GROUP C TTH Holstebro (DEN)

Club Address:TTH HolstebroStationsvej 377500 HolstebroDenmark

Media contact:Line Kristoffersen+45 28 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.tthholstebro.dkFacebook: @tthholstebroInstagram: @tthholstebro

Playing hall Gräkjaer ArenaHostrupvej 27 7500 Holstebro DenmarkCapacity: 3,250

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: white / redPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: blackDarkPlayer shirt: blue / blackPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: yellow or red

Newcomers: Niels Lindholt (Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold), Jonathan Würtz (Nyborg GIF Håndbold), Malthe Justesen (youth team), Sebastian Frandsen (Bjerringbro-Silkeborg), Kay Smits (Wilhelmshaven)

Left the club: Anders Agger (Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold), Matin Hansen (Follo Håndball, NOR), Emil Sidelmann (Lemvig-Thyborøn Håndbold), Simon Birkefeldt (MT Melsungen), Torbjørn Bergerud (SG Flensburg-Handewitt)

Coach: Patrick Westerholm – since 2015

Team captain: Peter Balling

Past achievements

EHF CupRunners-up (1):2012/13Quarter-final (1): 2014/15Group phase (1): 2015/16Qualification round 3 (1): 2017/18

OtherVELUX EHF Champions League: Group phase 2016/17

Challenge Cup: Round 4 2002/03

Cup Winner's Cup: quarter final 2009/10

Road to the Group Phase EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ PAUC D25:25 (13:12)2nd leg: vs PAUC W28:25 (15:13)Aggregate score: 53:50

41

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Weight Goals

26 Peter Balling Christensen DEN Right Back 5/4/90 Skive, DEN 188 810 Magnus Grubb Bramming DEN Left Wing 1/10/90 Roskilde, DEN 182 94 Thomas Bohl Damgaard DEN Centre Back 15/7/99 Holstebro, DEN 190 30 Sebastian Leth Frandsen DEN Goalkeeper 27/5/94 Århus, DEN 204 01 Simon Sandgrav Gade DEN Goalkeeper 3/1/97 Holstebro, DEN 194 09 Jeppe Favrholt Hauskov DEN Right Wing 5/12/98 LEMVIG, DEN 190 19 Malte Bennedsgaard Justesen DEN Left Wing 9/9/99 Holstebro, DEN 187 08 Jac Johan Gunnar Karlsson FIN Centre Back 16/4/86 Karis, FIN 186 521 Kasper Emil Kildelund DEN Right Wing 11/5/94 SVENDBORG, DEN 183 33 Johan Thesbjerg Kofoed DEN Left Back 4/7/01 VARDE, DEN 201 20 Gustav William Pätschke Lind DEN Goalkeeper 1/3/99 Holstebro, DEN 191 31 Rasmus Schmidt Lind DEN Goalkeeper 8/4/83 Struer, DEN 192 7 Niels Lindholt DEN Line Player 27/4/95 Holstebro, DEN 186 014 Mikkel SandholmMortensen DEN Right Wing 13/9/00 Struer, DEN 175 05 Lars Mousing Nielsen DEN Line Player 4/3/92 København, DEN 195 715 John Viktor Östlund SWE Left Back 19/1/92 Husby- Ärlinghndra, SWE 198 725 Jonas Sogaard Porup DEN Left Back 12/2/91 Lemvig, DEN 196 723 Kay Smits NED Right Back 31/3/97 Geleen, NED 186 42 Vignir Svavarsson ISL Line Player 20/6/80 Reykjavik, ISL 196 36 Jonathan Mosbæk Tønning Würtz DEN Centre Back 29/9/99 Nyborg, DEN 198 22 Simon B. Pytlick DEN Back 11/12/00 Thurø, DEN 192 3 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 023 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

Team rosterTTH Holstebro (DEN)

42

Patrick Westerholmcoach• head coach at the club since 2015

• former Finnish international with a glorious club career with Danish clubs KIF Kolding and Skjern Håndbold

• previous experience as head coach with former league club HC Midtjylland

• tactically clever and generally calm, but can also show his temper if needed

Sebastian Frandsengoalkeeper• joined in the summer of 2018 from league rivals Bjerringbro-Silkeborg

• had big shoes to fill in succeeding Norwegian international Torbjørn Bergerud, who left for SG Flensburg-Handewitt

• a tall, 204 cm, keeper with a fine reach and a calm approach

• has EHF Cup experience as well as VELUX EHF Champions League experience with Bjerringbro-Silkeborg

• turned down an offer from Barcelona at a young age

Peter Ballingright back• joined from league rivals Skanderborg Håndbold in 2014

• also represented Mors Thy Håndbold in the Danish league

• part of the Danish national team at EHF EURO 2016 and 2018

• possesses a fine variation of shots and is also good at one-on-one situations

• brother Morten also plays in the Danish league with Skanderborg

Viktor Østlund left back• joined the club in 2016 from Eskilstuna Guif in his homeland Sweden

• A tall and efficient left back with a fine shot, good at both ends of the court

• part of the Swedish national team who won the silver medal at the EHF EURO 2018 in Croatia, as he was called up just before the semi-final

• will leave TTH after this season, but his next club has yet to be revealed


TTH Holstebro (DEN)

EHF EURO: S 2018

43

DREAMERS CUENCA MAKING THE MOST OF FIRST EUROPEAN ADVENTURE2018 was the best year in the history of Spanish club Liberbank Cuenca. After finishing fifth in the ASOBAL League and qualifying for Europe for very first time, the dream did not end there as they progressed from Round 3 of the Men’s EHF Cup and prolonged their adventure into 2019.European participation is a big achievement for the club and the city. They have record membership numbers at the club, the fans are fully behind the team and interest from children wanting to play has risen.Cuenca’s goals for this season is to be competitive in Europe and stay competitive in the top half of the Spanish league and return to Europe next season.The key to getting this far was keep the core of the squad together for the past three seasons and have the backing of fans who always support their team.Coach Lidio Jimenez leads the team for the fifth season and he speaks proudly about the effort of players to become a competitive team and belief in the club’s project.“Playing in Europe gave us more reach, which makes it easier to sign new players and keep the young talented players we have,” explains Jimenez.“It is our first time, we want to enjoy playing in Europe, without forgetting we are in a competition. We do not stop dreaming and we will not discard anything, we want to keep dreaming and go as far as we can,” says coach Jimenez, who recognises his side had a bit of luck with the draw.Firstly, in Round 3, where his side beat Belgian club Achilles Bocholt 71:54 on aggregate, and in the group phase they will face FC Porto, TTH Holsterbo and HC Dobrogea.“Comparing with other teams, we have a more even group and more reason to dream, because we do not have German or French teams in our group.“It is not going to be easy as we are the most modest club by far and our opponents have more experience, but we have ambition.”

GROUP C Liberbank Cuenca (ESP)

Club Address:Liberbank CuencaC/ SARGAL S/N (PABELLON EL SARGA16002 CUENCASpain

Media contact:Javier Palacios Blanco [email protected]

Online information:www.bmciudadencantada.clubFacebook: @BMCdadEncantadaFacebook: @bmcdadencantadaTwitter: @BMCdadEncantada ‏

Playing hallPabellon Polideportivo el SargalC/Sargal s/n 16002 Cuenca SpainCapacity: 1,750

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: white Goalkeeper shirt: blueDarkPlayer shirt: redPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: yellow

Newcomers: Santiago Baronetto (Handball Dorrego), Lucas Dario Moscariello (BM Villa de Aranda), Angel Montoro (BM Logroño La Rioja), Kristian Eskericic (Willstatt/Schutterwald), Natan Antonio Suárez Díaz (SD Teucro)

Left the club: Rafael Lopez (retired), Marc Canyigueral (retired), Vuk Perovic (RK Pelister), Javier Fernandez (SRC Peña deportiva)

Coach: Lidio Jimenez Carrascosa – since 2014

Team captain: David Mendoza

Past achievements

EHF Cup-

Other-


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @Achilles Bocholt W29:34 (11:18)2nd leg: vs Achilles Bocholt W37:25 (20:13)Aggregate score: 71:54

44


13 Thiago Alves Ponciano BRA Left Back 8/5/94 Foz De Iguazu, BRA 194 59 Santiago Baronetto ARG Right Wing 22/10/92 Caba, ARG 187 224 Francisco Javier Castro Pena ESP Centre Back 10/9/96 Terrassa, ESP 186 6 Martin Ariel Doldan ITA Line Player 31/1/87 31/01/1987, ITA 190 63 Leonardo Dutra Ferreira BRA Left Back 29/3/96 29/03/1996, BRA 183 1528 Sergio Lopez Garcia ESP Left Wing 30/9/97 30/09/1997, ESP 181 710 Hugo Lopez Ortega ESP Left Wing 7/5/92 07/05/1992, ESP 182 140 Leonel Marciel ARG Goalkeeper 4/1/89 Buenos Aires, ARG 192 08 David Mendoza Gomez ESP Line Player 22/11/82 Cuenca, ESP 198 133 Angel Montoro Cabello ESP Right Back 10/4/89 Toledo, ESP 213 911 Lucas Dario Moscariello ARG Line Player 19/2/92 Buenos Aires, ITA 190 820 Adrian Nolasco Macia ESP Left Back 24/5/93 Elche, ESP 193 832 Kilian Garajonay Ramirez Santana ESP Goalkeeper 2/6/98 Las Palmas, ESP 190 123 Oscar Rio ESP Centre Back 21/7/80 Santander, ESP 185 782 Alejandro Taravilla ESP Line Player 13/12/01 Cuenca, ESP 190 15 Pablo Vainstein ITA Left Wing 18/7/89 Buenos Aires, ITA 186

Team roster

Liberbank Cuenca (ESP)

45

Lidio Jimenezcoach• replaced Zupo Equisoian as coach at the end of the 2013/14 season and is in his his fifth season as a Cuenca coach, his first experience with a top flight team. He extended his contract with the club in January until June 2021

• led the team to their best finish in club history last season season, placing fifth in the ASOBAL League and qualified for the EHF Cup for the first time.

Leonardo Dutra Ferreira left back• top scorer of the team by far with 168 goals in ASOBAL League last season and 112 in the first half of this season, which leads the entire league

• known as ‘La bestia’ (the beast), he is a Brazilian international, but did not play in January’s World Championship 2019

• arrived in Spain in 2017 from Brazilian club EC Pinheiros. In 2016, he was the MVP and top scorer with 45 goals of the Pan-American Club Championship and MVP of the Brazilian League.

Angel Montororight back• played football and basketball first, but eventually found handball and played with a local club in his home city Toledo

• tallest player in the ASOBAL League at 213 cm

• first season in Cuenca after moving from Logroño. His debut in the ASOBAL league was with Leon, before he moved to Barcelona in 2012 and has since had spells with Toulouse and Wisla Plock.

• world champion with Spain in 2013 after making his national team debut in 2011

Thiago Alves Poncianoleft back• arrived from Brazil in 2015, playing his fourth season with Cuenca.

• Brazilian international, who was part of side which finished ninth at the World Championship 2019

• arrived as a defensive specialist, but can also play in attack


Liberbank Cuenca (ESP)

46

THE REVIVAL OF A FORMER POWERHOUSEHandball has a long tradition in Constanta, the fifth biggest city in Romania, with former club HCM Constanta being a constant in the VELUX EHF Champions League for many years. Wins against Barça, Montpellier or Pick Szeged helped the side build an interesting presence in the competition, yet financial trouble saw them fold in 2015.Former players like Rudi Stanescu, George Buricea or Laurentiu Toma helped build another side in the second league from the ashes of the former powerhouse and the results are there to be seen: 2018 has been kind with HC Dobrogea Sud, as they won their first Romanian cup and progressed to the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup.“We are happy with what we have achieved only three-and-a-half years after the team was founded. We could have been in the group phase last year, but we drew Magdeburg in the third round and it was impossible to beat them,” said Constanta president Rudi Stanescu, a former goalkeeper at HCM Constanta.Constanta’s main advantage is the experience of players like Dalibor Cutura, Laurentiu Toma or George Buricea, but there are also several younger players that can bring a lot to the table.“Constanta is a balanced team and all players are important. Now, we obviously want to progress to the next stage of the competition, but it will not be easy,” added Stanescu.Group C is looking to be the most balanced one in the competition, with no clear favourites to proceed to the quarter-finals.“I can say that I am happy that we are not playing against a German side or against Fraikin BM. Granollers, who are having a very good season in their domestic league. But are there any easy teams at this stage of the competition?,” questioned Constanta’s president.As for the team’s objective, Constanta is deploying a step-by-step approach. After they were eliminated last season by Magdeburg on the last step before the group phase, they are here now.

GROUP C HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU)

Club Address:HC Dobrogea Sud ConstantaTudor Vladimirescu, no. 19, 2nd900684 CONSTANTARomania

Media contact:Ionut Rudi [email protected]

Online information: Website: www.hcdobrogeasud.roFacebook: HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: whiteGoalkeeper shirt: light blueDarkPlayer shirt: bluePlayer short: blueGoalkeeper shirt: pink

Newcomers: Janez Gucek (DOL TKI Hrastnik), Ivan Sever (RK Umag), Nejc Poklar, Marko Nikolic

Left the club: Jan Gorela, Rok Gašperšič (RK Jadran)

Coach: Veselin Vujovic (since August 2017, successor of Zoran Jovicic)

Team captain: Uros Rapotec

Past achievementsEHF CupQualification Round 3 (1): 2017/18

Other-


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ HK Malmö W22:23 (14:9)2nd leg: vs HK Malmö W34:28 (17:12)Aggregate score: 57:50

EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen W28:21 (15:15)2nd leg: @ Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen W23:29 (13:14)Aggregate score: 57:44

Playing hallCity Hall ConstantaB.dul Tomis Nr. 104-106 ConstantaRumaniaCapacity: 3,410

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7 Alexandru George Andrei ROU Left Wing 17/7/98 Braila, ROU 175 077 George Ionut Buricea ROU Left Wing 1/8/79 Braila, ROU 179 38 Irakli Chikovani GEO Left Back 28/7/89 Tbilisi 197 1115 Nikola Crnoglavac SRB Right Back 22/4/92 Kraljevo 195 1318 Vencel Csog ROU Left Wing 26/6/97 Baraolt 717 Dalibor Cutura SRB Centre Back 14/6/75 Sombor, SRB 190 294 Ionut Ciprian Iancu ROU Goalkeeper 18/2/94 Ploiesti, ROU 192 051 Sabin Iulian Ignat ROU Centre Back 29/7/87 PIATRA NEAMT, ROU 191 110 Janko Kevic CRO Line Player 21/4/86 ZAGREB, CRO 187 124 Dejan Malinovic BIH Right Back 12/4/92 Banja Luka 191 1264 Velko Markoski MKD Line Player 5/4/86 Struga 194 11 Nikola Mitrevski MKD Goalkeeper 3/10/85 Bitola 188 046 Nemanja Mladenovic SRB Left Back 4/1/94 Sombor, SRB 193 566 Marius Iulian Mocanu ROU Line Player 9/12/86 Calarasi 195 1523 Zoran Nikolic SRB Line Player 23/2/91 Beograd 188 75 Ionut Nistor Ionita ROU Right Back 24/5/94 Bucuresti, ROU 184 1020 Viachaslau Saldatsenka BLR Goalkeeper 23/7/94 Orsha 189 034 Daniel Andrei Susanu ROU Line Player 4/3/98 Galati, ROU 190 214 Laurentiu Mihai Toma ROU Right Wing 28/6/81 Ploiesti, ROU 194 416 Dan Lucian Vasile ROU Goalkeeper 9/7/97 Bistri?a, ROU 189 011 Stevan Vujovic MNE Centre Back 7/4/90 Cetinje 190 93 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 023 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

Team roster

HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU)

48


HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU)

Dalibor Cuturacentre back• at 43, the Serbian playmaker is the oldest player still in the competition

• previously played for Veszprém and Ademar León, and has been with Constanta since 2012

• loves to play tennis, has been competing in senior events in recent years

• son David played football at academy of Romanian standout Gheorghe Hagi

Ionut Iancugoalkeeper• made debut for Constanta in 2012/13, winning his only Romanian league title

• joined CSM Bucuresti in Romania and later Tatabanya in Hungary, and played EHF Cup with both teams

• returned from one season at Tatabanya to Constanta in the summer of 2018

• is second goalkeeper in Romanian national team, behind former Constanta player Mihai Popescu

Dejan Malinovicright back• has previous EHF Cup experience with HC Izvidac, Maribor Branik and US Creteil

• Bosnian back, who draws inspiration from former French star Jerome Fernandez

• was also keen football and basketball player, but picked handball and has meanwhile played more than 50 times for the national team

Zvonko Sundovskicoach• is in his second stint as head coach, after also leading the club between 2012 and 2015

• worked at CSM Bucuresti for two years from 2015-17

• was coach of the Macedonian national team when they placed fifth at EHF EURO 2012

49

Group D head-to-headsHistoric encounters of the Group D opponents in the EC

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs KS Azoty-Pulawy SA 2-0-0 (69:56) 4:018.02.2018 Fraikin BM. Granollers vs KS Azoty-Pulawy SA, EHF Cup – Group D 32:26 (21:14)31.03.2018 KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs Fraikin BM. Granollers, EHF Cup – Group D 30:37 (13:17)

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs THW KielNo previous encounters in European competitions

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs GOGNo previous encounters in European competitions

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs THW KielNo previous encounters in European competitions

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs GOGNo previous encounters in European competitions

THW Kiel vs GOG 7-0-1 (256:225) 14:207.11.1998 GOG Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group C 26:31 (9:15)02.01.1999 THW Kiel vs GOG Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group C 28:23 (13:14)26.11.2000 GOG Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group C 22:23 (9:9)17.12.2000 THW Kiel vs GOG Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group C 28:34 (14:17)01.10.2006 GOG Svendborg TGI Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group E 28:32 (8:19)02.11.2006 THW Kiel vs GOG Svendborg TGI Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group E 34:32 (13:17)15.02.2009 GOG Svendborg TGI vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Main Round Group 4 31:43 (13:19)25.02.2009 THW Kiel vs GOG Svendborg TGI, EHF Champions League – Main Round Group 4 37:29 (20:20)

50

GRANOLLERS FIGHTING FOR EHF CUP PROGRESSION IN 75TH YEARThis year marks Fraikin BM. Granollers’ 75th anniversary and the club is marking the occasion with its fifth successive appearance in the Men’s EHF Cup.The Catalan side is also a regular in the top tier of the Spanish ASOBAL League – a strong achievement for a club which sees a high turnover of players each summer.Granollers have won the EHF Cup twice, in 1995 and 1996, and reached the final in 2016 in Nantes. However coach Antonio Rama is a little less confident about his team’s chances this year.“Being realistic, we will fight for second position in the group but we can finish in fourth without anything exceptional happening,” he says.Rama rates Granollers’ opponents in Group D highly. He says THW Kiel have no rivals in the group, while people do not give Danish club GOG the recognition they deserve.“They’re a fast team, with talented young players and they are a good team,” Rama says of GOG.Granollers beat Polish team KS Azoty-Pulawy in both legs last season, but Rama says they, too, are to be feared.“They can beat us and for sure they will win some points,” he says. Matches against Kiel will be special for the club as the German team are one of the biggest clubs in Europe with vocal fans.“We want to enjoy this experience, at home and away, and we want to share this with our fans,” adds Rama.

GROUP D Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

Newcomers: Borja Lancina (Bidasoa Irún), Oswaldo Dos Santos (Helvetia Anaitasuna), Ivan Popovic (Bidasoa Irún), Antonio Garcia (CSM Bucarest), Victor Saez (Handbol Sant Quirze)

Left the club: Alvaro Cabanas (BM. Benidorm), Gonzalo Porras (BM. Benidorm), Roland Bernantonis (SBS Eger), Albert Pujol (Helvetia Anaitasuna), Marc Cañellas (IKF Kristianstad), Josep Reixach (H. Bordils), Jorge de Silva (Blendio Sinfín), David Resina (retired)

Coach: Antonio Rama (since 2017)

Team captain: Marc Garcia


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs RK Gorenje Velenje L24:25 (11:11)2nd leg: @ RK Gorenje Velenje W24:33 (12:16)Aggregate score: 57:49

Club Address:Fraikin BM. GranollersC/Voluntaris 108402 GranollersSpain

Media contact:Josep Blanchart+34 655 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.bmgranollers.catFacebook: BMGranollersInstagram:@bmgranollersTwitter: @BMGranollers

Playing hallPalau d’Esports de GranollersAdva. Francesc Macia s/num.08400 GranollersSpainCapacity:5,260

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: blueGoalkeeper shirt: greenDarkPlayer shirt: redPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: black

Past achievements:EHF Cup:Winners (2): 1994/95, 1995/96Semi-final (2): 1996/97, 2015/16Quarter-final (1): 2004/05Last 16 (2): 2007/08, 2011/12Group Phase (2): 2014/15, 2016/17

OtherCup Winners’ Cup: final 2009/10, quarter-final 2005/06Champions Trophy: final 1995/96City Cup: semi-final 1993/94

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71 Pol Blanchart Fernandez ESP Left Wing 25/1/96 Granollers, ESP 180 16 Oswaldo Dos Santos Maestro ESP Right Wing 23/10/89 Sao Paulo, BRA 185 411 Ismael Bela Esono Mangue ESP Left Back 21/10/96 Malabo, ESP 191 8 Alvaro Ferrer Vecilla ESP Centre Back 17/3/82 Granollers, ESP 190 013 Adrian Figueras Trejo ESP Line Player 31/8/88 Barcelona, ESP 192 1534 Sergi Franco Miro ESP Right Wing 10/5/99 Barcelona, ESP 189 07 Marc Garcia Dieguez ESP Left Back 27/9/84 Barcelona, ESP 194 099 Antonio Jesus Garcia Robledo ESP Left Back 6/3/84 La Llagosta, ESP 191 1219 Mamadou Gassama Cissokho ESP Right Wing 28/10/93 Granollers, ESP 188 81 Marc Guardia Tomas ESP Goalkeeper 13/1/95 Barcelona, ESP 187 024 Nil Guiteras Canal ESP Goalkeeper 8/3/01 Granollers, ESP 185 6 Borja Lancina Domingo ESP Centre Back 3/9/92 Cardedeu, ESP 170 095 Alejandro Marquez Coloma ESP Right Back 5/1/95 Alcobendas, ESP 194 317 Adria Martinez Bages ESP Left Wing 25/5/98 Les Franqueses, ESP 185 118 Aleix Martinez Bages ESP Line Player 17/6/95 Les Franqueses, ESP 185 38 Pau Navarro Baches ESP Line Player 7/12/99 Granollers, ESP 191 89 Cesar Augusto Oliveira de Almeida BRA Goalkeeper 6/1/89 Sao Paulo, BRA 190 05 Edgar Perez Lopez ESP Left Wing 20/3/94 Granollers, ESP 178 33 Ivan Popovic SRB Line Player 21/3/94 Beograd, SRB 195 025 Vukasin Rakocija SRB Left Back 26/4/96 Novi Sad, SRB 195 320 Victor Saez Lozano ESP Left Wing 13/11/92 BARCELONA, ESP 174 628 Ian Tarrafeta Serrano ESP Centre Back 4/1/99 Sabadell, ESP 188 59 Pol Valera Rovira ESP Centre Back 19/9/98 Granollers, ESP 187 0

Team roster

Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

52


Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

Antonio Rama coach• in his second season as head coach after Carlos Viver became head coach of Spain’s national women’s team

• voted best coach of the ASOBAL League in 2017/18

• arrived at Granollers as a young player in 1993/94 but never made the first team

• started coaching in 2000, became assistant coach of first team in 2014

Cesar Oliveira de Almeidagoalkeeper• known as ‘Bombom’ Almeida, one of the most popular players of the team

• Brazil international who arrived in Spain in 2013

• played two seasons for Quabit Guadalajara before signing for Granollers in 2015/16

• moved to ØIF Arendal in Norway for one year before returning to Catalan club in the summer of 2017

Antonio Garcialeft back• formed as a player in Granollers, joining the club as a 14-year-old, and playing in the first team from 2003-11

• played for León, PSG, Pick Szeged, Copenhagen, Barça and Bucuresti before getting back to Granollers for the final seasons of his career

• has contract with Granollers until June 2021

• was best left back of the ASOBAL League in 2010/11 (Granollers) and 2011/12 (Ademar León)

• scored 145 goals in 78 matches for Spain before retiring from national team in 2016

Adria Figuerasline player• MVP of the ASOBAL League twice, 2015/16 and 2017/18, and best line player in past three seasons

• is the top goal scorer and a key player of Granollers

• has extended his contract with the club for two more years, until 2020

• joined Ganollers in 2014, coming from youth team of Barça Lassa

• international for Spain since 2016

WCh: G: 2013; EURO: S: 2016, B: 2014

53

JURECKI'S NEW ROLE TAKES AZOTY TO SECOND EHF CUP GROUP PHASEPolish handball star Bartosz Jurecki built his name as a player and last year led KS Azoty-Pulawy to their first-ever Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase.This season Jurecki has got a completely new challenge after taking over as Azoty-Pulawy’s coach from the legendary Daniel Waszkiewicz. But the transition has not been as easy as he might have hoped. “This is a totally different kind of job,” says Jurecki. “As a player I was preparing myself only for training sessions, resting in between, and now I think about handball all the time. I work a lot at home analysing video, but I really like this job and I would like to keep going.”Jurecki admits that he still cannot fully switch into the new mode and lives the emotions like a player.“I’m rather impulsive,” he says. “I’m trying to be calm, because I know that it’s easier to notice all important things then, but you know, I barely finished my first half-year in the role. At the beginning I was running alongside the line all the time. Now it’s a bit better.”Current and former players praise Jurecki’s work so far. He says his coaching style has been influenced by his years on the court.“First of all I speak with my players, I don’t want to introduce dictatorship as I remember from my own experience that it’s not good,” he comments. “Rigour yes, but on the court. Besides, we’re still friends and one does not exclude the other.”Jurecki’s first year as coach has not been an easy one. In the Polish league Azoty had several slips and the winter break came just in time, giving the team a break from an away losing streak which had lasted since September. At the end of the year the club ran a deep analysis of the situation including talks and performance tests.

GROUP D KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL)

Club Address:KS Azoty-Pulawy SA Aleja Partyzantow 1124-100 PulawyPoland

Media contact:Jerzy [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.azoty-pulawy.plFacebook: @KS-AZOTY-PUŁAWYInstagram: @azotypulawy

Playing hallGlobus HallKazimierza Wielkiego 8, 20-611 Lublin, PolandCapacity: 4,221

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: redGoalkeeper shirt: yellowDarkPlayer shirt: dark bluePlayer short: dark blueGoalkeeper shirt: green

Newcomers: Ante Kaleb (TuS N-Luebbecke), Jerko Matulic (HBC Nantes), Lukasz Rogulski (Wybrzeze Gdańsk)

Left the club: Bartosz Kowalczyk (Stal Mielec), Patryk Kuchczynski (Orlęta Zwoleń), Vladislav Ostroushko (Selka Eskisehir Hentbol SK), Robert Orzechowski (MMTS Kwidzyn)

Coach: Bartosz Jurecki (since 2018)

Team captain: Pawel Grzelak

Past achievements

EHF CupGroup Phase (1): 2017/18Qualification round 3 (2): 2015/16, 2016/17

OtherChallenge Cup: 2013/14 semi-finals, 2010/11, 2014/15 quarter-finals, Last 16 2012/13, Round 3 2011/12


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs Selfoss W33:26 (14:15)2nd leg: @ Selfoss W28:27 (16:16)Aggregate score: 60:54

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17 Kacper Adamczuk POL Left Back 25/2/97 Szczebrzeszyn, POL 197 1 Vadim Bogdanov RUS Goalkeeper 26/3/86 Leningrad, RUS 196 016 Wojciech Borucki POL Goalkeeper 15/10/01 Pulawy, POL 196 14 Mateusz Flont POL Right Back 20/10/98 Garwolin, POL 200 20 Pawel Grzelak POL Line Player 26/11/87 Pulawy, POL 202 144 Wojciech Guminski POL Left Wing 10/2/89 Gorzów Wlkp., POL 190 298 Piotr Jarosiewicz POL Left Wing 28/6/98 Lebork, POL 179 37 Ante Kaleb CRO Centre Back 9/5/93 Metkovic, CRO 196 125 Tomasz Kasprzak POL Line Player 6/2/86 Warszawa, POL 196 081 Valentyn Koshovy UKR Goalkeeper 5/2/81 Zaporozhye, UKR 200 06 Jakub Kosiak POL Right Wing 8/12/97 Pulawy, POL 186 10 Krzysztof Lyzwa POL Back 28/5/90 Ostrow Wkpl., POL 195 321 Piotr Maslowski POL Centre Back 20/2/88 Plock, POL 190 1111 Jerko Matulic CRO Right Wing 20/4/90 Supetar, CRO 187 8 Marko Panic BIH Right Back 10/3/91 Jajce, BIH 197 1227 Piotr Pezda POL Centre Back 24/1/90 Pulawy, POL 188 9 Pawel Podsiadlo POL Left Back 29/3/86 Kielce, POL 196 834 Nikola Prce BIH Left Back 31/8/80 Capljina, CRO 200 219 Lukasz Rogulski POL Line Player 10/6/93 Ketrzyn, POL 193 488 Mateusz Seroka POL Right Wing 24/12/88 Tczew, POL 180 913 Adam Skrabania POL Left Wing 21/2/85 Tarnowskie Góry, POL 189 25 Kamil Sliwinski POL Left Wing 11/11/96 Pulawy, POL 185 22 Witalij Titow POL Right Back 2/5/80 Bobrujsk, BLR 198 212 Emil Wiejak POL Goalkeeper 21/6/98 Pulawy, POL 197

Team roster

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL)

55

Bartosz Jureckicoach• former Polish international, most awarded figure in the club, three-time WCh medallist in 2007, 2009 and 2015

• all-star line player at WCh 2015 in Qatar

• took over as head coach at the beginning of the 2018/19 season, replacing Daniel Waszkiewicz shortly after retiring from his playing career after two years in an Azoty-Puławy shirt

• legend at German side SC Magdeburg, where he spent nine years and won the EHF Cup in 2007; after last match in 2015 his shirt was hung under the roof of GETEC Arena and his number 31 was retired

• his younger brother Michał Jurecki is the captain of Champions League participants, Polish side PGE VIVE Kielce

Marko Panicright back• started his career at boyhood club Jajce in Bosnia-Herzegovina, making his professional debut for Borac Banja Luka in 2006, where he spent five successful seasons

• ambidextrous player, possessing the rare ability to shoot with both his left and right arm equally well, just like his teammate Krzysztof Łyżwa

• made his international debut with Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2010, aged 19, and since became a key member of the national team

• joined Azoty Puławy in 2017, following five seasons at French side Chambery; will join Belarusian club HC Meshkov Brest for two years next season

Pawel Podsiadloleft back• versatile player able to cooperate with the wings and line players, who has a frighteningly good long-range shot

• born in Kielce, where he began his career with PGE VIVE Kielce, but left in 2011 with two Polish titles in the direction of the French league

• after six years at Selestat Alsace and USAM Nimes Gard he returned to Poland in 2017, signing a three-year contract with Azoty Pulawy

• one of Pulawy’s top three scorers in the Polish league so far this season alongside Marko Panić and Piotr Masłowski

Vadim Bogdanovgoalkeeper• Russian international, participating in several world and European championships, most recently at WCh 2017 in France

• three-time Russian champion with Chekhovskije Medvedi in 2008-2010 and Belarussian champion with Dinamo Minsk in 2013

• important element of the team, known for being able to change the course of the game by himself if he is in good form

• one of the top goalkeepers in the Polish league this season, with a 32 per cent save rate in the first part of 2018/19 season


KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL)

EC Trophies: EHF Cup 2007

WCh: S 2007, B 2009, B 2015

56

KIEL TARGET HOME FINALS ON EHF CUP RETURNOn 24 April 2004, 10,000 fans went crazy as THW Kiel secured a clear 27:19 victory in the second leg of the final against BM Altea from Spain to raise the EHF Cup trophy for the third time.Kiel would not play another EHF Cup match for 14 years, during which the German record champions were regulars in the EHF Champions League and picked up three titles in 2007, 2010 and 2012.Now the ‘Zebras’ are back in the EHF Cup and are considered to be favourites by most to go all the way.Kiel will host the EHF Cup Finals on 17/18 May and took the first step towards their home event with a Round 3 win over Norwegian side Drammen.Reaching and winning the final tournament would be a fitting farewell to coach Alfred Gislason, who will leave his role after eleven years and will be succeeded by current assistant coach Filip Jicha.“From the first moment on, it was our goal to make it to the EHF Cup Finals. The fact that the EHF awarded us the event is a great additional motivation,” says Gislason.He hopes for a huge support from the stands: “We expect at least 7,000 fans in our three home matches in the group phase, and 500 are supposed to accompany us to the away match in Odense, Denmark.”This game will be something very special for the newly crowned world champion brothers Niklas and Magnus Landin, as Niklas is a former GOG player. Their other group opponents are Granollers and Azoty-Pulawy.“We face interesting opponents, which we mostly have never faced before, in an exciting group,” says Gislason. As he spent his early playing days in Spain and faced Granollers many times, he is looking forward to this first duel between the clubs: “Granollers have a long and successful tradition and are a big name and we will have an interesting opener against Azoty-Pulawy.”

GROUP D THW Kiel (GER)

Club Address:THW KielZiegelteich 3024103 KielGermany

Media contact:Christian Robohm+49 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.thw-handball.deFacebook: @thwhandballInstagram: @thwhandballTwitter: @thw_handball

Playing hallSparkassen-Arena-KielEuropaplatz 1 24103 Kiel GermanyCapacity: 10,285

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: whiteGoalkeeper shirt: blackDarkPlayer shirt: blackPlayer short: blackGoalkeeper shirt: red

Newcomers: Magnus Landin (KIF Kolding-Kopenhagen), Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson (FH Hafnarfjördur), Hendrik Pekeler (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Harald Reinkind (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)

Left the club: Emil Frend Öfors (HSG Wetzlar), Raul Santos (SC DHfK Leipzig), Rene Toft Hansen (Telekom Veszprem), Christian Zeitz (SG Nußloch), Christian Dissinger (HC Vardar)

Coach: Alfred Gislason (since 2008)

Team captain: Domagoj Duvnjak, Patrick Wiencek and Niklas Landin

Past achievements:EHF Cup:Winners (3): 1997/98, 2001/02, 2003/04

OtherVELUX EHF Champions League: Winners 2006/07, 2009/10, 2011/12, Runners-up 1999/00, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15,2015/16

Champions Trophy: winners 2006/07, Runners-up 2000/01, 2001/02, 2003/04, 2007/08


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: vs Drammen HK W34:23 (16:14)2nd leg: @ Drammen HK W18:36 (9:17)Aggregate score: 70:41

57


53 Nikola Bilyk AUT Left Back 28/11/96 Tunis, TUN 198 523 Rune Dahmke GER Left Wing 10/4/93 Kiel, GER 189 74 Domagoj Duvnjak CRO Centre Back 1/6/88 Dakovo, CRO 198 318 Niclas Ekberg SWE Right Wing 23/12/88 Ystad, SWE 191 59 Sebastian Firnhaber GER Line Player 18/4/94 Buxtehude, GER 198 811 Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson ISL Centre Back 30/7/99 Reykjavik, ISL 191 016 Tom Landgraf GER Goalkeeper 11/3/96 Aschersleben, GER 198 7 Magnus Landin Jacobsen DEN Left Wing 20/8/95 Helsingør, DEN 196 01 Niklas Landin Jacobsen DEN Goalkeeper 19/12/88 Soborg, DEN 200 065 Lukas Nilsson SWE Left Back 16/11/96 Ystad, SWE 192 1161 Hendrik Pekeler GER Line Player 2/7/91 Itzehohe, GER 203 522 Ole Rahmel GER Right Wing 19/11/89 Achim, GER 190 66 Harald Reinkind NOR Right Back 17/8/92 Trondheim, NOR 195 641 Marko Vujin SRB Right Back 7/12/84 Backa Palanka, SRB 201 713 Steffen Weinhold GER Right Back 19/7/86 Fuerth, GER 188 017 Patrick Wiencek GER Line Player 22/3/89 Duisburg, GER 200 533 Andreas Wolff GER Goalkeeper 3/3/91 Euskirchen, GER 198 024 Miha Zarabec SLO Centre Back 12/10/91 Novo Mesto, SLO 178 2

Team roster

THW Kiel (GER)

58

Alfred Gislason coach• five-time coach of the year in Germany, who won nine domestic championships with Essen, Magdeburg and Kiel, five German cup titles, six European club titles

• started coaching career in home town Akureyri, later took over Hameln, Magdeburg and Gummersbach in Germany and the Icelandic national team

• joined Kiel in 2008 as the successor of Noka Serdarusic and led THW to 19 trophies so far

• will leave THW after this season, handing over to assistant coach Filip Jicha

Niklas Landingoalkeeper• joined Kiel in the summer of 2015 after three seasons with Rhein-Neckar Löwen

• captain of world-title winning Danish national team, successor of legendary Kasper Hvidt after breaking through at WCh 2011

• also played for Gudme in Denmark, where he was No. 1 at age 20

• best goalkeeper at the WCh 2013 and 2019, EHF EURO 2014, CL 2013/14, Olympics 2016

Domagoj Duvnjakcentre back• THW’s top signing before 2014/15 season, arriving from Hamburg, where he played since 2009 after starting career in Dakovo, Croatia

• in 2013, he became IHF World Handball Player of the Year and best Bundesliga player

• not just a typical playmaker, also a good scorer and essential in defence

• made comeback at end of last season after various injuries

Nikola Bilykleft back• born in Tunis, where his father Serhij was goalkeeper at Esperance; later father and son played for Fivers in Vienna

• at 18, was youngest player at WCh 2015 in Qatar, got offers from Barça and Kiel after tournament

• was MVP, top scorer and best centre back at M20 EHF EURO 2014 in Austria

• was top scorer of Austrian league in 2015/16, netting 210 times for Fivers; has scored more than 120 times for national team


THW Kiel (GER)

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2013

OG: G 2016, WCh: G 2019, S 2011, 2013, EURO: G 2012, S 2014

EC trophies: CL 2013

OG: B 2012, WCh: S 2009, B 2013, EURO: S 2010, B 2012 B 2016

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PROUD GOG HAPPY TO BE BACK IN EUROPEBefore the reconstruction of the club in 2010, GOG were one of the most successful clubs in Danish handball.During the eight years since, the club from the southern part of the island of Funen have not won a title yet, but in recent years, the club has begun to play a bigger role among Danish league’s top table.This had earned them European Cup participation several times and this season, after a year of absence, the yellow boys from Funen are back in Europe, this time ready for the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup.A few days before Christmas, their hopes for success in the Danish league and Europe suffered a severe blow as right back Niclas Kirkeløkke suffered an ACL injury.The injury to Kirkeløkke, who will be joining German top team Rhein-Neckar Löwen next season, was a severe handicap to the Danish national team ahead of the World Championship as well as to GOG.However, being the largest talent factory in Danish handball, GOG are used to finding solutions and young Jon Andersson will be the primary replacement to Kirkeløkke.Head coach Nicolej Krickau is well aware of the ambitions at the club and he shares them.“GOG is set in the world to win titles.“Nationally, we go hard after the championship. In the EHF Cup, it is primarily about advancement from the group. After that, we will have to see what happens,” says Krickau, who strongly believes his club belongs in Europe.“GOG as a great club with a proud history nationally, but also in Europe in the past.“We are happy to be back in this company again and we look forward to showing our spectators some European handball again,” says Krickau who sees THW Kiel from his team’s own group as the favourites to win the EHF Cup.“Kiel look like a great favourites. Berlin, Porto and Hannover also look strong, but we see Kiel as a relatively big favourite to win the title.”

GROUP D GOG (DEN)

Kit coloursLight Player shirt: yellow Player short: red Goalkeeper shirt: green Dark Player shirt: blue Player short: red Goalkeeper shirt: white

Newcomers:Oscar Bergendahl, Allingsas HKJosef Pujol, VfL GummersbachOdin Thor Rikhardsson, FN HafnarfjordurHenrik Tilsted, Morst Thy Håndbold

Left the club:Lasse Rosendahl, Odense HC, Mads Bruus, end of career, Torsten Laen, end of career, Henrik Jakobsen, Toulouse, Gøran Søgaard Johannessen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, Mark Strandgaard, Aalborg Handball, Magnus Jøndal, SG Flensburg-Handewitt

Coach: Nicolej Krickau – since 2017

Team captain: Lasse Kronborg

Past achievements

EHF CupQuarter-finals (3): 1999/00,2001/02, 2005/06Group Phase (1):2016/17Round 4 (1): 2009/10

OtherVELUX EHF Champions League: Last 32 2004/05, 2006/07, Main Round 2007/08Cup Winners’ Cup: Runners-up 1995/96, Quarter-final 1993/94,1997/98, Round 4 2002/03, Round 3 2003/04


EHF Cup, Qualification Round 31st leg: @ Vojvodina W27:32 (12:13)2nd leg: vs Vojvodina W38:25 (19:12)Aggregate score: 70:52

Playing hallSU V́I:T ArenaStaerkaervej 1 5884 Gudme DenmarkCapacity: 1,756

Club Address:GOG Sport 2010Staerkaervej 15884 GudmeDenmark

Media contact:Kasper Jorgensen+45 62 [email protected]

Online information:Website: www.gog.dkFacebook: @GOGsportInstagram: @GOGsport

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No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals9 Frederik Bo Andersen DEN Right Wing 9/12/98 Roskilde, DEN 186 5 Victor Skjellerup Bang DEN 30/7/99 23 Oscar Bergendahl SWE Line Player 8/3/95 Kungsbacka, SWE 192 125 Jeppe M. Cieslak DEN Left Wing 1/4/00 Maribo, DEN 183 477 Frederik Kiehn Clausen DEN Left Back 29/6/95 Svendborg, DEN 197 016 Ole Erevik NOR Goalkeeper 9/1/81 Stavanger, NOR 196 018 Lars Eriksen Hald DEN Line Player 28/10/88 Kærby, DEN 194 019 Mathias Gidsel DEN Centre Back 8/2/99 Skjern, DEN 190 439 Frederik Elmkjaer Hansen DEN Right Back 20/8/98 Kerteminde, DEN 194 31 Emil M. Jakobsen DEN Left Wing 24/1/98 Kerteminde, DEN 190 814 Lukas Jörgensen DEN Line Player 31/3/99 Roskilde, DEN 193 63 Niclas Vest Kirkelokke DEN Right Back 26/3/94 Ringe, DEN 195 820 Lasse Kronborg DEN Centre Back 18/5/84 Svendborg, DEN 193 08 Torsten Laen DEN Line Player 26/11/79 Odense, DEN 198 15 Emil B. Laerke DEN Left Back 4/6/99 Roskilde, DEN 203 117 Kristian Larsen DEN Back 13/12/97 Høve, DEN 190 6 Jon Lindenchrone Andersen DEN Right Back 2/1/97 Nørre Snede, DEN 195 512 Frank Mikkelsen DEN Goalkeeper 24/6/88 Ullerslev, DEN 190 064 Lasse Kjaer Møller DEN Left Back 11/6/96 Gudme, DEN 199 70 Josef Pujol SWE Centre Back 19/2/92 Stocholm, SWE 183 522 Simon B. Pytlick DEN Back 11/12/00 Thurø, DEN 192 3 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 023 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

Team roster

GOG (DEN)

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GOG (DEN)

Ole Erevikgoalkeeper• joined GOG in 2017 from French PAUC

• started his career in Stavanger IF in his homeland, Norway, and has played in Spain and Germany as well as with several Danish clubs

• plays with special spectacles to protect his eyes after suffering problems a few years ago

• ended his career in the Norwegian national team in 2016

• characterised by his fast reactions and emotional displays

• announced he will retire at the end of this season

Lasse Møllerleft back• Like so many other GOG players, he is a product of the club’s own talent development program

• A big and tall, but also creative backcourt player who can also play as a playmaker

• awarded MVP at the 2017 Junior World Championship

• the son of former national team goalkeeper Bent Møller, who played his entire career with GOG

Jon Andersenright back• spent his entire senior career at GOG

• a tall and flexible left-hander with a fine and varied shot

• has extra responsibility after the first choice in the position, Danish international Niclas Kirkeløkke, was sidelined for the season with a cruciate ligament injury

• will leave GOG for league rivals SønderjyskE this summer

Nicolej Krickaucoach• joined GOG from league rivals Skanderborg Håndbold in 2017

• was the youngest coach ever in the Danish men’s league when he took over at Skanderborg in 2013 aged 27

• is tactically very well equipped and particularly good at developing new talents

• has a dream of becoming a TV commentator

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Top scorers of the qualificationRank Name & nation Club Goals

1 Olsen Morten (DEN) TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) 19

2 Tziras Dimitrios (GRE) Olympiacos SFP (GRE) 17

3 Rodrigues Areia Antonio (POR) FC Porto Sofarma (POR) 16

Stojkovic Rastko (SRB) Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion (ISR) 16

5 Dutra Ferreira Leonardo (BRA) Liberbank Cuenca (ESP) 15

Figueras Trejo Adrian (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 15

Marques Pedro (POR) SL Benfica (POR) 15

8 Chudoba Radim (CZE) HCB Karvina (CZE) 14

Csaszar Gabor (HUN) Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) 14

Djukic Milan (SRB) HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD) 14

Garciandia Alustiza Imanol (ESP) BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) 14

Kastening Timo (GER) TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) 14

Musche Matthias (GER) SC Magdeburg (GER) 14

Szita Zoltan (HUN) Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) 14

15 Jonsson Elvar Örn (ISL) Selfoss (ISL) 13

Lindberg Hans (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 13

Mathe Dominik (HUN) Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) 13

Rikhardsson Odinn Thor (ISL) GOG (DEN) 13

Vujovic Milos (MNE) Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN) 13

Season Name & nation Club Goals

2017/18 Hans Lindberg (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 82

2016/17 Hans Lindberg (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 92

2015/16 Ferran Sole Sala (ESP) Fraikin BM Granollers (ESP) 70

2014/15 Skube Stas (SLO) Rk Gorenje Velenje (SLO) 81

2013/14 Dragan Gajic (SLO) Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) 72

2012/13 Momir Rnic (SRB) Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 59

Bold letters indicate players who are still in the competition

Previous seasons’ top scorers

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Past winners

Previous Men’s Cup Winners’ Cup winners

2012 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)2011 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2010 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2009 Pevafersa Valladolid (ESP)2008 MKB Veszprem KC (HUN)2007 HSV Hamburg2006 Chekhovski Medvedi (RUS)2005 C. BM Ademar Leon (ESP)2004 Portland San Antonio (ESP)2003 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP)2002 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP)2001 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)2000 Portland San Antonio (ESP)1999 Prosesa Ademar Leon (ESP)1998 Caja Cantabria Santander (ESP)1997 Elgorriaga Bidasoa (ESP)1996 TBV Lemgo (GER)1995 FC Barcelona (ESP)1994 FC Barcelona (ESP)

Previous Men’s EHF Cup winners

2012 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)2011 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)2010 TBV Lemgo (GER)2009 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2008 HSG Nordhorn (GER)2007 SC Magdeburg (GER)2006 TBV Lemgo (GER)2005 Tusem Essen (GER)2004 THW Kiel (GER)2003 FC Barcelona (ESP)2002 THW Kiel (GER)2001 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER)2000 Metkovic Jumbo (CRO)1999 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER)1998 THW Kiel (GER)1997 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)1996 BM Granollers (ESP)1995 BM Granollers (ESP)1994 Aliza Avidesa (ESP)

2013 Rhein Neckar Löwen (GER)

2014 Pick Szeged (HUN)

2015 Füchse Berlin (GER)

2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)

Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19 Group Phase

Media Guide

by

EHF Media & Communications, 07/02/2019Contributors: Björn Pazen, Peter Bruun, Kevin Domas, Magdalena Pluszewska, Adrian Costeiu, Tiago Noquiera, Laia Coll, Amina Idrizi, Danijela Lemaic, Bela Müller, all stats by Roy Knoppert

2017 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)

2018 Füchse Berlin (GER)

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