Media Information. VELUX EHF Champions League Season 2016/17. Qualification Tournaments. Group 1 - Presov, SVK Group 2 - Bregenz, AUT

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1 Media Information VELUX EHF Champions League Season 2016/17 Qualification Tournaments Group 1 - Presov, SVK Group 2 - Bregenz, AUT 3-4 September 2016

2 Table of contents Map of participating clubs 4 Foreword - Jean Brihault, EHF President 5 Media contacts 6 Playing system diagram - stages and dates 7 Seeding list 8 Important regulations 9 GROUP 1 Facts, preview and head-to-head stats 10 RK Gorenje Velenje 11 Tatran Presov 14 Red Boys Differdange 17 Cocks 20 GROUP 2 Facts, preview and head-to-head stats 24 ABC/UMinho 25 Bregenz Handball 28 Achilles Bocholt 31 Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv 34 Past winners /16 Top scorers 39 All-time clubs standings 40 2

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4 Achilles Bocholt, BEL Naturhouse La Rioja ESP ABC/UMinho POR Montpellier Handball, FRA HBC Nantes FRA FC Barcelona Lassa ESP Paris Saint-Germain Handball, FRA Rhein-Neckar Löwen GER Red Boys Differdange, LUX Qualification teams Groups C&D teams Groups A&B teams Kadetten Schaffhausen SUI Host City Cologne, GER RUKOMETNI KLUB PRVO PLINARSKO DRUŠTVO Z A G R E B Gorenje Velenje, SLO SG FlensburgHandewitt GER RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko, SLO Elverum HH NOR Bregenz Handball, AUT BjerringbroSilkeborg, DEN TTH Holstebro, DEN VELUX EHF FINAL4 Season 2016/17 VELUX EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HC PPD Zagreb, CRO IFK Kristianstad SWE HC Metalurg MKD Cocks FIN Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv, ISR THW Kiel GER HC Vardar MKD Besiktas MOGAZ HT, TUR Dinamo Bucuresti, ROU MOL-PickSzeged HUN Telekom Veszprém, HUN HC MotorZaporozhye UKR Tatran Presov SVK Chekhovskie Medvedi RUS KS Vive Tauron Kielce POL HC Meshkov Brest BLR Orlen Wisla Plock, POL

5 Foreword Dear media representatives, Welcome to the qualification of the VELUX EHF Champions League 2016/17. Your long wait for VELUX EHF Champions League handball is over and I welcome you on board for a new season and the beginning of another exciting story. It is impossible to tell whether this season will end in a similar fashion to the last, when Julen Aguinagalde s penalty, after an unbelievable rally by the Polish champions, secured a maiden trophy for Kielce in the final s shootout against Veszprem. Still, the tradition of Europe s premier club competition, which enters its 24th season under the EHF umbrella, guarantees a new plot, new surprises and a conclusion which is bound to be breath-taking in its own right. However, there is a long way to the final destination in Cologne s majestic LANXESS arena and out of the eight teams listed for the first round of elimination only two group winners will be honoured to turn their 2016/17 season into a proper Champions League adventure. In the qualification tournaments we welcome a broad variety of clubs from the group phase regulars and teams which are vying for their return to the continental top flight to the absolute newcomers. The Group 1 semi-final pairings in Presov, Slovakia will see encounters featuring two teams with a reasonable EHF Champions League history against two teams with either none or very old records in the top flight. The tournament s organisers Tatran Presov take on Red Boys Differdange, whose last match in the elite competition dates back 17 years ago and in addition Luxembourgish side is yet to gain their premiere point as they lost all six matches in the past. The perennial Slovenian runners-up Gorenje Velenje have been pitted against Cocks, the Finnish club and reigning winners of the Baltic league who are set to enter the highest stage of the European Cup hierarchy for the first time. In Group 2, the most heralded team on the starting grid comes from Portugal, ABC/UMinho from Braga, who reached the first final of the EHF Champions League in the 1993/94 season. They will try to rekindle that former glory in Bregenz and although they are clear favourites in the semi-final against Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv, the tournament hosts will be eager to ruin their dream should they meet in the final. Of course they first have to cope with another ambitious newcomer in the form of Belgium s Achilles Bocholt in the semi-final. 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! Jean Brihault EHF President 5

6 EHF/M Media contacts Media matters Vlado Brindzak Media and Communications European Handball Federation brindzak@eurohandball.com TV and Radio Miguel Mateo Marcellan Media Manager EHF Marketing GmbH mateo@ehfmarketing.com Qualification Clubs Media contacts GROUP 1 RK Gorenje Velenje Tanija Rednak tanija.rednak@rk-gorenje.com Tatran Presov Branko Benko manager@tatranpresov.sk Red Boys Differdange John Scheuren info@handballredboys.lu Cocks Jari Viita jari@viita.fi GROUP 2 ABC/UMinho Luis Teles geral@abcdebraga.net Bregenz Handball Christoph Makovec c.makovec@bregenz-handball.at Achilles Bocholt Jan Evens evensjan@telenet.be Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv Avigdor Resch avi@maccabi-telaviv.co.il 6

7 Group Phase Groups A & B (draw) Last 16 (no draw) Quarter-finals (no draw) Season 2016/17 playing system A1 B1 M1 K1 vs A2 M6 vs A1 A2 B2 M2 K2 vs B2 M5 vs B1 A3 B3 M3 B6 vs A3 M4 vs M1 A4 B4 A5 B5 M4 A6 vs B3 M5 B5 vs A4 M3 vs M2 Semi-finals (draw) vs A6 B6 A7 B7 M6 A5 vs B4 vs A8 B8 3 rd place match Group Phase Groups C & D (draw) C1 D1 K1 C2 C2 D2 Group Phase KO Matches (no draw) K2 vs D1 D2 vs C1 Final vs vs Qualification Tournaments (draw) C3 D3 C4 D4 C5 D5 C6 D6 Season 2016/17 playing schedule Qualification Tournaments Group Phase Last 16 Quarter-finals FINAL4 03./ first leg first leg 03./ Group A & B only Group A & B only Group A & B and KO Group C & D Group A & B and KO Group C & D second leg second leg

8 DRAWS: VELUX EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2016/17 Qualification Tournaments (1); (2); 03./ (3); (4) / tournaments (5); (6) first leg first leg tournament played in semi finals and finals (7); (8) (9); (10) (11-A/B); (12-A/B) second leg second leg (13); (14) 29 June 2016 in Vienna/AUT 01 July 2016 in Glostrup/DEN no draw no draw Group A and B (16 teams) 2 groups with 8 teams 1 HUN 1 Telekom Veszprem 2 GER 1 Rhein-Neckar Löwen 3 ESP 1 F.C. Barcelona Lassa 4 POL 1 KS Vive Tauron Kielce 5 FRA 1 Paris Saint-Germain Handball 6 MKD 1 HC Vardar 7 CRO 1 HC PPD Zagreb 8 DEN 1 Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 9 BLR 1 HC Meshkov Brest 10 POL 2 Orlen Wisla Plock 11 HUN 2 MOL-Pick Szeged 12 GER 2 SG Flensburg Handewitt 13 SLO 1 Celje Pivovarna Lasko 14 SUI 1 Kadetten Schaffhausen 15 SWE 1 IFK Kristianstad 16 GER 3 THW Kiel Group C and D (12 teams) 2 groups with 6 teams 17 ESP 2 Naturhouse La Rioja 18 FRA 2 HBC Nantes 19 MKD 2 HC Metalurg 20 DEN 2 Team Tvis Holstebro 21 UKR 1 HC Motor Zaporozhye 22 RUS 1 Chekhovskie Medvedi 23 TUR 1 Besiktas Mogaz HT 24 FRA 3 Montpellier Handball 25 ROU 1 Dinamo Bucuresti 26 NOR 1 Elverum Handball 27 SLO 2 RK Gorenje Velenje 28 POR 1 ABC/UMinho 29 SVK 1 Tatran Presov 30 AUT 1 Bregenz Handball 31 LUX 1 Red Boys Differdange 32 BEL 1 Achilles Bocholt 33 FIN 1 Cocks 34 ISR 1 Maccabi Castro Tel-Aviv 2 groups with 4 teams Group Phase Winners of the 2 Qualification tournaments Last teams 8 teams 4 teams 1st placed team of Group A and B qualify directly for the Quarterfinals; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th placed team of Group A and B as well as winners of KO matches from Group C and D qualify for the Last 16 Quarterfinals 6 Winners of VELUX EHF Champions League Last 16 FINAL4 played in semi finals and finals 4 Winners of VELUX EHF Champions League Quarterfinals 4th placed teams of CL Qualification Tournaments go to the EHF Cup Qualification Rd 2, 2nd and 3rd placed teams of CL Qualification Tornaments go to EHF Cup Qualification Rd 3 1st and 2nd placed team of CL Group Phase Group C and D play Group KO matches. Winners of these matches qualify for L16 status:

9 Important regulations SCORING OF MATCHES AND RANKING GENERAL All matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League 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. QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENTS If a semi-final match or the final (place 1/2) ends in a draw, there will be a five-minute break followed by one extra-time of 2x5 minutes, there will be a one-minute half-time break at the half-time for the changeover of teams. If the placement match (place 3/4) ends in a draw, there shall be no extra-time, the match will be decided directly by penalty throws. In the semifinals and/or final (place 1/2), if there is no winner after the extra-time, the match will be decided by penalty throws. RULES FOR EXECUTION OF PENALTY THROWS - Prior to penalty throwing, each team shall name five players eligible to play at the end of the match by handing the referees a list of numbers. These players shall then take one throw each, alternating with their opponents. Each team is free to determine the sequence in which throwers will take their throws - The goalkeepers may be freely selected from the match report and exchanged in accordance with the Rules of the game. Goalkeepers may take throws and throwers may play as goalkeepers. - The referees shall choose the goal at which throws are taken. The team taking the first penalty throw shall be determined by the referees by drawing lots. The team winning the draw may choose whether it wishes to throw first or last. - If scores are equal after the first round of penalty throwing, it shall be continued until a decision is reached. In the second round, the other team shall start. Again five players shall be named who are eligible to play (the players named before may be named once again). - In the second round, a decision is reached when a goal difference arises after both teams have taken one throw each. - Eligible players are players entered in the match report who have not been disqualified or suspended at the time of the final whistle. - Serious infractions committed during penalty throwing shall be sanctioned by disqualification. If a thrower is disqualified or suffers an injury, an eligible substitute player shall be named supplementary. - While the throws are being taken, only the player taking the throw, the current goalkeeper and the referees may enter the respective half of the playing area. - If the number of eligible players falls below five, players may be named to take a second throw in the same round. 9

10 Qualification Tournament 1 Qualification Tournament 1 Rk Gorenje Velenje (SLO) Cocks (FIN) Tatran Presov (SVK) Red Boys Differdange (LUX) Group C Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP) HC Metalurg (MKD) Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS) Montpellier Handball (FRA) Elverum Handball (NOR) Winner QT 1 Playing hall City Hall Presov Jana Pavla II Presov Slovakia Capacity: 3,500 2 nd ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 3 rd ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 4 th ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 2 vs Winner of Round 1: Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion (ISR) vs London GD HC Head-to-head stats in European Cup competitions Match schedule (all times local) Saturday, 3 September 2016: Semi-finals 1 13:30 hrs Rk Gorenje Velenje vs Cocks 2 16:15 hrs Tatran Presov vs Red Boys Differdange Sunday, 4 September 2016: 3rd place match 13:30 hrs Loser semi-final 1 vs loser semi-final 2 Final 16:15 hrs Winner semi-final 1 vs winner semi-final 2 Rk Gorenje Velenje vs Tatran Presov (36:36) 2: Gorenje Velenje vs Tatran Presov, EHF Cup Last 16 20:14 (11:8) Tatran Presov vs Gorenje Velenje, EHF Cup Last 16 22:16 (11:8) No previous encounters in European Cup competitions Rk Gorenje Velenje vs Red Boys Differdange Cocks vs Tatran Presov Cocks vs Red Boys Differdange Rk Gorenje Velenje vs Cocks Tatran Presov vs Red Boys Differdange Preview: Presov aims for the group stage return Two SEHA League contenders are considered amongst the favourites of the tournament played in Tatran Handball Arena in Presov, Slovakia. To battle for the group stage spot in the final on Sunday, they first need to overcome handball minnows on the rise, Cocks from Riihimäki and Red Boys from Differdange. RK Gorenje Velenje (SLO) vs Cocks (FIN) New VELUX EHF Champions League season officially starts with the first qualifying match in Presov between Wasps and Cocks. Black and yellow against red and yellow. Whilst the Slovenian runners-up are the favourites in this match, they have to be aware of the dangerous Finnish champions Cocks. Velenje are hungry for European experience as they missed out last season, being knocked out early in 3rd Qualification Round of EHF Cup. Surprisingly enough, after they made the EHF Cup Finals the previous year. The new coach Marko Sibila is aware qualification will not be an easy task. We have been drawn into the group with the best side in the qualification and they are the hosts of the group. Velenje have brought during the summer Alem Toskic and Matjaz Brumen from Vardar together with Luka Mitrovic from Norway. They have won tournament in Hungarian Csurgo. First step is to be made against Gintaras Savukynas men, Lithuanian coach appointed by Cocks for the new season. Savukynas has experience from coaching Lithuanian national team and Champions League group stage side Meshkov Brest from Cocks, the local handball pride of Riihimäki, a town in Southern Finland, about 69 km north of Helsinki are Finland champions and Baltic Handball League winners from last season. Their team consist of 4 Belarusians and Russians, two Moldovans and one Portuguese player. They were established in 1973 in town of Riihimäki with a cock in their logo. Cocks are still newcomers to European handball, despite reaching Challenge Cup quarter-finals in 2014/15, however playing in Champions League qualification will be a step further for them. Tatran Presov (SVK) vs Red Boys Differdange (LUX) Slovakian Champions have returned to VELUX EHF Champions League group stage last season after missing out four seasons amongst the European elite. In 2016/2017 they have to fight make their way through qualification round after being bottom of Group C last term with only 4 points. Frankly, Presov made it into the group stage from the qualifying tournament last time in 2010/2011. This year they have the privilege to host one of the groups, which gives them advantage against the rest of the teams. With number of changes in the squad over the summer, Rastislav Trtík s equip was reinforced with newcomers in likes of Stefan Jankovic, Leon Vucko, Vadim Brazhnyik, Marek Pales and Roman Capkin. Some very wellknown handball names amongst which Radoslav Antl stands out, have left the club. Playing Differdange in the second semi-final on Saturday makes them heavy favourites and anything but a win should be huge shock. 10

11 GROUP 1 Rk Gorenje Velenje (SLO) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: As usual in Slovenia, Celje s title push encountered little resistance from other Slovenian sides, aside from the three-time champion and bitter rivals Gorenje. The Velenje-based club even led the league table, ahead of their away duel with Celje in the ultimate round of the championship; however, Branko Tamse s side cleared any doubts from the very first minute, which was the only time Gorenje led in the match. The final result has put Gorenje as runners-up for the third time in a row. The wasps have been granted an upgrade from the EHF Cup to the VELUX EHF Champions League by the EHF Executive Committee s decision in June. They will start the new season with a rejuvanted team and a new coach - Marko Sibila. Past achievements Playing hall Rdeca Dvorana Saleska cesta Velenje Slovenia Capacity:2,700 Club Address: Gorenje Velenje Saleska Cesta Velenje Slovenia * to be confirmed VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 7 Last 16 (3): 2005/06, 2009/10, 2012/13, 2013/14 Main Round (1): 2007/08 Group Phase (1): 2004/05 Qualification (1): 2010/11 Other EHF Cup: runners-up 2008/09, semifinals 1994/95, 2014/15, quarter-finals 1996/97, 2010/11, 2011/12 Cup Winners Cup: semi-finals 2003/04, quarter-finals 2004/05 Slovenian league: 3 titles (2009, 2012, 2013) Slovenian cup: 1 title Media contact: Tanija Rednak tanija.rednak@rk-gorenje.com Online information: Website: Facebook: rkgorenjevelenje Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: yellow Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: red DARK Player shirt: black Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: blue 11

12 Rk Gorenje Velenje (SLO) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 77 Matjaz Brumen SLO Right Wing Ljublana, SLO Nejc Cehte SLO Right Back Brezice, SLO Andris Celmins EST Right Back Valga, EST Janez Gams SLO Left Wing Slovenj Gradec, SLO Rok Golcar SLO Right Wing Slovenj Gradec, SLO Blaz Klec SLO Line Player Slovenj Gradec, SLO Vid Levc SLO Left Back Slovenj Gradec, SLO Tadej Mazej SLO Left Back Slovenj Gradec, SLO Niko Medved SLO Left Wing Slovenj Gradec, SLO Luka Mitrovic SRB Centre Back Vrsac, SRB Mitja Nosan SLO Left Back Ljubljana, SLO Rok Ovnicek SLO Centre Back Slovenj Gradec, SLO Kenan Pajt SLO Right Wing Slovenj Gradec, SLO Gregor Potocnik SLO Left Back Celje, SLO Anze Ratajec SLO Centre Back Ljubljana, SLO Darko Stojnic SLO Line Player Ljubljana, SLO Jan Tajnik SLO Left Back Slovenj Gradec, SLO Alem Toskic SRB Line Player Priboj, SRB Klemen Ferlin SLO Goalkeeper Ljubljana, SLO Joze Baznik SLO Goalkeeper Brezice, SLO Rok Zaponsek SLO Goalkeeper Slovenj Gradec, SLO Marko Sibila coach legendary Slovenian tactician began his coaching career in 1987, having worked with a vast array of Slovenian clubs coached Slovenian national team, winning the silver medal at the EHF EURO 2004, which is their greatest success to date currently the Head of Slovenian Handball Coaches Association Ph.D. and professor as well as Chairman of the Department for handball on the Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana EHF lecturer from

13 Klemen Ferlin goalkeeper one of the team s stalwarts in their successful 2014/15 EHF Cup campaign shared Slovenia league s best goalkeeper award for 2014/15 with Matevz Skok underwent a knee surgery early in 2016, but has fully recovered before the 2016/17 season Niko Medved left wing in the 2013/14 season assumed a new role of the club captain, despite being only 23 also scored his personal best of 40 goals in that season Gorenje player all of his senior career and already played four CL seasons helped Velenje with 34 goals on the way to the EHF Cup Finals in 2015 Gregor Potocnik left back member of a promising 1992 generation came through all the youth selections of Slovenia, alongside Borut Mackovsek, Mario Sostaric, Nejc Cehte and the likes struggled with knee injury for two seasons, however he is fully recovered, ready to make a comeback the strongest part of his game is his defence joining bitter rivals Gorenje after leaving his boyhood club Celje Mitja Nosan left back Ljubljana-born has experience from six European seasons with Velenje joined Gorenje in 2009 and extended his contract until the end of 2016/17 season defensive specialist, his personal scoring best was in 2014/15 EHF Cup when he scored 10 goals won bronze medal with Slovenia at the Men s 20 EHF EURO 2010 in Bratislava Luka Mitrovic centre back born in Vrsac, but rose to handball prominence playing for the fabled Serbian side Metaloplastika after three seasons in Denmark representing the likes of Aalborg, Luka rediscovered his form for Elverum, granting them their first CL berth impressive in his first CL season (2015/16) for Elverum, with 57 goals scored in 12 matches occasional Serbian national team member, having made his debut in 2011 Nejc Cehte right back member of the highly rated generation of players born in 1992, he is one of the most promising Slovenian players on his position has CL experience, having played for Gorenje in the Last 16 phase in 2013/14 his older brother and former Gorenje teammate is Slovenian left back Klemen Cehte started playing handball as a goalkeeper, however moved to the right back due to his lefthandedness EC trophies: CL 2004 EURO: S 2004 Alem Toskic line player made his name as one of benchmark line players in the game, having represented Zagreb, Celje and Vardar in his 11 CL seasons recorded over 100 caps for the Serbian national team played his most efficient season in the VELUX EHF Champions League in 2015/16 with Vardar, scoring 55 goals re-joining his family in Slovenia after three seasons away, albeit, wearing the shirt of Celje s bitter rival Gorenje Matjaz Brumen right wing household name in Slovenian handball, having played for Celje, Prule and Koper won the CL title in with Celje EHF EURO 2004 silver medallist with Slovenia marks his return to Slovenian handball after three seasons at Vardar 13

14 GROUP 1 Tatran Presov (SVK) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: The Slovakian champions are once again from Eastern Slovakia. The previous season had not started well for Tatran Presov, as they finished bottom of Group C in the VELUX EHF Champions League, but Rastislav Trtík s charges proved their dominance on domestic scene. Presov won their tenth double in a row and 12th title overall after beating Sporta Hlohovec in their best of five series. Hlohovec fought hard and the last two matches were dramatic (36:21, 29:26 and 24:20), but quality prevailed. To underline the dominance of Presov, four players were included in the league s all-star team left winger Radoslav Antl, left back Oliver Rabek, right back Lukáš Urban and line player Michal Kopčo. The line-up underwent a radical summer change as many players have left the club, while the new reinforcements have arrived. Past achievements Playing hall City Hall Presov Jana Pavla II Presov Slovakia Capacity: 3,500 Club Address: TATRAN Presov Holleho Presov Slovakia VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 13 Last 16 (1): 2004/05 Last 32 (1): 1993/94 Group Phase (2): 2010/11, 2015/16 Group Matches (3): 2005/06, 2007/08, 2008/09 Qualification (5): 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 Other EHF Cup: Quarter-final 2011/12 Cup Winners Cup: Quarter-final 2005/06 Slovak league: 12 titles (2004, 2005, ) Slovak cup: 13 titles Media contact: Branko Benko manager@tatranpresov.sk Online information: Facebook: TatranPresovHandballTeamSlovakia Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: white Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: green DARK Player shirt: green Player short: green Goalkeeper shirt: black 14

15 Tatran Presov (SVK) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 21 Tomas Cip CZE Right Wing Zubri, CZE Jakub Hrstka CZE Left Wing Zubri, CZE Patrik Humenansky SVK Right Wing Presov, SVK Stefan Jankovic BIH Centre Back Banja Luka, BIH Martin Kriz SVK Left Wing Presov, SVK Dominik Krok SVK Left Back Bardejov, SVK Marek Pales SVK Line Player Prievidza, SVK Radovan Pekar SVK Left Back Presov, SVK Alexey Peskov RUS Right Back Moscow, RUS Oliver Rabek SVK Left Back Nove Zamky, SVK Tomas Recicar SVK Left Back Presov, SVK Boris Resovsky SVK Line Player Presov, SVK Viacheslav Sadovyi UKR Left Back Kiev, UKR Lubos Sarpataky SVK Right Wing Presov, SVK Milos Sarpataky SVK Centre Back Presov, SVK Roman Tsarapkin RUS Left Back Moscow, RUS Lukas Urban SVK Centre Back Presov, SVK Leon Vucko CRO Line Player Zagreb, CRO Vadym Brazhnyk UKR Goalkeeper Brovary, UKR Igor Chupryna UKR Goalkeeper Illychevsk, UKR Matej Vernarsky SVK Goalkeeper Presov, SVK Juraj Cikarev SVK Goalkeeper Kosice, SVK Rastislav Trtik coach collected his first coaching experience with Banik Karvina in the Czech Republic Czech Republic national team head coach for three years between 2002 and 2005 in 2005, won promotion to German Bundesliga with MT Melsungen head coach of Tatran Presov between 2008 and 2011, winning three Slovak championship titles, leading Tatran into their last CL Group Phase campaign in 2010/11 15

16 Igor Chupryna goalkeeper Ukrainian national team goalkeeper moved to Presov in summer 2015 from HC Portovik 2015/16 was his first CL season supposed to back up Vladimir Božič last season, but became number one for Trtik one of the best Tatran players in 2015/16 season in European competitions, making it to the save of the week in November with his unorthodox save against Meshkov Brest Jakub Hrstka left wing born in Zubří, Czech Republic from where he left for Presov in 2011 together with Tomáš Číp second best Presov scorer in the CL group phase 2015/16 with 40 goals Czech Handball talent of the year in 2010 featured at 2014 European Championship and 2015 World Championship For Czech Republic great friend with his teammate Tomáš Číp, also a winger Oliver Rabek left back scored ten goals for Presov last season in CL one of the pillars of offensive play for Presov known for very accurate and hard shots from the distance, able to coordinate his movement in the air has four league titles and Slovakian Cup wins with Presov - every season since he joined in 2012 played at 2012 European Championship in Serbia his only major tournament for Slovakia Radovan Pekar left back one of the most experienced players in the current Presov squad, local patriot, born and raised in Presov captained Slovakian national team as one of the most experienced national team player played at 2008 EHF EURO in Norway and 2009 WCh in Croatia for the national team, scored first Slovakian goal at WCh against Argentina in 2009 captain and defensively most important player in the squad has most domestic titles with Presov than any other player in the squad 10 Dominik Krok left back / centre back one of the players who remembers the CL group phase adventure back in 2010/2011 joined Presov in 2009, ever since became one of the longest serving players in current squad known for his powerful shots from the distance, one of the favourites of fans in Presov for his friendliness and ever present smile big fan of tennis, where he develops his skills and accuracy Marek Pales line player returns back to Presov after spending two seasons on loan in HKM Sala, winning bronze medals in Slovakian Championship has very little European experience -this season will be his big test both line players from last season left, Michal Kopco and Andrej Petro, new faces Leon Vučko and Marek Pales are the new blood to replace them both Pales and Vučko got injured in preseason but are declared to be fit EC trophies: Cup Winners Cup 2006 Alexey Peskov right back two-metre tall Russian international came to to replace Latvian giant Dainis Kristopans in 2015 most experienced player from the squad, played the CL for his mother club Chekhovski Medvedi and Celje also played in Poland s Wisla Plock and Ukraine s Dinamo-Poltava, with the latter having won the Ukrainian league in 2012, spent three seasons in Ukrainian Zaporozhye Tomas Cip right wing Czech international started his career in his hometown, Zubri, where he played until his transfer to Presov in the summer of 2011 one of the two players from Zubri, the other one being left winger Jakub Hrstka regular Czech national team starter, until now has featured in over 50 games and scored more than 100 goals able to defend on the wing as well as attack, although he is highly rated for his game in offence 16

17 GROUP 1 Red Boys Differdange (LUX) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: Red Boys Differdange have been waiting for this moment since 1999 and after the tenth and last round of the league play-offs the wait was over. The last league game was a true final, as Kaerjeng were ahead by one point before their away match at Differdange and the game was a real thriller. Three minutes before the end, the teams were level, which would have been enough for Kaerjeng, but a 3:0 run to make it 29:26 in front of more than than 1,000 fans in the arena gave Differdange their eighth title after 1955, 1957, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998 and Past achievements VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 4 Last 32 (3): 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00 Playing hall Centre sportif National d COQUE rue Leon Hengen Luxembourg Luxembourg Capacity: 2,000 Other EHF Cup: Last /96 Challenge Cup: Last /97, 2004/05, 2014/15 Luxembourgish league: 8 titles (1955, 1958, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2016) Club Address: Red Boys Differdange Boite Postale Differdange Luxembourg Media contact: John Scheuren info@handballredboys.lu Online information: Website: Facebook: hbredboys Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: red-white Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: orange DARK Player shirt: white-red-blue Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: yellow 17

18 Red Boys Differdange (LUX) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 20 Daniel Elting LUX Left Wing Luxembourg, LUX Yann Hoffmann LUX Left Back Esch/Alzette, LUX Marin Knez CRO Right Back Split, CRO Senjin Kratovic BIH Centre Back Sarajevo, BIH Eric Manderscheid LUX Centre Back Esch/Alzette, LUX Tiago Oliveira Felix POR Left Back Esch/Alzette, LUX Andraz Podvrsic SLO Line Player Lublijana, SLO Damir Rezic CRO Left Back Metkovic, CRO Daniel Scheid LUX Right Wing Luxembourg, LUX Gilles Thierry LUX Left Wing Esch/Alzette, LUX Aldin Zekan LUX Left Wing Esch/Alzette, LUX Alen Zekan LUX Right Wing Esch/Alzette, LUX Armin Zekan BIH Right Back Esch/Alzette, LUX Sedin Zuzo FRA Goalkeeper Lyon, FRA Rafal Grzybowski POL Goalkeeper Ciechanow, POL Charel Heim LUX Goalkeeper Luxembourg, LUX Goran Vukcevic coach had been professional handball player in Montenegro and was player in Belgium for several years and is a Belgian citizen now after he was player in Belgium, he was first playing coach had been coach at Differdange from 2007 to 2011 right in his first season after returning to Differdange (2015/16), he steered the team to the Luxembourgish championship 18

19 Sedin Zuzo goalkeeper one of nine players in the squad, with roots in former Yugoslavia despite or because of his age of 39 years one of the key figures in the team, though he is only in the team since 2015 Challenge Cup finalist with former Luxembourgish champions Handball Esch after a long-term stay at France (is French citizen now) Gilles Thierry left wing is going to become a teacher after finishing his studies shares the position with Aldin, one of the Zekan brothers had tried to play on the pivot position, but now is back on the left lane one of his most important tasks on and off the court is being a translator for the foreign players Yann Hoffmann left back had never been playing for any other club than the Red Boys since he started playing had started his career as centre back, then switched to the king s position despite his young age of 22 already a key player of the Luxembourgish national team due to his teammates, started to play Balkan style handball and usually spends his holiday at the Balkans younger brother of former Red Boys player Jimmy Hoffmann, who currently studies abroad and took over his role in the team Senjin Kratovic centre back had been playing all the time of his professional career in the second French division, being among the top scorers all seasons arrived at French side Nancy as right back, but then changed to the playmaker position currently is Bosnian, but wants to take over the French citizenship Damir Rezic left back part of the Red Boys squad since 13 - no one else has a longer career in the red jersey had been playing for Metkovic in Croatia, where he was teammate of legendary Ivano Balic born in the same village as Blazenko Lackovic, who is the godfather of his daughter nearly only playing in defence now Andraz Podvrsic line player had been Slovenian international in his younger days arrived in 2013 from former Austrian champions Bregenz at Differdange father of three and thus a perfect youth handball coach one of the key players in the middle block Marin Knez right back handball globetrotter, as he had played in Croatia, Austria and France before he arrived at Differdange gained Champions league experience in his younger days as player of RK Zagreb part of the Red Boys squad in the second season supposed to give the 18-year-old Armin Zekan - youngest of three Zekan brothers - a helping hand in his first season in the male team Alen Zekan right wing born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and came to Luxembourg with his parents when he was four Luxembourgish international arrived at Differdange at the age of 18 and right made it to the starting seven can also play on the right back position 19

20 GROUP 1 Cocks (FIN) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: The finals of the Finnish championship play-off are played best of five, but just like in 2015, Cocks only needed three matches to make everything clear. After Dicken were overcome last year, HC West were Cocks opponents this time, but they were simply ran over by the Riihimäki based reigning champions. Cocks opened the final series with a convincing 34:23 win at home, followed by another 11 goal win, 35:24 away in the second leg. In the third match, then, Cocks could let their own home crowd celebrate them, as they emphasised the difference between the two finalists with a 34:26 win. Past achievements VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 1 Playing hall Elenia Areena Härkätie 17 B Hämeenlinna Finland Capacity: 1,960 Other Challenge Cup: quarter-finals 2013/14, 2014/15 Baltic league: winners 2015/16, runners-up 2012/13 Finnish league: 8 titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) Finnish cup: 7 titles Club Address: Cocks Teollisuuskatu Riihimäki Finland Media contact: Jari Viita jari@viita.fi Online information: Website: Facebook: riihimakicocks Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: yellow Player short: red Goalkeeper shirt: lime green DARK Player shirt: red Player short: red Goalkeeper shirt: orange 20

21 Cocks (FIN) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 7 Aliaksandr Bachko BLR Centre Back Grandichi, BLR Tiago Da Silva POR Right Back Guimaraes, POR Andrei Kaliarovich BLR Left Back Minsk, BLR Victor Kovalenko RUS Centre Back Leningrad, RUS Yury Lukyanchuk BLR Line Player Brest, BLR Vitalie Nenita MDA Right Back Chisinau, MDA Andrei Novoselov RUS Right Wing Yougorenok, RUS Nico Rönnberg FIN Left Back Karjaa, FIN Gheorghe Safronii MDA Left Back Kishinev, MDA Robin Sjöman FIN Line Player Karjaa, FIN Roni Syrjälä FIN Right Wing Riihimäki, FIN Teemu Tamminen FIN Left Wing Riihimäki, FIN Aliaksandr Tsitou BLR Line Player Mahilev, BLR Jani Tuominen FIN Left Wing Riihimäki, FIN Antti Valo FIN Right Wing Riihimäki, FIN Vitalii Shitsko RUS Goalkeeper St. Petersburg, RUS Kalle Alander FIN Goalkeeper Riihimäki, FIN Kiril Morozov RUS Goalkeeper Chelyabinsk, RUS Gintaras Savukynas coach joined this summer from a job as coordinator of the handball section of the Norwegian club Bergsøj IL, where he was also head coach has signed a two year contract with Cocks with an option for another two years was national coach of Lithuania from , simultanously also in charge of Belarusian Meshkov Brest from during his time as a player, he played in Iceland, Switzerland and Norway, apart from his native country particularly known for his professional approach to his job and for his tactical skills 21

22 Kirill Morozov goalkeeper born in Chelyabinsk in Russia has CL experience from Russian Chekhovskie Medvedi as well as from HC Bosna BH has also represented Sungul in his homeland for one season, before moving abroad again played a great part in Cocks winning the Finnish championship as well as the Baltic Handball League last season tall (195 cm) and heavy (99 kg) goalkeeper who is good at foreseeing the shots Teemu Tamminen left wing scored a total of 22 goals 11 in each match as Finland defeated Luxembourg in the play-offs for the Qualification 2 for the EHF EURO 2018 born in Riihimäki, the home town of Cocks, and has played for the club always scored no less than 14 goals, as Cocks defeated HC West in the decisive match for the Finnish championship recently extended his contract for another two years, so the Cocks should be sure to benefit from his skills at least until the summer of 2018 Nico Rönnberg left back younger brother of nearly legendary playmaker Andreas Rönnberg, but has managed to made his own name known in handball circles too originally a Cocks player, but had a short foreign adventure by Norwegian ØIF Arendal in the season with a total of 10 goals, he played his part, as the Finnish national team made it through to Qualification Tournament 2 for the EHF EURO 2018 became top scorer with 12 goals, as Cocks defeated SKA Minsk 36:32 in the final of the Baltic Handball League 2015/16 Aliaksandr Bachko centre back joined in the 2016 summer from SKA Minsk in his homeland was a particular key player for Minsk in the group phase of the EHF Cup last season, where he topped a great season as playmaker by scoring 34 goals himself expected to fill out the otherwise big footprints of Andres Rönnberg who has left for Finnish league rivals BK-46 Karis was part of the Belarusian national team at the 2015 World Championship in Qatar Victor Kovalenko centre back versatile back court player with a lot of experience and an obvious back-up for all back court players in the expected starting line-up rich CL experience from Montenegrin Buducnost, Belarusian Dinamo Minsk, Ukrainian Dinamo Poltava and Russian HC St. Petersburg joined Cocks from St. Petersburg in 2015 scored 40 goals in 12 matches, as Cocks won the Baltic Handball League in the season Robin Sjöman line player good at benefiting from his size to make room for himself on the line as well as for his back court players unlike many line players, he is also very good in counter attacks as he also has outspoken defensive qualities, he is an asset at both ends of the court is a regular player in the Finnish national team Tiago Silva right back joined this summer from FC Porto in his homeland another player with CL experience from exactly FC Porto born in the city of Guimaraes, he started his career in Braga, some kind of a handball metropole in Portugal Cocks is his first foreign adventure benefits from his height (198 cm) his hard shot and his ability to move inwards on the court to shoot from the central section Andrei Novoselov right wing further member of an increasing number of Eastern European players by Cocks just like goalkeeper Morozov, he has previous CL experience, in his case from HC St. Petersburg joined Cocks from St. Petersburg in 2015 with his 177 cm, he is not among the tallest in men s international handball, not even as a winger, but he compensates with his speed and his variety of shots from the wing as well as on counter attacks scored 34 goals in 14 matches in the Baltic Handball League last season while staying clear of any suspensions and warnings 22

23 More white. More light. More life. NEW VELUX white-painted roof windows.

24 Qualification Tournament 2 Qualification Tournament 2 ABC/UMinho (POR) Achilles Bocholt (BEL) Bregenz Handball (AUT) Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv Group D HBC Nantes (FRA) TTH Holstebro (DEN) HC Motor Zaporozhye (UKR) Besiktas Mogaz HT (TUR) Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU) Winner QT Playing hall Handballarena Rieden-Vorkloster Untere Burggräflergasse Bregenz Austria Capacity: 2,000 2 nd ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 3 rd ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 4 th ranked team - EHF Cup, Qualification Round 2 vs Winner of Round 1: Csurgo KK (HUN) vs Bodo HK (NOR) Match schedule (all times local) Saturday, 3 September 2016: Semi-finals 2 16:45 hrs Bregenz Handball vs. Achilles Bocholt 1 19:30 hrs ABC/UMinho vs. Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv Sunday, 4 September 2016: 3rd place match 13:45 hrs Loser semi-final 1 vs loser semi-final 2 Final 16:30 hrs Winner semi-final 1 vs winner semi-final 2 Preview: Quartet aims for one berth There are only two more tickets for this season s group stage of the VELUX EHF Champions League and eight teams are set to battle it out. While Gorenje Velenje and Tatran Presov are the outright favourites in Group 1, the situation is not as straightforward in Group 2. The stakes are high, as the winner will earn the right to play alongside HBC Nantes, TTH Holstebro, HC Motor Zaporozhye, Besiktas Mogaz HT and Dinamo București in Group D of the European top competition. As the tournament will be hosted by Bregenz, on the beautiful outskirts of Lake Constance, the Austrian side have the homecourt advantage and are favourites against the Belgian champions, Achilles Bocholt. The other game will feature the Portuguese champions, ABC/UMinho and Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv, with the winners set to fight on Sunday for the grand prize. All matches will be streamed live on ehftv.com and fans will also be able to follow the live ticker and on EHF social media channels. Bregenz Handball (AUT) vs Achilles Bocholt (BEL) The days when Bregenz Handball was a certitude in the VELUX EHF Champions League group stage are long gone. The Austrian side failed to qualify for the groups of the European top competition for the last seven years, but are roaring to get back again into the top flight. The stakes are high, but the start of the season finds Bregenz in top form. The Austrian side have already an important win under their belt, after they won the Austrian Supercup on homecourt, 31:28, Head-to-head stats in European Cup competitions No previous encounters in European Cup competitions ABC/UMinho vs Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv Bregenz Handball vs Achilles Bocholt ABC/UMinho vs Bregenz Handball ABC/UMinho vs Achilles Bocholt Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv vs Bregenz Handball Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv vs Achilles Bocholt against HC Fivers WAT Margareten. Therefore, Bregenz won their first trophy after a six-year drought, as the hosts avenged their defeat in the championship against HC Fivers WAT Margareten. However, Achilles is not proving to be such an easy opponent for the hosts. The Belgian side started their campaign with a win, 33:31, in the BENE-league, against Vise, and will look to cause problems also in Austria. ABC/UMinho (POR) vs Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv (ISR) Only FC Porto and Sporting CP won more Portuguese titles than ABC/UMinho Braga. However, the current champions have waited nine years for another win. But last season helped erase all the bad memories from the previous years. ABC were on the top of their game and powered to win their maiden Challenge Cup, adding to their 13th national title. However, the pressure is on the Portuguese side, after Porto won seven games in the VELUX EHF Champions League s group stage, only to lose the qualification in the next phase on tiebreakers against Naturhouse La Rioja. But the first outing of the season was not an easy won, nor a winning one for the Portuguese champions. ABC lost the Portuguese Supercup, 24:25, against Benfica, in what needed to be a successful indicator of form for Braga. The Israeli side, whose only previous experience is a loss against Romanian side Potaissa Turda, in the EHF Cup s Round 1 last season, should be the underdogs in the game, but Braga assure they will be ready for everything their opponents bring to the table. 24

25 GROUP 2 ABC/UMinho (POR) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: In the past seven years, FC Porto dominated the national championship and, this year, it seemed that the history would repeat after a first stage with 24 consecutive wins. However, SL Benfica eliminated the seven-time national champions in the semi-finals and the title fight was between Mariano Ortega s team and ABC/UMinho. The two teams also met in the Challenge Cup s final and played together seven times within one month. Carlos Resende s team from Braga was forced to find solutions to injuries that affected the players and as both rivals took advantage of the home courts in the first four games, the bestof-five series culminated in the thrilling decider in Braga. Also courtesy of a great defending performance of Humberto Gomes ABC recorded the extra-time win and clinched their 13th national title ending a title-drought which started from 2006/07. Past achievements Playing hall Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de St. Tirso Rua do Picoto Sto. Tirso, Portugal Capacity: 2,800 Club Address: ABC/UMinho Pavilhao Flavio sa Leite Apartado 2437/Parque da Ponte Braga, Portugal VELUX EHF Champions League Participation (including 2016/17 season): 9 Final (1): 1993/94 Quarter-finals (4): 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 2000/01 Last 32 (1): 1998/99 Qualification (2): 2006/07, 2007/08 Other EHF Cup: semi-finals 1999/00 Challenge Cup: winners 2015/16, runners-up 2004/05, 2014/15 Portuguese league: 13 titles (1987, 1988, , , 2000, 2006, 2007, 2016) Portuguese cup: 11 titles Media contact: Luis Teles geral@abcdebraga.net Online information: Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: yelow Player short: yellow Goalkeeper shirt: multicolour DARK Player shirt: black Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: multicolour 25

26 ABC/UMinho (POR) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 67 Tomas Albuquerque POR Centre Back Braga, POR Dario Andrade POR Left Wing Braga, POR Goncalo Areias POR Centre Back Braga, POR Carlos Bandeira POR Right Wing Penedono, POR Diogo Branquinho POR Left Wing Aveiro, POR Jose Costa POR Line Player Braga, POR Lucas Ferrao POR Centre Back Braga, POR Andre Gomes POR Left Back Braga, POR Joao Pedro Goncalves POR Line Player Braga, POR Pedro Marques POR Centre Back Aveiro, POR Carlos Martins POR Right Wing Moimenta da Beira, POR Miguel Pereira POR Right Wing Braga, POR Nuno Pereira POR Left Back Aveiro, POR Ricardo Pesqueira POR Line Player Porto, POR Hugo Rocha POR Left Back Porto, POR Pedro Spinola POR Right Back Funchal, POR Humberto Gomes POR Goalkeeper Braga, POR Emanuel Ribeiro POR Goalkeeper Guimaraes, POR Claudio Silva POR Goalkeeper Braga, POR EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2016 Carlos Resende coach one of the most important names of contemporary Portuguese handball his career as a coach started in 2006 with FC Porto, he moved to ABC in 2011 won the first title as coach in 2006/2007 with FC Porto in 2000, considered the European s best left back last year he still played (2006) was the last time Portugal qualified for an European Championship 26

27 Humberto Gomes goalkeeper started playing handball with ABC and, in 2010, returned to the club has two Challenge Cups in his curriculum: Sporting (2010) and ABC (2016) in 25 years as a handball player, played about 1,200 games, 80 of them for the national team Alexander Donner was one of his great influencers EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2010, 2016 EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2016 Diogo Branquinho left wing started playing handball at 12 and made his debut in ABC senior team at 19 in the last two years he developed remarkably and now is a key player for the club his idol is his teammate Nuno Grilo Pereira has two European University titles and one World University title EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2010, 2016 Hugo Rocha left back more known for his defensive power, can also play as a line player was one of ABC s top scorers in the 2015/16 season and recorded his best season so far played for ABC between 2006 and 2009 and returned to the club after some years in Sporting his father, his grandfather and his uncle were handball players EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2016 Nuno Pereira left back started playing handball at 13 played for FC Porto and SL Benfica before arriving at ABC in 2013 his idols are Nikola Karabatic and Carlos Resende (his coach) known for his fast transitions and determination Pedro Marques centre back played for S. Bernardo and Sporting before arriving at ABC in 2011 at 2015 World Universiade he won the champions title and was announced as the MVP known for his technical skills and a sense for good decisions in critical moments came to ABC to replace Carlos Matos Jose Costa line player started playing handball with ABC and returned to the club after eight years last season played for Montpellier Handball and won the Coupe de la Liga Portuguese international since 2007 experienced player known for his physical power EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2016 Pedro Spinola right back arrived at ABC in January 2016 and will stay for another season played the CL with FC Porto and accomplished a dream was the second top scorer of 2015/16 Challenge Cup was nominated for the best seven of the CL in 2013 Miguel Pereira right wing started playing handball with ABC and returned in 2015 played the CL qualification stage with FC Porto in /13 was the season he consolidated as a player won a World Universiade title in 2015 EC trophies: Challenge Cup 2016 EC trophies: Challenge Cup

28 GROUP 2 Bregenz Handball (AUT) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: Yet again the VELUX EHF Champions League will have a participant from the Lake Constance shores, but it will not be Alpla Hard this time around. The series of Alpla, who had won the last four league trophies in Austria, has ended, but it was Fivers who claimed the Austrian throne this time around. The Fivers had lost seven finals since 2005, but this year, they had decided the best-of-three series after two wins against Bregenz - a 31:29 after extra-time on home court and a 24:18 away victory. As the Vienna-based club did not register for the Champions League the right has been passed to Bregenz who will make their ninth appearance in the European top flight and their first since the 2010/11 qualification after EHF Executive Committee confirmed their upgrade from an EHF Cup club to the premium competition. Past achievements Playing hall Handballarena Rieden-Vorkloster Untere Burggräflergasse Bregenz Austria Capacity: 2,000 Club Address: Bregenz Handball Untere Burggräflergasse Bregenz Austria VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 9 Group Matches (4): 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 Round 1: 2001/02 Qualification: 2002/03, 2004/05, 2009/10, 2010/11 Other EHF Cup: quarter-finals 2004/05, Last /11 Cup Winners Cup: Round /01 Austrian league: 9 titles (2001, 2002, ) Austrian cup: 4 titles Media contact: Christoph Makovec c.makovec@bregenz-handball.at Online information: Website: Facebook: BregenzHandball Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: yellow Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: red/blue/black DARK Player shirt: black Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: red/blue 28

29 Bregenz Handball (AUT) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 18 Dominik Bammer AUT Line Player Linz, AUT Bojan Beljanski SRB Line Player Backa Palanka, SRB Nemanja Belos SRB Left Back Novi Sad, SRB Marko Buvinic CRO Right Back Pula, CRO Ante Esegovic AUT Right Back Bregenz, AUT Lukas Frühstück AUT Centre Back Bregenz, AUT Clemens Gangl AUT Line Player Hard, AUT Fabian Glaser AUT Right Wing Bärnbach, AUT Amadeus Hedin SWE Left Back Ystad, SWE Christian Jäger AUT Centre Back Bregenz, AUT Marian Klopcic AUT Right Wing Klagenfurt, AUT Severin Lampert AUT Left Wing Feldkirch, AUT 26 Florian Mohr AUT Line Player Graz, AUT Sebastian Obwexer AUT Left Wing Bregenz, AUT Nico Schnabl GER Centre Back München, GER Tobias Varvne SWE Centre Back Lindesberg, SWE Alexander Wassel AUT Left Wing Versmold, GER Goran Aleksic AUT Goalkeeper Krusevac, SRB Jürgen Suppanschitz AUT Goalkeeper Voitsberg, AUT Ralf Patrick Häusle AUT Goalkeeper Bregenz, AUT Robert Hedin coach had been player at eight clubs in five different countries (Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, Switzerland) took over his first playing coach job in St. Gallen in 1998, later on was also player and coach at Nettelstedt (GER). after some years at Ystad, returned to Germany to take over MT Melsungen. coach of the Norwegian national team from 2008 until 2014, and parallel in the 2011/12 season, coach of Danish top club Aalborg. coach in Bregenz since January 2015 and was awarded coach of the year by the Austian league right in his first season. OG: S 1992, 1996; EURO: G 1994; WCh: B 1993 (as a player) 29

30 Goran Aleksic goalkeeper one of three Serbian-born in the Bregenz squad, now has the Austrian citizenship plays for the club since 2009 one of the rare player with external CL experience from his time at Red Star Belgrade before he had played for the Serbian clubs of Krusevac and Zrenjanin Alexander Wassel left wing examined handball scientist sharing the position with youngster Sebastian Burger, the son of Markus Burger, former coach of Bregenz arch rival Alpla Hard has scored exactly in total 200 goals in the last four league seasons Tobias Varvne left back together with Amadeus Hedin they are only remaining Scandinavian in the squad, after Espen Lie Hansen transferred to Denmark awarded twice (2014/15 and 2015/16) best foreign player of the Austrian Handball League had been playing for Swedish club Skövde, before he joined Bregenz in 2014 played two international matches for Sweden after becoming U21 World Champion in 2007 OG: S 1992, 1996; EURO: G 1994; WCh: B 1993 (as a player) Nemanja Belos left back arrived from Serbian side Jugovic Kac before the 2016/17 season classical Balkan shooter and also supposed to strengthen the defence part of the newly built Serbian national team one of the best shooters in the previous two seasons of the Serbian league. supposed to fill the footprints, left by Norwegian Espen Lie Hansen, who transferred to Danish side Midtjylland Lukas Frühstück centre back never played for another club than Bregenz three times Austrian champion with his club plays for the Austrian national team his father Roland, a politician, is the manager of Bregenz Handball Bojan Beljanski line player Serbian international and was part of the Serbian team at the 2012 Olympic Games plays for Bregenz since 2015 born in Backa Palanka, like THW Kiel right back Marko Vujin started his career at Sintelon, before he played three seasons for Arrate (ESP), also played for Kriens (SUI) and Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) one of Bregenz defence specialists EURO: S 2012 Marko Buvinic right back arrived from former Macedonian Champion Metalurg Skopje at Bregenz before this season has started his career at Umag and Porec in Croatia, where he was a first league player one of the rare players in the Bregenz squad with EHF Champions League experience signed a one year contract being the fifth foreigner in the squad supposed to share the position with young guns Amadeus Hedin and Ante Esegovic Mario Klopcic right wing one of currently five Austrian internationals in the Bregenz squad arrived at Bregenz at the age of 17 in to play in the youth and junior teams since 2009 part of the senior squad had been part of the Austrian squad at the 2015 World Championship 30

31 GROUP 2 Achilles Bocholt (BEL) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: Hubo Initia Hasselt finished runners-up behind Dutch side OCI Lions in the bi-national BeNe- League earlier last season and suffered the same fate in the domestic play-off finals against Achilles Bocholt. In contrast to their women s side, who took the trophy in the identical final pairing. Bocholt had made the crucial step already in the first final, winning 41:27 on home court, followed by a 25:21 away win at Hasselt with Belgian international Bartosz Kedziora starring. After the play-offs the roles had been different: Hasselt were on top by 15 points, while Bocholt were four points below. Bocholt won their fourth title and managed to end their final curse after losing the previous three finals. Past achievements VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 1 Playing hall Soeverein Arena Sportveldenstraat Lommel Belgium Capacity: 3,289 Other Benelux League: 1 title (2013) Belgian league: 1 title (2016) Belgian Cup: 2 titles Club Address: Achilles Bocholt Hezerstraat Bocholt Belgium Media contact: Jan Evens evensjan@telenet.be Online information: Website: Facebook: handbalbocholt Kit colours Light Player shirt: white Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: purple Dark Player shirt: green Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: orange 31

32 Achilles Bocholt (BEL) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 10 Jordi Cremers NED Line Player Beek, NED Bartosz Kedziora BEL Centre Back Glogow, POL Damian Kedziora BEL Left Wing Glogow, POL Andreas Kittel NED Right Wing Sittard, NED Elias Koninkx BEL Right Wing Overpelt, BEL Brecht Lamers BEL Left Back Bocholt, BEL Joren Lamers BEL Left Back Bocholt, BEL Miha Pucnik SLO Left Back Slovenj Gradec, SLO Serge Spooren BEL Right Back Neerpelt, BEL Roel Valkenborgh BEL Left Back Neerpelt, BEL Brecht Wertelaers BEL Right Back Bree, BEL Wout Winters BEL Centre Back Neerpelt, BEL Nejc Zmavc SLO Line Player Ptuj, SLO Björn Alberts NED Goalkeeper Geleen, NED Stef Gijbels BEL Goalkeeper Neerpelt, BEL Clem Leroy BEL Goalkeeper Hasselt, BEL Bart Lenders coach coach since 2015 and led Bocholt to their championship right in his first season had before been a long-term player and assistant coach (2014/15) of the club awarded best player of the season in Belgium several times part of the Belgium national team for a long time 32

33 Björn Alberts goalkeeper Bundesliga player at German club Bayer Dormagen in his younger days second goalkeeper at the side of famous German legend Andreas Thiel at Dormagen later on played for German second division team Rostock started his career at Sittard, Netherlands and was discovered at a tournament in Germany at the age of 18, before he was the number one in the Dutch national team Damian Kedziora left wing Bartusz brother and the team captain of Bocholt regularly the top scorer of the team due to his strength at the penalty line playing his seventh season at Bocholt after a several year break he is back in the Belgian national team since three years his 18 goals paved the way for the biggest successes of the Belgian team, making the EURO 2018 qualification by beating Turkey in the play-offs Roel Valkenborgh left back classical tall shooter and the physical strongest player of the squad another Belgium international working as physical education teacher in Bocholt core player for the middle block of the defence Miha Pucnik left back one of two Slovenian players in the squad, after his former Maribor team mate Nejc Zmavc joined Bocholt before this season allrounder, who can play on all back positions cornerstone of the middle block played for former Slovenian champions Velenje and later on for Branik Maribor in European Cup competitions, before he first transferred to Austria and then to Belgium Bartosz Kedziora centre back born in Poland, his father had been Polish national team player in youth, junior and later on senior national team the hub, head and organizer of the team in attack, leading the offence Belgian national team player Jordi Cremers line player another Dutch player in the squad has started his career - like Andreas Kittel - at Limburg Lions untypical small line player, full of power and using a wide range of different shots the sweeper, if Bocholt plays a 5:1 defence Brecht Wertelaers right back is Mr. Bocholt, as he never played for another club identification figure for the club and the team left handed shooter, mainly playing in attack Andreas Kittel right wing his mother is Dutch, his father German, but he took the Dutch citizenship played for OCI Limburg Lions and became national team player there transferred to Bocholt in

34 GROUP 2 Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv (ISR) Road to the VELUX EHF Champions League: For the second time in their history as well as in the last three seasons Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Israeli championship after a 3-0 win in the final play off series against Maccabi Rishon Lezion (the third match in the series ended with a draw). The team from Tel Aviv deserved the title after finishing the regular season in the first place, three points ahead of Maccabi Rishon Lezion who finished as the second best team. Six matches between these two teams during the regular season and the play off produced for the new championship five wins for Tel Aviv and a draw. Uncharacteristically this final series was one sided. Maccabi Tel Aviv opened the series with two wins 33:25 and 27:24. The third match in Tel Aviv ended in a draw 25:25 and in the fourth match at Beit Maccabi, Rishon Lezion arena, the team from Tel Aviv won 33:31. In five from the last seven seasons the final play off series ended after five matches. Maccabi Tel Aviv s Serbian goalkeeper, Milan Kosanovic wos voted as the MVP of the final series thanks to 52 saves during the four matches. Past achievements VELUX EHF Champions League Participations (including 2016/17 season): 1 Playing hall Drive Inn Arena 7 Izik Ramba street Tel Aviv Israel Capacity: 2,700 Other Israeli league: 2 titles (2014, 2016) Club Address: Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv Shitrit st. 6, Hadar Josep Tel Aviv Israel Media contact: Avigdor Resch avi@maccabi-telaviv.co.il Online information: Facebook: MaccabiTelAviv Kit colours LIGHT Player shirt: yellow Player short: yellow Goalkeeper shirt: orange DARK Player shirt: blue Player short: blue Goalkeeper shirt: green 34

35 Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv (ISR) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight 19 Yosef Appo ISR Line Player Petach Tikva, ISR Novak Boskovic SRB Right Back Sombor, SRB Itamar Dahan ISR Right Wing Givatayim, ISR Omer Davda ISR Line Player Haifa, ISR Sahar Halfon ISR Right Wing Savyon, ISR Dan Nathan ISR Right Back Tel Aviv, ISR Chen Pomeranz ISR Centre Back Ramat Hasharon, ISR Gil Pomeranz ISR Left Wing Ramat Hasharon, ISR Amir Benjamin Seifert ISR Centre Back Tel Aviv, ISR Werner Strydom ISR Left Back Johannesburg, SAR Alexander Sychenko ISR Centre Back Kiev, ISR Ido Turel ISR Left Wing Ramat Hasharon, ISR Srdan Djordjevic SRB Goalkeeper Beograd, SRB Dan Tepper ISR Goalkeeper Tel Aviv, ISR Tom Shem Tov ISR Goalkeeper Tel Aviv, ISR Dragan Dukic coach considered as a highly appreciated figure in world handball, a master coach of the EHF Maccabi Tel Aviv is the first club that he steers in Israel after coaching the Israeli national team between though it s his first season in Maccabi TLV, he is quite familiar with 10 of his players whom he guided at the Israeli national team Maccabi is the third team that he guides to EHF Champions League after Vardar Skopje ( ) and Pick Szeged (2009/10) has a record of coaching five different national teams: FYR Macedonia, Jordan, Switzerland, Great Britain and Israel 35

36 Dan Tepper goalkeeper moved to Maccabi in 2016 from city rivals, ASA Tel Aviv won two U19 Bundesliga titles with Füchse Berlin under the guidance of Bob Hanning was part of the Israeli national team who qualified to Men s 20 EHF EURO 2014 in Austria third generation of sportsmen at Maccabi Tel Aviv after his grandfather was a water polo player and his father was a member of the soccer team Gil Pomeranz left wing in his second spell at the club after one season (2014/15) at TV Grosswallstad younger brother of Chen Pomeranz, they continued their partnership after a season at Grosswallstad won 2 championships during his four seasons at the club, has also 2 national cups with ASA a second year student of nutritional science Ido Turel left wing third season at Maccabi TLV has a championship title with Maccabi and a cup trophy with city rivals, ASA over 60 international appearances with the Israeli national team parallel to his handball career he is a student of mechanical engineering Alex Sychenko left back a new recruitment from AS Ramat Hasharon part of the historic achievement of Ramat Hasharon qualifying to the quarter final of the challenge cup in 2014/15 born in Ukraine, moved to Israel eight years ago thanks to a heritage trip member of the Israeli national team since 2010 Chen Pomeranz centre back returned to Israeli handball at the start of 2016 after nine years abroad scored more than 1,100 goals during his two years at Switzerland and seven years in Germany, took part at 2010 Bundesliga All-star game more than 100 international matches and 700 goals for the Israeli national team achieved a MBA degree in sport management from the university of Real Madrid. Omer Davda line player starts his 8th season at the club and his fourth as a team captain his first experience at the EHF CL part of the team which reached the 2012 Challenge Cup semi-final over 70 appearences in the national team MVP of the Israeli league in 2013/14 and three times the best line player of the Israeli league and once selected as the best defender Dan Natan right back / right wing first season at EHF Champions Leagu and fifth season at the club over 70 international appearances in the Israeli national team took a part in Maccabi Tel Aviv s two championship titles also won two national cups with former team ASA Tel Aviv Novak Boskovic right back / right wing member of Serbia national team for the last 3 years played also at EHF EURO 2016 in Poland third spell at Maccabi Tel Aviv, took a major part of Maccabi first championship title at Last season help the club to win its second title with 62 goals second best scorer of the 2011/12 Challenge Cup with Maccabi moved to Cimos Koper (SLO) and got familiar with CL, also played for Tatabanya (HUN) and was best scorer of playoff 36

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