Media Guide Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals 2018 GETEC Arena, Magdeburg

Saturday 19 May 2018 Semi-final 1 14:15 Saint-Raphael Var vs SC Magdeburg :

Semi-final 2 17:00 FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs Füchse Berlin :

Sunday 20 May 2018 3/4 Placement match 12:45 vs :

Final 15:15 vs : Table of contents - Foreword 3

1. Introduction 4

- Welcome 4 - EHF / EHFM / SC Magdeburg Media Team 4

2. Media timetable 5

3. Essential media information 6

- Accreditation collection 6 - Photographers/TV bibs 6 - Official event name/hastags 6 - Media Centre opening times 6 - Media seats 6 - WLAN access 6 - Video recording 6 - Opening Press conference / Post-match press conference 6 - Opening training 6 - EHF Cup Finals Online 7 - Television and live streaming 7 - Invitation to Media Get Together 7

4. Media rules and guidelines 8

- Rules for ENG crews 8 - Rules for photographers 9

5. Event information 11

- Playing system - dates and rounds 11 - EHF CUP / EHF Cup Finals 12 - EHF Cup 2017/18 - map of participants 13 - Facts & Figures 14 - Semi-final 1 Preview 16 - Saint-Raphael Var Handball (France) 17 - SC Magdeburg (Germany) 20 - Semi-final 2 Preview 23 - FRISCH AUF! Göppingen (Germany) 24 - Füchse Berlin (Germany) 27 - Important regulations - extra-time and 7m throws 30 - Potential head-to-heads for Sunday’s games 31 - All-time EHF Cup Finals records 32 - Top scorers 2017/18 after quarter-finals 34 - Previous winners 35

2 Foreword

Dear media representatives,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the German city of Magdeburg and to the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals, the final round of this season’s Men’s EHF Cup.

Our hosts for the weekend are SC Magdeburg, a club with a long tradition of success in both the German Bundesliga and European competitions since its foundation over 60 years ago.

The EHF Cup Finals event is also slowly building a history of its own as this is already the sixth edition. I am pleased to say that interest in the event from fans has also been tremendous with tickets for the two-day event in the GETEC Arena being completely sold out well in advance.

We will see four outstanding teams take to the court in Magdeburg. And even before the draw two weeks ago, it was clear that we were going to see two very exciting and wide open semi-final matches like we did 12 months ago when the same four teams gathered in Göppingen for the previous edition of this tournament. Yet again each of the teams playing in the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals this time around clearly has what it takes to make the final and claim the trophy.

The only non-German side, Saint-Raphael from France, take on the hosts SC Magdeburg, who won the old format of the EHF Cup three times. In the second semi- final the 2015 EHF Cup winners Füchse Berlin lock horns with defending champions FRISCH AUF! Göppingen.

Although we may have just two nations represented in the final weekend, this does not mean that the event will lose its strong international flavour. The four clubs from Germany and France boast no fewer than 17 different nationalities in their ranks, not to mention of course the delegates and officials representing the EHF, who hail from right across Europe.

Finally, on behalf of both the EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH, I would like to thank the management of SCM Magdeburg for their professional approach to the organisation and hosting of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals. Handball plays an important part in the life of the city and I am sure that Europe’s top clubs and their fans will receive a warm welcome here. We pride ourselves on our positive and cooperative relationship with the press and media and I am sure this will continue and develop during this tournament too. We look forward to working with you!

Michael Wiederer EHF President

3 1. Introduction

Welcome to the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals / Magdeburg

It is a great pleasure to welcome all media representatives to Magdeburg for the sixth edition of the Men’s EHF Cup final tournament - the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals.

We look forward to two days of top class handball in the sold-out GETEC Arena in Magdeburg as Saint- Raphael Var Handball, Füchse Berlin, FRISCH AUF! Göppingen, as well as the hosts of the event, SC Magdeburg compete for the EHF Cup title.

Over 100 media representatives are expected in Magdeburg to cover the event, and we expect extensive local, regional and national coverage of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals.

If you require any help or assistance during your time in Göppingen, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the media team from the EHF, EHFM and SC Magdeburg.

Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals Media Team

Vlado Brindzak Sören Thümler EHF Media Manager SC Magdeburg Tel. +43 1 80151 161 Mob: +421 908 721 328 Mob: +49 171 4963577 [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Oliver Laaber EHFM Media (TV/Radio) Tel: +43 1 80151 217 Mob: +43 676 770 9309 [email protected]

4 2. Media Timetable

Friday, 18 May 2018 13:00 – 14:00 Training Saint-Raphael Var Handball GETEC Arena 14:10 - 15:10 Training SC Magdeburg GETEC Arena 14:15 – 14:45 Media Call Saint-Raphael Var Handball Media Room, GETEC Arena (coach Joel Da Silva, Adrien Dipanda, Alexander Lyngaard, Xavier Barachet, Geoffrey Krantz, Mihai Popescu) 14:45 – 15:15 Media Call Frisch Auf Göppingen Media Room, GETEC Arena (coach Rolf Brack, Marcel Schiller, Daniel Fontaine, Zarko Sesum, Kresimir Kozina, Jens Schöngarth) 15:15 – 15:45 Media Call SC Magdeburg Media Room, GETEC Arena (coach Bennet Wiegert, , Nemanja Zelenovic, , Piotr Chrapkowski, Christian O’Sullivan) 15:20 - 16:20 Training Frisch Auf Göppingen GETEC Arena 15:45 - 16:15 Media Call Füchse Berlin Media Room, GETEC Arena (coach Velimir Petkovic, , Steffen Fäth, , Mattias Zachrisson, Bjarki Mar Elisson and also rest of the team) 16:30 - 17:30 Training Füchse Berlin (most likely will not happen!) GETEC Arena Only first 15 minutes of each training open for media.

Saturday, 19 May 2018 13:45 Photographers’ briefing Media Room, GETEC Arena 14:15 Semi-final 1 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs SC Magdeburg GETEC Arena 15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and a key player from each team) GETEC Arena 17:00 Semi-final 2 FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs Füchse Berlin GETEC Arena 15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and a key player from each team) GETEC Arena 20:00 Media Get-Together TBA

Sunday, 20 May 2018 12:45 3/4 Placement Match GETEC Arena 15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and key player from each team) GETEC Arena 15:15 Final GETEC Arena 15 minutes after winners’ ceremony Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and key player from each team) GETEC Arena

5 3. Essential media information

Accreditation collection Your accreditation can be collected from the accreditation desk at the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg from Friday, 18 May 2018, 13:00 hrs. Please bring an official form of identification – your press card or passport – and your official confirmation. Accreditations will not be issued without these.

Media parking Contact Sören Thümler for Media Parking requests.

Photographer bibs Bibs for photographers will be issued at the accreditation desk at the GETEC Arena from Friday, 18 May 2018 against a payment of a returnable deposit of €20 upon collection of the locker keys. The press cards and deposits will be returned at the end of the event when the keys and bibs are returned to the Media Centre.

Official event name/official hashtag The official name of the final event is the ‘Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals’. An official hashtag has also been announced, this is: ‘#ehfcupfinals’. Please use these official terms in your reports and communications.

Media Centre Opening Times The Media Centre is located in the GETEC Arena. Opening hours for accredited media representatives are as follows: Friday, 18 May 2018 13:00 – 17:30 hrs Saturday, 19 May 2018 12:30 – 21:30 hrs Sunday, 20 May 2018 11:00 – 19:30 hrs

Media seats Media representatives will be allocated a specific media seat in the GETEC Arena. There will be media volunteers available to show you the way to your seat.

WLAN access There will be wireless internet access for all media representatives in the arena free of charge. A password for internet access will be provided on arrival.

Video recording Video in the arena, mixed zone and press conference room may only be recorded with the express permission of EHF Marketing GmbH. Please contact EHFM Media Officer, Oliver Laaber for further information in advance of the event. Equipment used for video recording without permission will be removed.

Press conferences The press conference room is located comfortably closed to the mixed zone, sign posting will be provided. The post-match press conferences will take place 15 minutes after each match/winners’ ceremony and will be attended by the head coaches and key players. Press conferences will be conducted in English, any questions in your native language should be directed following the completion of the press conference.

Open training for the media Team training on Friday, 18 May 2018 will be open to the media for the first 15 minutes, for TV footage to be

6 filmed and teams to be photographed. Media interviews are possible only at the media call.

Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals Online The event will be covered extensively online by both the EHF Media and Communications Department and SC Magdeburg. The event can be followed on the EHF Cup and EHF Cup Finals websites: www.eurohandball.com and www.scm-handball.de and the following social media channels: Facebook EHF, Twitter ehf_live and snapchat ehf_live.

Live ticker Even fans unable to watch the matches on the TV or on the ehfTV live streaming can follow the up-to-second updates of the matches’ scoreline at the live ticker, which was already available over the group phase and the quarter-finals. All handball lovers can check not only the running score, but also the scorers, fouls, two-minutes suspensions, missed shots or saves. The live ticker will be provided both in the HTML and Flash version here: http://ticker.ehf.eu/

Television and live streaming Coverage of the event will be shown on television by the following confirmed TV stations (at the time of publication): MDR (GER), TV3 Sport (DEN), Viasat (NOR), Viasat (SWE), SFR Sport2 (FRA), MySports (SUI), Sport 1 (SVK), Sport 1 (CZE), ehfTV coverage and English commentary All four matches will also be streamed live and on-demand around the world at ehfTV.com, the European Handball Federation’s online streaming platform. For the fifth time in the Men’s EHF Cup the matches will be also broadcast with a live English commentary - by Chris O’Reilly. Visit ehfTV.com for more details and to watch games not only from the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals, but also from the VELUX EHF FINAL4 and on demand from the recent Women’s EHF FINAL4.

Invitation to Media Get Together All accredited media representatives are invited by SC Magdeburg for a Media Get Together on Saturday 19 May at 20:00 hrs local time (location to be announced later).

7 4. Media rules and guidelines

Official EHFM Rules of Conduct for ENG Crews The following guidelines and rules of conduct for ENG Crews have been developed to make the job of ENG crews easier at EHF events. Upon receiving an accreditation and signing for an ENG bib, TV crews automatically agree to follow the EHFM Rule of Conduct for TV ENG crews.

1. ENG crews are obliged to produce a media identification card upon request. 2. The Host Broadcaster acts on behalf of the European Handball Federation/EHF Marketing GmbH 3. ENG personnel are requested to wear the bib and accreditation at ALL times. 4. All ENG crews must use the stickers provided on their camera equipment. 5. The bib and the accreditation are only valid for the EHF Cup Finals. 6. Only the Host Broadcaster is permitted onto the playing court. 7. Right holders have to stay in the positions designated to them during the games 8. Non-rights holders are not permitted to film during the matches. 9. The guidelines and instructions of the Host Broadcasters MUST be followed at all time 10. At no time, before, during or after the match are ENG crews permitted to stay in the area behind the players‘seats or behind the official table. They must place themselves in the position advised by the EHFM. 11. ENG crews are only permitted in the TV area of the mixed zone 12. ENG crews are not permitted to interfere/obstruct in the work of the Host Broadcaster.

8 Official EHF Rules of Conduct for Photographers The EHF has developed the following guidelines to make the job of photographers at its events easier. Upon receiving the accreditation and bib the photographer automatically agrees to follow the EHF guidelines of conduct for photographers.

1. Photographers must attend the photographer briefing in the Media Centre on Saturday 20 May at 14:30 hrs 2. Photographers are only allowed to enter the court following the match for 3/4 place and final when permitted to do so. There will be a roped off area clearly marked for photographers in front of the timekeepers’ table. 3. Photographs can be taken during the player line-up. An area will be defined before the match for this purpose. Photographers may stand in this position until the pre-match procedure is over. They must then return to their designated position behind the advertising boards at the ends of the court. 4. Photograph bibs should be worn at all times. These will be issued as part of the accreditation process and are available from the Media Info Desk 5. During the match all photographers should be at the ends of the court where seats are available behind the advertising boards. Photographers will be advised before the match of an additionally designated areas where they may take photos looking down on the court. 6. It is not allowed to change ends during the game. This has to be done at the half-time or at the end of the match. If a photographer wishes to change ends during the half-time break, he/she must follow the routing system 7. Photographers are not allowed to stand behind the players’ seats or on the opposite side of the court. 8. Photographers have to remain seated and cannot change seats during the match. 9. Photographers are allowed to sit in front of the nets after the point where it is fixed to the advertising borders (fixed 3 metres each side of the goal). 10. Photographers are not allowed sit or stand in front of or to obstruct the view of the advertising boards. 11. Strobe light photography is not permitted. 12. Photographers are not allowed to enter the court during the celebration and awarding ceremony which follows final. During the celebration and awarding ceremony there will be a clearly marked area reserved for photographers in front of the timekeepers’ table.

Upon collection of your accreditation you are obliged to follow the above-listed rules.

9 Wherever you are!

All matches of the VELUX EHF Champions League and WOMEN’S EHF Champions League, selected games of European Cups, DKB Handball-Bundesliga, Liga Loterías Asobal live and on demand. Don’t miss the best highlights, compilations, interviews, features, behind the scenes and more.

Watch it wherever you are on ehfTV.com! 10 vs. vs. vs. vs. Place Match Place rd Final Semi-nals 3 19/20.05.2018 EHF Cup Finals EHF Cup EHF Cup Finals EHF Cup 4 winners 1 vs. vs. vs. vs. 2 first leg 21/22.04.18 second leg 28/29.04.18 Quarter-nals Quarter-nals 8 teams 03/04.03.2018 24/25.03.2018 31.03./01.04.18 Home Matches Home Matches Matches Away 3 3 Group Phase Group 10/11.02.2018 17/18.02.2018 24/25.02.2018 Group Phase Group 16 winners Season 2017/18 playing dates playing Season 2017/18 Men’s EHF Cup 2017/18 playing system playing EHF 2017/18 Cup Men’s vs. 16 vs.16 Qualication Round 3 Round Qualication first leg 18/19.11.2017 second leg 25/26.11.2017 Qualication Round 3 Round Qualication 16 winners 14/15.10.2017 09/10.09.2017 vs. vs. 15 winners 07/08.10.2017 02/03.09.2017 15 vs.15 16 vs. 16 16 vs. Qualication Round 1 Round Qualication 2 Round Qualication first leg - second leg - first leg - second leg - Qualication Round 1 Round Qualication 2 Round Qualication

11 Magdeburg to host the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals

Playing hall GETEC-Arena - Bördelandhalle Berliner Chaussee 32 39114 Magdeburg Germany Capacity: 7,800

Men’s EHF Cup

The Men’s EHF Cup was re-launched at the start of the 2012/13 season and formed from the merging of the EHF Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup. The second tier of top-class European club handball competition, after the VELUX EHF Champions League, the Men’s EHF Cup is played with a qualification phase, group phase, quarter- finals and final tournament.

In its sixth season 63 teams from 35 countries joined the race for the elusive trophy, but only 16 qualified for the group phase – three from Germany, two from Spain and France and one from Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Slovakia and Sweden. There were just three-quarter-finals played as the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals hosts SC Magdeburg managed to qualify directly for the final tournament as winners of their group.

Men’s EHF Cup Finals

The first EHF Cup Finals was played in the Palais des Sports de Beaulieu in Nantes in 2013 and the German club Rhein-Neckar Löwen won the trophy. In 2014 the final tournament was welcome by the Max-Schmeling- Halle in Berlin and saw a stunning victory of Pick Szeged from Hungary. Füchse Berlin won the next edition on the home court and FRISCH AUF! Göppingen dominated not only in Nantes in 2016 but also on the home court last year.

2018 Tournament Management Henrik La Cour, EHF Executive Committee Member Jerzy Eliasz, EHF Executive Committee Member David Szlezak, EHF Marketing Managing Director Markus Glaser, EHF Chief Sports Officer

12 MEN’S EHF CUP TEAMS Cocks Ottostadt Magdeburg FIN EHF Cup Finals 2018

Final weekend

Quarter-finals Lugi HF KS Azoty-Pulawy SA SWE POL Group Phase

Bjerringbro-Silkeborg DEN

Füchse Berlin GER

SC Magdeburg SKA Minsk GER BLR

Men’s EHF Cup Finals venue

Frisch Auf Göppingen GER TATRAN Presov SVK

Wacker Thun RK Nexe SUI CRO

Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc FRA

Saint-Raphael Var Handball FRA

RD Koper SLO Helvetia Anaitasuna Fraikin BM. Granollers ESP ESP Facts & Figures Same teams as 2017, new high score, new low score

Four matches only remain in the Men’s EHF Cup to decide the 1 coach of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals participants winner and the successor of Frisch Auf Göp-pingen (GER). In have won the EHF Cup as a coach - Füchse coach Velimir Petkovic, general, familiar faces will meet at the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF both times with Frisch Auf Göppingen (2011, 2012). Cup Finals in Magdeburg on 19/20 May, as exactly the same four teams as in 2017 are in the pot for the semi-final draw on Wednes- 1 team, which finished second after the group stage, made it to day (11:00 hrs local time, livestream on ehfTV.com). Besides the Magdeburg: Saint Raphael. defending champions and host Magde-burg, last year’s finalists Füchse Berlin and Saint-Raphael Var Handall as only Non-German 2 times - for the second time in a row - three German sides are team made it to the final tournament. among the four participants.

Here are all major facts, figures and numbers on the competition 2 winners of the new version of the EHF Cup are among the four here. participants of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: Füchse Berlin (2015) and Frisch Auf Göppingen (2016, 2017). 0 French male team has ever won the EHF Cup neither in the new nor the old format or the Cup Winners’ Cup. 2 all-German finals have been played since the competition was merged: in 2015 it was Berlin vs Hamburg and in 2017 Göppingen 0 zero times since the implementation of the new format in the vs Berlin. 2012/13 season, the EHF Cup champions were coached by a German, though four times a German team won. This year the 2 hosts of the EHF Cup Finals took the trophy so far: Berlin in 2015 chance is higher, as all three German participants are coached by and Göppingen in 2017. Füchse had failed in the semis 2014 on Germans (Velimir Petkovic has a German passport now, though home ground, as Nantes failed twice in the finals against Löwen he was born in Banja Luka.) (2013) and Göppingen (2016).

0 national champions arriving from the VELUX EHF Champions 2 of 54 matches since the start of the group phase ended with League qualification made it to the quarter-finals. a draw, Presov vs Minsk (25:25) and Cham-bery vs Granollers (30:30), none of it in the quarter-finals. 0 teams, which started in the second qualification round, made it to Magdeburg. 3 - which means all - German teams, which qualified for the EHF Cup Finals, have won the EHF Cup at least once: Magdeburg 1 EHF Cup champion managed to defend their title in the new (1998, 2001, 2007), Göppingen 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017) and Berlin format: current title holders Frisch Auf Göp-pingen, who took the (2015). trophy 2016 at Nantes and defended it on home ground last year. 3 nations are represented by the origin of the coaches of 1 non-German team won the new version of the EHF-Cup only: the previous EHF Cup Finals winners: Iceland (Gudmundur Pick Szeged in 2014 in the final at Berlin against Montpellier. Gudmundsson/2013 and Dagur Sigurdsson/2015), Spain (Juan Carlos Pastor/2014) and Sweden (Magnus Andersson/2016 and 1 team - Göppingen (9 victories, 1 draw so far in the 2017/18 2017). Definitely, a fourth nationality will be added now, either season) - arrives unbeaten at the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Germany or France. Finals. 3 participants of the EHF Cup Finals had finished on top of their 1 former EHF Champions League winner - as every year so far - is groups: Magdeburg (group A), Berlin (group B) and Göppingen still in the race for the EHF Cup trophy: SC Magdeburg. The same (group C). club had been quarter-finalist in 2013 and 2016 and semi-finalist in 2017, besides it were later-on finalists Montpellier (2014) and 3 matches since the start of the group phase ended with 45 or less Hamburg (2015). So far, no former Champions League winner goals: First two in group C - Cocks vs Nexe (20:22) and Koper vs took the trophy. Göppingen (20:25), then the quarter-final Füchse vs Nexe 25:16. 1 nation - Denmark - is represented in all four squads at the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals. Three teams each have 4 teams, which means all, which had been part of the 2017 edition German, Croatian, Serbian or Swedish players in their line-ups. of the EHF Cup Finals, made it again.

1 coach, present at the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals, 4 times - including the upcoming event - Göppingen and Berlin had been EHF Cup winner as a player - and even with the club he have been part of the EHF Cup Finals. coaches now: Bennet Wiegert (Magdeburg/2007). 4 times Göppingen have won the EHF Cup, each twice in the old 1 team arriving from the quarter-finals won both knock-out format (2011, 2012) and the new format (2016, 2017) to be record matches: defending champions Frisch Auf Göp-pingen against holders ahead of SC Magdeburg (1999, 2001, 2007) and THW Kiel Chambery Savoie. (1998, 2002, 2004) with three titles each.

14 Facts & Figures

6 - which means all - times the host of the EHF Cup Finals 23 EHF Cup matches in a row (including the last two seasons) qualified directly from the group phase, skipping the quarter- Göppingen are unbeaten in this competition, the record is 21 finals (Nantes and Berlin each twice, Göppingen and now victories, one draw (in the qualification of this season against Magdeburg). Arendal. The last team to beat Göppingen was Magdeburg in the first leg of the 2015/16 quarter-finals (29:27). 6 times – like in all previous EHF Cup Finals - at least one German team is part of: 2013 it were Göppingen and Löwen, 31 times (26 in the group matches, 5 times in the quarter-finals), 2014 Berlin, 2015 Berlin and Hamburg, 2016 Göppingen, 2017 the home team was victorious since the start of the group and 2018 Göppingen, Berlin and Füchse. phase. In the previous season, it were 32 home victories at the same time. 7 nations have been represented by the clubs in all EHF Cup Finals since 2013: Germany (12 teams including 2018), France 41 goals in the quarter-final Füchse vs Nexe (25:16) are the low- (6), Denmark (3), Spain (1), Hungary (1), Romania (1) and score in a match since the start of the group phase). Slovenia (1). 45 goals in two quarter-final matches against Nexe were enough 7 goals difference was the highest aggregate margin in the for Füchse Berlin to qualify for the Otto-stadt Magdeburg EHF quarter-finals (Göppingen vs Chambery/61:54). Cup Finals.

8 goals was the lead of RK Nexe against Füchse Berlin after the +50 is the goal difference of Frisch Auf Göppingen after first leg of the quarter-final (28:20), but Berlin won the re-match qualification, group phase and quarter-finals. 25:16. 70 goals scored in the quarter-final re-match Granollers vs 8 matches since the start of the group phase were attended by Saint-Raphael (40:30) are the high score since the start of the more than 3000 fans, including the quarter-final Berlin vs Nexe group phase. Before, it were 67 goals each in the group matches (5000). Azoty-Pulawy vs Granoll-ers (30:37) and Anaitasuna vs Saint- Raphael (29:38). 9 matches since the start of the qualification ended with a draw: 5 in qualification round 1, 0 in round 2, 2 in round 3 and 2 in the 75 goals were scored by Uladzislau Kulesh (Minsk) and Nico group phase. No quarter-final ended with a levelled result. Rönnberg (Cocks) to top the top scorer list so far. Best scorer still in competition is the 2016/17 overall top scorer Hans Lindberg 10 goals was the advance of Granollers in the second quarter- (Belrin) by 67 goals. final against Saint-Raphael (40:30), but still the Catalans were eliminated after losing the first leg 23:37. 331 goals were scored by Saint-Raphael to have the best attack of all four participants. 12 points from six group matches - the optimum - were taken by Göppingen. The defending champions had this outcome already 334 goals were scored in the six quarter-final matches. in the previous season. 2,943 goals were scored since the start of the group phase, 14 goals in the quarter-final Saint-Raphael vs Granollers (37:23) which means an average of 54,5 goals. Last season, it were are the highest margin since the start of the group phase. Before, 3,029 goals at the same time. it were 12 goals of the match Magdeburg vs Presov (36:24). 5,983 fans were the highest attendance since the start of the 17 matches since the start of the group phase ended with 60 group phase, when Berlin hosted Anaitasuna, the biggest or more goals scored, including two quarter-finals, again both number of fans in a quarter-final match were 5000, again in encounters of Saint-Raphael and Granollers. In the previous Berlin, in the match against Nexe. season, it was nearly the same number at this stage, 16.

18 times a German team has won the old (14) and the new (4) version of the EHF Cup since the implementa-tion of the competition in the 1993/94 season. Five times the winner came from Spain, each once from Croatia and Hungary.

18 nations are represented by the players on court of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: GER, FRA, CIV, CZE, BLR, SRB, DEN, ROU, ESP, SWE, CRO, SLO, SVK, ISL, POL, RUS, NOR, AUT - last year it were 15 different nations.

21 away wins (20 in the group phase, 1 in the quarter-finals) were among the 54 matches since the start of the group phase - exactly the same number as in the 2016/17 season.

15 Semi-final 1 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs SC Magdeburg

GETEC Arena, Magdeburg Saturday 19 May, 14:15 hrs. local time LIVE ON EHFTV.COM Referees: Ignacio Garcia Serradilla, Andreu Marin Lorente (ESP) Delegates: Dragan Nachevski (MKD), Gunnar Gunnarsson (ISL)

Saint-Raphael want to end the French curse Since the introduction of the reformed EHF Cup, four of five 37:23 in the first quarter-final leg against Fraikin Granollers times the hosts made it to the final - the only exception were (ESP) - the so far biggest margin the EHF Cup season since the Füchse Berlin in 2014. Now SC Magdeburg hope to extend this start of the group phase. But in the high-scoring encounter of series in their sold-out fortress GETEC-Arena. On the other the whole season, Granollers somehow were back on track, hand, their semi-final opponent Saint-Raphael Var Handball but a 40:30 on home ground were not enough to stop the are out to prove the strength of the French league and to take French side on their way to Magdeburg. their first ever win at EHF Cup Finals. Saint-Raphael have already proved in this season that they • French team yet to win the EHF Cup in the old or new can win on German ground, by taking the points from format. Füchse in the group phase opener to take revenge for the • The only duel of both was sides the third place match at demolishing 24:35 semi-final defeat against Berlin one year the 2017 EHF Cup Finals, won by SCM after penalties. ago. “At Magdeburg, we want to show that we can play much • Magdeburg’s last defeat in an EHF Cup home match better than we did last year at Göppingen”, says Saint-Raphael occurred in the 2011/12 semi-finals against a French team: a coach Joel da Silva. But for him the roles for the first semi- 25:30 vs Dunkerque, followed by 17 victories and one draw final are clearly marked: “Everybody expects Magdeburg to win, they are under pressure, they are at home - but we do The first semi-final is the re-match of last year’s 3/4 not have anything to lose, what might be a psychological Placement match at the EHF Cup Finals at Göppingen - which advantage.” ended in a true showdown, as Magdeburg needed a penalty shoot-out to take the third position after losing their semi In the whole history of the EHF Cup, even including the former against hosts Göppingen. Now SCM - EHF Cup winners in the Cup Winners’ Cup, no French team ever won the trophy - old format in 1999, 2001 and 2007 - are in the favourite role though three French teams were finalists only since the new to reach their first international final since eleven years and mode had been implemented. Nantes lost the finals on home to make history exactly 40 years after their first international court twice against German sides (2013 against Rhein-Neckar trophy, winning the Champions’s Cup final (forerunner of the Löwen and 2016 against Göppingen), Montpellier lost at EHF Champions League) against Wroclaw. Berlin against Pick Szeged, the so far only non-German side to raise the trophy in the new format of the competition. “We want to profit from the home advantage and having If Magdeburg win the semi, the third All-German final the fans behind us. I guess our chances to first make it to the since 2015 would occur after Berlin vs Hamburg (2015) and final and then to take the trophy are a bit higher than for the Göppingen vs Berlin (2017). rest of the teams,” said SCM coach Bennet Wiegert, who as a player was part of Magdeburg’s historic squad, which won the Magdeburg just lost another semi-final in the German Cup EHF Champions League in 2002. As the host of the Ottostadt against Rhein-Neckar Löwen and in the Bundesliga match Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals, SCM skipped the quarter-finals as against the same opponent some days later, left wing Lukas group winners. Mertens tore his Achilles tendon and the club decided to add Yves Grafenhorst as a late entry for the final tournament. Saint-Raphael were runners-up in the Füchse Berlin group - and entered the gates to the EHF Cup Finals by an impressive

Head-to-head stats in the EC competitions: Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs SC Magdeburg 0-0-1 (31:32) 0:2 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs SC Magdeburg, EHF Cup Finals – Place 3/4 31:32 (12:13, 27:27)

16 Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) No French team have ever won the Men’s EHF Cup. Now Saint-Raphael start their next attempt to go for the trophy. They lost unluckily in the quarter-finals two years ago, and made it to the EHF Cup Finals in Göppingen last year. However, they lost in the semi- finals against Füchse Berlin (35:24), and the following day against Magdeburg (32:31) to finish fourth.

An off-court change is an enlargement of their playing arena with 500 additional seats, raising the capacity to 2,500. Saint-Raphael had no problems in qualification. They beat Croatian side Dubrava clearly twice (40:29 and 41:31) in their sixth EHF Cup season.

They kicked off the group phase with a sensational win away at Füchse Berlin, however their only defeat in the stage came in the reverse fixture on the home court. As the goal difference spoke in favour of foxes Saint-Raphael had to play against the Group D winners Fraikin BM Granollers in the quarter-finals. The French team laid the foundation of their trip to Magdeburg already in the first leg winning by 14 goals.

The coach Joel Da Silva regarded the three German sides Berlin, Göppingen and Magdeburg as favourites already before the season’s start, but also his own team. As Playing hall he was completely correct in his predictions, the finals would get the same line-up as Palais des Sports JF Krakowski last year. Rue des Chataigniers 83700 Saint Raphael Coach: Joel da Silva (POR) France Nations represented in the squad: 8(FRA, SRB, ROU, CZE, BLR, DEN, ESP, CIV) Capacity: 2,500 Top scorers: Raphael Caucheteux 62 Club Address: Adrian Dipanda 37 Saint-Raphael Var Handball Artsem Karalek 36 PO Box BP 503 83705 Saint Raphael Cedex France GROUP B Final Table:

Media contact: 1. Füchse Berlin 6 5 0 1 185 : 154 (31) 10 Vanessa Patucca-Bourgeais 2. Saint-Raphael Var Handball 6 5 0 1 183 : 165 (18) 10 +33 7 64 09 31 25 3. Helvetia Anaitasuna 6 2 0 4 174 : 201 (-27) 4 [email protected] 4. Lugi HF 6 0 0 6 169 : 191 (-22) 0

Online information: Website: www.srvhb.com Road to the semi-finals: Past achievements Facebook: saintraphaelvar Twitter: @SRVHB Quarter-final EHF Cup vs Fraikin BM Granollers W37:23 (17:10) @ Fraikin BM Granollers L40:30 (16:15) EHF Cup Finals (1): 2016/17 (4th place) Quarter-finals (1): 2015/16 Kit colours Group Phase Round 3 (1): 2012/13 @ Füchse Berlin W21:26 (7:13) Light vs Helvetia Anaitasuna W36:27 (18:13) Other Player shirt: turquoise / yellow @ Lugi HF W28:30 (10:11) Player short: Turquoise / yellow vs Lugi HF W28:26 (14:17) VELUX EHF Champions League: Goalkeeper shirt: purple vs Füchse Berlin L25:34 (12:17) 2012/2013 qualification Dark @ Helvetia Anaitasuna W29:38 (14:16) Player shirt: dark blue Challenge Cup: 2010/11, 2011/12 Player short: dark blue Qualification Round 3 quarter-finals Goalkeeper shirt: green vs RK Dubrava W40:29 (22:18) @ RK Dubrava W31:41 (16:23) French League: - (2016 runners-up)

17 Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals 10 Aurelien Abily FRA Left Back 22/07/1982 Le Mans, FRA 192 80 18 4 Xavier Barachet FRA Right Back 19/11/1988 Nice, FRA 195 95 25 18 Paolo Bardi FRA Centre Back 18/08/1999 Frejus, FRA 181 75 9 Geoffrey Bourasseau FRA Left Back 18/02/1999 Paris, FRA 187 81 20 Raphael Caucheteux FRA Left Wing 09/05/1985 Montpellier, FRA 202 94 62 12 Alexandre Demaille FRA Goalkeeper 22/04/1993 Draguignan, FRA 196 95 3 32 Adrien Dipanda FRA Right Back 03/05/1988 Dijon, FRA 202 105 37 77 David Eponouh CIV Left Back 01/04/1999 Abidjan, CIV 193 80 1 13 Theo Gaspari FRA Line Player 05/12/1999 Cagnes sur Mer, FRA 187 88 88 Wissem Hmam FRA Line Player 21/04/1981 Menzel Temime, TUN 198 104 1 5 Lucas Hubert FRA Back 13/07/1998 Grasse, FRA 188 86 2 19 Miroslav Jurka CZE Right Wing 07/06/1987 Valasske Mezirici, CZE 189 82 22 50 Artsem Karalek BLR Line Player 20/02/1996 Grodno, BLR 190 106 36 17 Aleksa Kolakovic SRB Centre Back 10/08/1997 Podgorica, MNE 189 94 4 31 Nicolas Krakowski FRA Left Back 31/10/1987 Frejus, FRA 196 92 6 2 Geoffroy Krantz FRA Back 03/12/1981 Giens, FRA 186 105 14 14 Alexander Lynggaard DEN Line Player 27/03/1990 Koge, DEN 198 102 26 8 Jonathan Mapu FRA Line Player 10/03/1998 Frejus, FRA 181 95 1 1 Romain Mathias FRA Goalkeeper 13/09/1997 Paris, FRA 197 95 16 Mihai Catalin Popescu ROU Goalkeeper 15/03/1985 Gaesti, ROU 190 100 2 29 Romain Quatrevaux FRA Goalkeeper 29/12/1999 Frejus, FRA 188 76 11 Daniel Sarmiento Melian ESP Centre Back 25/08/1983 Las Palmas, ESP 188 85 35 7 Alexandru Simicu ROU Left Back 08/10/1988 Timisoara, ROU 202 96 12 27 Alexian Trottet FRA Left Wing 13/05/1997 Vernon, FRA 175 75 11 24 Arthur Vigneron FRA Right Wing 30/01/1995 Saint-Michel, FRA 182 78 13

18 Joel Da Silva Mihai Popescu coach goalkeeper • after training Toulouse for four seasons, he signed • one of two former Constanta players to have for Saint-Raphael in the summer of 2014 played the EHF Cup Finals in 2015 and 2017 with Saint-Raphael • voted best coach in the 2015/16 French league • the club is so happy about his performances that • has never played handball at a high level and they made him sign a contract extension up until started coaching at the age of 14 2022 • before joining Toulouse in 2009, he used to work • aged 33, he would very much like to end his in a gardening store career in France • has a habit of taking his time-outs NBA-style, having the players sat on the bench in front of him

Raphael Caucheteux Aurelien Abily left wing left back • at 2 meters, one of the tallest wingers in handball • joined Saint-Raphael in 2009 but has yet to win a title with the club • signed in January 2007 from Montpellier - no one in the squad has played longer for Saint-Raphael • just like Geoffroy Krantz, he announced that he would retire at the end of the season • all-time French league top scorer of all-time with more than 1,500 goals scored so far • has much more responsabilities in the team since Alexandru Simicu’s injury, who won’t come back until • at 32, had a debut with the first French national the end of the season team in 2018 at the EURO 2018 in Croatia

EURO: B 2016

Daniel Sarmiento Artsem Karalek centre back line player • transferred from FC Barcelona last summer in order • has started a Belarus fashion in Saint-Raphaël, to replace Arnor Atlason since his compatriot Vadim Gayduchenko will join the club next summer • was part of the FC Barcelona team which broke all records in the 2013/14 season, scoring 1,146 goals in • aged 22, he’s one of the most talented young line only 30 games players in the circuit • feels so good in his club that he’s already extended • has already signed for Polish side Kielce for next his contract to 2020 season • aged 33, he’s the only player in the French side to have ever won the CL

EC trophies: CL 2011, 2015 EURO: G 2018, B 2014; WCh: G 2013

Adrien Dipanda Miroslav Jurka right back right wing • played in Montpellier before moving to Ademar • arrived in 2013 from Hlohovec in Slovakia, Leon and then to Saint-Raphael in 2012 alongside his wife Helena Sterbova, also a handball player • late bloomer, he played mostly in defence until his arrival in Saint-Raphael - there, he developed • his integration was made easier by his compatriot into a complete player Jan Stehlik, who used to translate everything for him during his first months in France • also was a late-comer to the national team, in which he now is a regular fixture • his special trick is long distance inflight-goals coming often from the goalkeeper on fast breaks • was the only valid right-back in the team during the four first months of the season, due to Xavier • Czech Republic international player, he took part Barachet’s wrist injury in the WCh 2015 in Qatar, but missed the last Euro due to the birth of his son EURO: B 2018, OG: S 2016; WCh: G 2017

19 SC Magdeburg (GER) When the EHF announced its decision in December, happiness was huge in Magdeburg: the EHF Champions League winners in 2002 will host the EHF Cup Finals on 19-20 May 2018. After Berlin (2014 and 2015) and Göppingen (2017), the final tournament will be held in Germany for the fourth time. And Magdeburg hope to go all the way, just like Göppingen did when they took the title on home court last season.

SC Magdeburg, by far the most successful Eastern German club since the reunification, hope to raise their fourth EHF Cup trophy. They won the title under the old format of the competition in 1999, 2001 and 2007. And, like all previous EHF Cup Finals hosts, they took advantage of their group win courtesy of which they advanced directly to the finals. In the group phase they dropped just the last game at Bjerringbro-Silkeborg.

Last season, Magdeburg were part of the EHF Cup Finals for the first time. They lost their semi-final against eventual winners and hosts Göppingen, and finished third after beating Saint-Raphael in a penalty shoot-out. Playing hall GETEC-Arena - Bördelandhalle Coach: Bennet Wiegert (GER) Berliner Chaussee 32 Nations represented in the squad: 10(GER, DEN, SRB, CRO, NOR, SWE, POL, AUT, SLO, RUS) 39114 Magdeburg Germany Top scorers: Capacity: 7,800 Matthias Musche 39 Robert Weber 31 Lukas Mertens 27

Club Address: GROUP A Final Table: SC Magdeburg Handball magdeburg GmbH 1. SC Magdeburg 6 5 0 1 192 : 157 (35) 10 Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 68 2. Bjerringbro-Silkeborg 6 3 0 3 166 : 167 (-1) 6 39114 Magdeburg, Germany 3. SKA Minsk 6 2 1 3 177 : 178 (-1) 5 4. TATRAN Presov 6 1 1 4 146 : 179 (-33) 3 Media contact: Olaf Scholz Road to the semi-finals: Past achievements 0049 171 6562395 EHF Cup [email protected] Quarter-final Winners (3): 1998/99, 2000/01, 2006/07 bye Runners-up (1): 2004/05 Online information: Third place (1): 2016/17 Website: www.scm-handball.de Group Phase Quarter-final (1):2012/13 Facebook: SCMagdeburg @ SKA Minsk W31:33 (19:17) Last 16 (1): 1999/00 Twitter: @SCMagdeburg vs Bjerringbro-Silkeborg W33:26 (15:12) @ TATRAN Presov W19:29 (11:16) Other vs TATRAN Presov W36:24 (22:12) VELUX EHF Champions League: 2001/02 vs SKA Minsk W35:30 (17:15) winners, 2003/04 @ Bjerringbro-Silkeborg L27:26 (12:11) semi-finals, 2002/03 quarter-final Champions Trophy: 2000/01, 2001/02 Qualification Round 3 winners Kit colours vs HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta W27:25 (13:10) Light @ HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta L27:26 (15:15) Cup Winners’ Cup: 1996/97 semi-finals, Player shirt: white/red 2007/08 quarterfinals Player short: white/red Goalkeeper shirt: yellow German league: 12 titles (outdoor 1967, Dark indoor 1970, 1977, Player shirt: green/red 1980-85, 1988, 1991 - all GDR, 2001) Player short: green/red Goalkeeper shirt: red German cup: 7 titles (1970, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1990 - all GDR, 1996, 2016)

20 Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals 25 Marko Bezjak SLO Centre Back 26/06/1986 Ptuj, SLO 184 87 10 4 Hannes Bransche GER Right Back 06/01/1999 Nordhausen, GER 196 85 3 Piotr Chrapkowski POL Left Back 24/03/1988 Goreczno, POL 202 100 15 20 DEN Left Back 03/05/1986 Næstved, DEN 194 92 15 34 Michael Damgaard Nielsen DEN Left Back 18/03/1990 Lolland, DEN 192 95 19 9 Niklas Danowski GER Line Player 11/07/1998 Magdeburg, GER 187 93 1 Lukas Diedrich GER Goalkeeper 28/03/2000 Northeim, GER 189 90 15 Yves Grafenhorst GER Left Wing 15/03/1984 Stassfurt, GER 186 84 16 Jannick Green Krejberg DEN Goalkeeper 29/09/1988 Lemvig, DEN 195 94 1 10 Jakob Hensen GER Centre Back 23/06/1998 Dessau, GER 190 89 29 Gleb Kalarash RUS Line Player 29/11/1990 Moscow, RUS 205 95 11 9 Justus Kluge GER Left Wing 24/12/1997 Magdeburg, GER 190 87 8 Justin Kurch GER Line Player 20/04/1999 Magdeburg, GER 198 100 22 Lukas Mertens GER Left Wing 22/03/1996 Wilhelmshaven, GER 182 85 27 12 Max Mohs GER Goalkeeper 12/11/1999 Magdeburg, GER 191 82 18 Carlos Molina Cosano ESP Left Back 31/05/1991 Barcelona, ESP 201 95 13 Juan Munoz de la Pena ESP Centre Back 04/04/1996 Madrid, ESP 192 90 4 2 Zeljko Musa CRO Line Player 08/01/1986 Mostar, CRO 200 103 9 6 Matthias Musche GER Left Wing 18/07/1992 Magdeburg, GER 186 75 39 24 Christian O’Sullivan NOR Centre Back 22/08/1991 Oslo, NOR 190 89 24 11 Daniel Pettersson SWE Right Wing 06/05/1992 Eskilstuna, SWE 179 72 14 21 Dario Quenstedt GER Goalkeeper 22/09/1989 Burg, GER 190 93 1 5 Leon Rastner GER Left Back 09/03/1998 Santander, ESP 191 91 28 Robert Weber AUT Right Wing 25/11/1985 Bregenz, AUT 179 76 31 31 Tim Wiebe GER Left Back 23/05/1996 Rostock, GER 197 95 42 Nemanja Zelenovic SRB Left Back 27/02/1990 Knin, CRO 194 93 25

21 Bennet Wiegert Jannick Green coach goalkeeper • part of the SCM squad from 1998 until 2013, with • his mother was Danish international, his father the exception of only three years and won the CL was his coach at Lemvig and his younger brothers with Magdeburg in 2002 plays for Aalborg in the first Danish division • former German international on the left wing • was Danish champion and EHF CL participant with two different clubs: Aalborg and Bjerringbro • appointed new coach in December 2015 as successor of Geir Sveinsson • joined Magdeburg in 2014; currently fights with Flensburg’s Kevin Möller for the second goalkeeper • his father Ingolf (Olympic champion as a player in position in the Danish team below Niklas Landin 1980) was also Magdeburg coach • just extended his contract until 2020 • director of the SCM youth academy until December 2015 EC trophies: CL 2002 (as player) OG: G 2016; EURO S 2014; WCh S 2013

Matthias Musche Michael Damgaard left wing left back • plays for SCM since he was eight years old, • before he joined SCM played for Gudme (2008- excluding the 2012/13 season when he was on loan 10) and Holstebro (2010-15) at Schwerin • part of the first EHF Cup Finals 2013 in Nantes • had his Bundesliga debut with Magdeburg at the with Holstebro, finishing third age of 19 • his brother Allan left Holstebro at the same time • part of all the age categories of the German to Hamburg, but is back in Denmark (Bjerringbro) national team; had his debut for the men’s team in • back-up of in the Danish national 2014; part of the squad at the WCh 2015 in Qatar team • SCM’s best EHF Cup scorer at moment with 39 goals OG: G 2016

Gleb Kalarash Marko Bezjak line player centre back • arrived at Magdeburg from Motor Zaporozhye • arrived from Gorenje Velenje in 2013 last summer • Slovenian champion three times and gained • his father Vladislav had already been professional Champions League experience handball player - and had played for several German • in long Slovenian tradition is more a classical clubs playmaker than a shooter • the translation of his first name means “bread” • shares the position with Norwegian Christian in Russian O’Sullivan • loves to sing traditional Russian songs. • currently part of the Slovenian national team and • replaced German EURO champion , was Olympian with them in Rio who joined MT Melsungen. WCh: B 2017

Nemanja Zelenovic Robert Weber right back right wing • plays for his fourth club in the fourth different • top Austrian scorer at the EHF EURO 2014 and the country after Serbia, Slovenia and Poland 2015 WCh; scored more than 500 for Austria • after playing for Red Star Belgrade, Celje and • scored more than 1,900 goals for Magdeburg Plock was supposed to join Magdeburg in summer since his arrival in 2009, before this he played for 2016, but already arrived in November 2015 as Balingen (Germany) and Hard (Austria) • SCM faced severe injury problems in the right • Bundesliga top scorer in 2014/15 with 271 goals back position (as first ever Magdeburg player in history), runners- up in the 2016/17 season • will join defending EHF Cup champions Frisch Auf Göppingen next season • counter-attack and penalty throw specialist

22 Semi-final 2 FRISCH AUF! Göppingen vs Füchse Berlin

GETEC Arena, Magdeburg Saturday 19 May, 17:00 hrs. local time LIVE ON EHFTV.COM Referees: Peter Brunovsky, Vladimir Canda (SVK) Delegates: Urmo Sitsi (EST), Oyvind Togstad (NOR)

The re-match of last year’s final one round earlier For the second time in a row, two German teams face in the against Arendal from Norway. Like in the 2016/17 season, semi-final of the EHF Cup Finals, and for the second time in Göppingen won all six group matches, and like in the previous a row, Frisch Auf Göppingen are part of it. After beating this year, Brack’s club is much more successful in the EHF Cup year’s host SC Magdeburg on home ground in 2017 to pave compared to Bundesliga - proved for example by the two the way for the final, now they lock horns with Füchse Berlin clear defeats against Füchse in the current season (19:33 at - their 2017 final opponent, which they beat 30:22 to raise Berlin, 32:38 on home ground). the trophy. Now the Foxes including former Frisch Auf coach Velimir Petkovic are out to strike back. “Again it is our only chance to qualify for the EHF Cup by winning the trophy,” says Brack, for whom Füchse have the • Göppingen are record EHF Cup champions with four wider squad with higher qualities. Some of his players such titles, each two in the old and new format. as Tomas Urban (definitely out) or Allan Damgaard, Daniel • Tim Kneule can win his fifth individual trophy with Fontaine, Anton Halen and Jens Schöngarth (all in question) Göppingen. are injured, but Berlin is hit by injuries too: defence boss • Göppingen and Berlin had become EHF Cup winners in Marko Kopljar is ruled out as well as his Croatian country the new format on home ground fellow Stipe Mandalinic - some others such as line player Erik Schmidt are in question. Since December 2016, when Velimir Petkovic became coach of Füchse Berlin, his side faced Frisch Auf Göppingen five “Last year, we played a dominant season, Göppingen were times - and beat Petkovic’s former club four times. Berlin’s weak in Bundesliga - but when it came to the EHF Cup final, only defeat was a truly painful one, as they lost the 2016/17 everything was turned around,” says Petkovic, who expects EHF Cup Finals at Göppingen 22:30 and had to look up to the a “classical 50:50 encounter”. While Göppingen quite easily winners’ podium, where Frisch Auf received their fourth EHF cruised through their quarter-finals against Chambery, Cup trophy. winning both matches home and away, Berlin needed a miracle to make it to Magdeburg: Füchse lost the first leg The first two titles in the old EHF Cup format happened in 20:28 at Nexe (Croatia) after a quite uninspired performance, 2011 and 2012 - and Petkovic was the mastermind behind but then were pushed by more than 5,000 fans in their arena this success. In 2013, both side went separate ways. But even to a sensational 25:16 home win. the next trophy winning coach is out of duty at the defending EHF Cup winners: although he steered Frisch Auf to the titles The match will be a special experience for Croatian line player in 2016 and 2017, Swedish coach Magnus Andersson was Kresimir Kozina, who had his last international match for sacked in autumn 2017 and replaced by “Handball Professor” Füchse in the 2017 final, before he joined Göppingen. While Rolf Brack. He continued, where Andersson had stopped - as approximately 200 fans from Göppingen are expected in the Göppingen have the most impressive series of success in the GETEC Arena, Berlin will count on around 400 supporters history of this competition: since the 27:29 defeat in the first from the German capital. Berlin’s Danish right wing Hans leg of the 2015/16 quarter-final at Magdeburg, Frisch Auf Lindberg can hope for even two trophies at Magdeburg - as are unbeaten, with 21 victories and only one draw, which the 2016/17 overall top scorer is currently again on top of the funny enough occurred in the qualification of this season top scorer list by 67 goals.

Head-to-head stats in the EC competitions:

Frisch Auf Göppingen vs Füchse Berlin 1-0-0 (30:22) 2:0 21.05.2017 Füchse Berlin vs Frisch Auf Göppingen, EHF Cup Finals – Final 22:30 (13:15)

Head-to-head stats in the domestic competitions: Frisch Auf Göppingen vs Füchse Berlin 11-2-16

23 FRISCH AUF! Göppingen (GER) They were the first club to defend their EHF Cup trophy after the new system was implemented in the 2012/13 season. And following their victory on home court in May, Frisch Auf Göppingen have become the record winners of the competition, leading fellow German sides THW Kiel and SC Magdeburg, who won the trophy three times in the old format.

No team has been more dominant in the old and new version of the EHF Cup as Göppingen have taken the title four times in seven seasons between 2011 and 2017 And they are hungry for more success as the Men's EHF Cup Group Phase in February. Despite the great success on international level, the 12-time German champions fired their Swedish coach Magnus Andersson at the end of September. The reason was the lack of success in the Bundesliga. Playing hall One of the most experienced German handball coaches took over: Rolf Brack, who EWS Arena Göppingen steered Balingen for more than a decade and later was the Swiss national team coach Nördlichen Ringstrasse 87 The sports and handball professor at the Stuttgart University had a debut at the age 73033 Göppingen of 64: The EHF Cup Qualification Round 3 matches against OIF Arendal in November Germany were his first ever international games on club level. After a surprising draw on home Capacity: 5,600 court, the defending champions beat the Norwegian side 31:21 in the away game 10 days later. In the group phase they cruised past their opponents in all games and clinched their ticket to Magdeburg thanks to two clear wins over Chambery in the quarter-finals.

Club Address: Coach: Rolf Brack (GER) Frisch Auf Göppingen Nations represented in the squad: 7(GER, DEN, SRB, CRO, SWE, SLO, SVK) Leonhard Weiss -Strasse 40 73037 Göppingen Top scorers: Germany Marcel Schiller 57 Kresimir Kozina 34 Media contact: Daniel Fontaine 28 Alexander Kolb +49 7161 965 975 90 GROUP C Final Table: [email protected] 1. Frisch Auf Göppingen 6 6 0 0 177 : 144 (33) 12 Online information: 2. RK Nexe 6 4 0 2 164 : 152 (12) 8 Website: www.frischauf-gp.de 3. RD Koper 6 1 0 5 152 : 168 (-16) 2 Facebook: frischaufgp 4. Cocks 6 1 0 5 143 : 172 (-29) 2 Twitter: @FRISCHAUFGP

Road to the semi-finals: Past achievements Quarter-final @ Chambery Savoie MBH W27:30 (11:19) EHF Cup vs Chambery Savoie MBH W31:27 (18:13) Winners (4): 2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16, 2016/17 Group Phase Runners-up (1): 2005/06 Kit colours vs RK Nexe W30:27 (16:15) EHF Cup Finals (3): fourth ranked 2013 Light @ RD Koper W20:25 (10:15) Quarter-final (1): 2009/10 Player shirt: white @ Cocks W20:31 (12:14) Player short: green vs Cocks W33:27 (13:12) Other Goalkeeper shirt: red @ RK Nexe W24:27 (8:15) Dark vs RD Koper W31:26 (17:11) German league: 11 titles (outdoor 1954, Player shirt: green 1957, indoor 1954, Player short: white Qualification Round 3 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1970, Goalkeeper shirt: blue vs OIF Arendal D27:27 (14:15) 1972) @ OIF Arendal W21:31 (9:15)

24 Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals 14 Jacob Bagersted DEN Line Player 25/03/1987 København, DEN 194 109 23 7 Allan Damgaard Espersen DEN Centre Back 11/04/1986 Nysted, DEN 185 88 21 17 Daniel Fontaine GER Left Back 02/07/1989 Saarlouis, GER 194 95 28 3 Tobias Gehrke GER Left Wing 05/01/1996 Esslingen, GER 178 80 30 Anton Halen SWE Right Wing 28/11/1990 Helgum, SWE 192 90 3 10 Sebastian Heymann GER Left Back 01/03/1998 Heilbronn, GER 198 93 9 4 Tim Kneule GER Centre Back 18/08/1986 Reutlingen, GER 190 96 21 44 Kresimir Kozina CRO Line Player 25/06/1990 Derventa, CRO 196 99 34 22 Linus Mathes GER Goalkeeper 03/09/1996 Berlin, GER 193 88 31 Jochen Nägele GER Right Wing 26/05/1993 Geislingen, GER 188 87 8 26 Adrian Pfahl GER Right Back 30/07/1982 Bietigheim-Biss., GER 192 92 2 16 Primoz Prost SLO Goalkeeper 14/07/1983 Trbovlje, SLO 186 96 1 12 Daniel Rebmann GER Goalkeeper 16/01/1994 Stuttgart, GER 190 94 1 27 Marco Rentschler GER Right Wing 28/12/1994 Bietigheim-Biss., GER 185 82 18 2 Jan Reusch GER Centre Back 08/02/1996 Bad Urach, GER 180 80 5 Joscha Ritterbach GER Left Wing 31/01/1994 Lengerich, GER 183 83 19 24 Marcel Schiller GER Left Wing 15/08/1991 Bad Urach, GER 189 94 57 33 Jens Schöngarth GER Right Back 07/12/1988 Emmendingen, GER 203 108 26 15 Zarko Sesum SRB Left Back 16/06/1986 Backa Palanka, SRB 195 97 23 13 Alexander Trost GER Right Wing 12/05/1981 Nürtingen, GER 179 76 2 20 Tomas Urban SVK Right Wing 17/09/1989 Kosice, SVK 188 85

25 Rolf Brack Primoz Prost coach goalkeeper • started his coaching career 34 years ago and • has gained EHF Champions League experience coached Göppingen before from 1994 to 1996 with Velenje, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and Montpellier • had his longest period coaching German Bundesliga • French champion with Montpellier, at the side of team HBW Balingen from 2004 to September 2013 players like Nikola Karabatic • coached the Swiss national team for three years • joined Frisch Auf Göppingen in summer 2013 • became successor of Swedish Magnus Andersson, • has played more than 80 matches for the who had steered Frisch Auf to the 2016 and 2017 EHF Slovenian national team, with the highlight being Cup trophies the 2013 WCh in Spain (semi-finals) • besides his coaching job is professor of physical education at the Stuttgart university EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016, 2017

Marcel Schiller Zarko Sesum left wing left back • started his career in Neuhausen; German youth • born in the same Serbian city, Backa Palanka, champion with Neuhausen like THW Kiel’s right back Marko Vujin; like Vujin, he transferred to Veszprem, in 2010 switched for Rhein- • arrived at Göppingen in 2013 after scoring 172 Neckar Löwen, then for Frisch Auf Bundesliga goals for Neuhausen in the 2012/13 season • severely injured (skull fracture) during an incident • had his debut in the Men’s national team last in a night club in Veszprem in 2009, when his former autumn against Switzerland teammate Marian Cozma was killed • currently Göppingen’s best scorer of the EHF Cup • MVP of the EHF Cup Finals 2016 in Nantes 2015/16 (57 goals) • will join Kadetten Schaffhausen after this season

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016, 2017 EC trophies: EHF Cup 2013, 2016, 2017 EURO: S 2012

Tim Kneule Kresimir Kozina centre back line player • like many others in the Göppingen squad played • started his career at Croatian side Zamet, then in the youth programme of TV Neuhausen joined EHF Cup participant Nexe at the age of 21 • joined Frisch Auf at the age of 20 in 2006 • left to Austrian side Alpla Hard in 2013, became two times domestic champion and scored 279 goals • part of the successful German younger age for them category teams, which became U20 EURO champions in 2006 and runners-up at the U21 WCh • after half of a season at SG Flensburg-Handewitt 2007 (at the side of ) in October 2015, he joined Füchse Berlin in 2016 • needed six more years to have his debut in the • had his last international match for Füchse in last German men’s team in 2012; has played 27 times for year’s EHF Cup final against Göppingen, his new club the men’s team EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 EURO: B 2016

Adrian Pfahl Marco Rentschler right back/right wing right wing • started his career close to Göppingen, in Oßweil, • another local hero, as he is born at Bietigheim, before joining Dormagen and later Gummersbach where he played until 2015. • joined Hamburg right after HSV became CL • scored 84 goals to steer his former side to winner, in January 2016 transferred to Göppingen Bundesliga in 2014. • has played 61 internationals for Germany • right after his transfer to Göppingen, he tore his including the 2011 & 2013 WCh and the EURO 2012 ACT and was out for several month • only player in the squad with five EC trophies • studies business administration besides handball • has scored more than 1,000 goals in German • shares the position with Anton Halen Bundesliga, highlighted by 225 goals in 2010/11 • will finish career after this season

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2009, 2016; 2017, CWC 2010, 2011 EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016, 2017

26 Füchse Berlin (GER)

During six years of participation in European club competitions, Füchse Berlin have made it to the finals’ event four times. They have done it three times in the Men’s EHF Cup. In 2014 (third) and 2015 (champions), the ‘Foxes’ hosted the event in Berlin; in 2017 (finalists) they lost to hosts Frisch Auf Göppingen. Füchse also qualified for the VELUX EHF FINAL4 as debutant in the competition in 2011. And twice they won the IHF Super Globe, in 2015 and 2016.

At the EHF EURO, Füchse were the only EHF Cup participants with a player in the All-star Team as Jakov Gojun of Croatia was named best defender. Swedish right wing Mattias Zachrisson returned with a silver medal but the German and Croatian players were rather disappointed after missing out on the semi-finals.

Serbian international Petar Nenadic moved to Veszprém in the winter break (and has been replaced by Zagreb’s Stipe Mandalinic) while German international missed the group phase after injuring his right knee at the EHF EURO in Croatia, but returned to the squad for the quarter-finals against Nexe.

Following an unexpected eight-goal defeat in the first game in Croatia Füchse Playing hall struggled also in the return leg and shortly after the break they led only by two goals. Max-Schmeling-Halle Still the German club prevailed in a dramatic end and denied Nexe in their bid for a Falkplatz 1 EHF Cup Finals premiere. 10437 Berlin Germany Coach: Velimir Petkovic (GER) Capacity: 8,521 Nations represented in the squad: 7(GER, DEN, ISL, CRO, SWE, ESP, CZE)

Top scorers: Club Address: Hans Lindberg 67 Füchse Berlin Steffen Fäth 39 Markgrafenstraße 34 Mattias Zachrisson 28 10117 Berlin Germany GROUP B Final Table:

Media contact: 1. Füchse Berlin 6 5 0 1 185 : 154 (31) 10 Ronald Maier 2. Saint-Raphael Var Handball 6 5 0 1 183 : 165 (18) 10 +49 1727185040 3. Helvetia Anaitasuna 6 2 0 4 174 : 201 (-27) 4 [email protected] 4. Lugi HF 6 0 0 6 169 : 191 (-22) 0

Online information: Website: www.fuechse-berlin.de Road to the semi-finals: Past achievements Facebook: fuechseberlin Twitter: @FuechseBerlin Quarter-final EHF Cup @ RK Nexe L28:20 (12:9) Winners (1): 2014/15 vs RK Nexe W25:16 (14:9) EHF Cup Finals (3): runners-up 2016/17, third place 2013/14, Group Phase Kit colours winners 2014/15 Light vs Saint-Raphael Var H. L21:26 (7:13) Qualification Round 3 (1): 2015/16 Player shirt: white @ Lugi HF W27:32 (16:12) Player short: grey @ Helvetia Anaitasuna W28:30 (11:17) Other Goalkeeper shirt: yellow vs Helvetia Anaitasuna W34:23 (17:10) VELUX EHF Champions League: Dark @ Saint-Raphael Var H. L25:34 (12:17) 2011/12 VELUX EHF FINAL4 Player shirt: blue vs Lugi HF W34:25 (17:12) - fourth place, 2012/13 Last 16 Player short: blue Goalkeeper shirt: red Qualification Round 3 IHF Super Globe: winners 2015, 2016 @ Futebol Clube do Porto W27:30 (12:14) German cup: 1 title (2014) vs Futebol Clube do Porto W33:25 (17:12)

27 Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals 19 Cyrill Akakpo GER Right Wing 01/10/1997 Berlin, GER 186 88 11 Tim Bielzer GER Centre Back 07/11/1997 Berlin, GER 195 104 95 Paul Drux GER Left Back 07/02/1995 Gummersbach, GER 192 92 5 4 Bjarki Mar Elisson ISL Left Wing 16/05/1990 Reykjavik, ISL 191 88 21 23 Steffen Fäth GER Left Back 04/04/1990 Frankfurt a.M., GER 194 90 39 20 Fynn Ole Fritz GER Left Back 03/05/1997 Berlin, GER 194 94 16 Frederik Genz GER Goalkeeper 08/03/1997 Waldbröl, GER 194 93 27 Erik Gerntke GER Right Back 14/05/1999 Herzberg, GER 190 88 1 10 Jakov Gojun CRO Left Back 18/04/1986 Split, CRO 203 112 6 12 GER Goalkeeper 21/10/1984 Bad Langensalza, GER 194 92 2 22 Konstantin Karch GER Goalkeeper 07/05/1999 Heidelberg, GER 190 86 77 Johan Koch DEN Line Player 29/11/1990 Svendborg, DEN 185 91 12 35 Marko Kopljar CRO Right Back 12/02/1986 Pozega, CRO 210 108 24 18 Hans Lindberg DEN Right Wing 01/08/1981 Höje Taastrup, DEN 188 88 67 9 Stipe Mandalinic CRO Left Back 09/09/1992 Split, CRO 195 90 9 31 Tim Matthes GER Left Wing 05/05/1999 Berlin, GER 180 80 38 Torben Matzken GER Centre Back 01/02/2000 Mons, BEL 188 81 5 Oliver Milde GER Left Back 09/07/1993 Berlin, GER 193 90 7 26 Maximilian Mißling GER Right Back 29/07/1998 Wolfsburg, GER 190 90 13 Petar Nenadic SRB Centre Back 28/06/1986 Beograd, SRB 198 80 12 17 Ignacio Plaza Jimenez ESP Line Player 10/01/1994 Ciudad Real, ESP 195 102 29 Mex Raguse GER Left Back 07/12/1999 Berlin, GER 195 91 1 Joshua Rau GER Goalkeeper 01/11/1999 Berlin, GER 194 80 43 Christoph Reißky GER Right Back 11/08/1995 Freiberg, GER 187 80 14 Kuno Schauer GER Centre Back 07/11/1998 Berlin, GER 189 82 28 Erik Schmidt GER Line Player 28/12/1992 Mainz, GER 204 101 15 37 Julius Schröder GER Centre Back 24/04/1998 Gummersbach, GER 188 84 24 Frederik Simak GER Left Back 24/01/1998 Gengenbach, GER 196 100 2 71 Petr Stochl CZE Goalkeeper 24/04/1976 Pilsen, CZE 195 93 1 7 Kevin Struck GER Left Wing 31/12/1996 Berlin, GER 193 87 9 25 Rolando Urios Gonzales ESP Line Player 10/04/1999 La Havanna, CUB 193 110 6 Drago Vukovic CRO Centre Back 03/08/1983 Split, CRO 194 92 8 3 Fabian Wiede GER Right Back 08/02/1994 Belzig, GER 192 89 25 21 Mattias Zachrisson SWE Right Wing 22/08/1990 Huddinge, SWE 178 86 28

28 Velimir Petkovic Silvio Heinevetter coach goalkeeper • born in former Yugoslavia, but with German • goalkeeping stalwart of the German national citizenship now team • as player won the European Champions Cup in • his former goalkeeper coach at SC Magdeburg 1976 with Borac Banja Luka was legendary Wieland Schmidt (Olympic champion 1980) • as coach of the same club he won the IHF Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991 • famous for his unusual style of saving shots dating with a German TV star Simone Thomalla • after his six-year stint with Wetzlar he was at the helm of Frisch Auf Göppingen for nearly ten • currently has 173 international matches for years steering them to two EHF Cup titles and the Germany on his account premiere edition of the EHF Cup Finals in 2013

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, IHF CWC 1991 (as coach), Champions Cup 1976 (as EC trophies: EHF Cup 2007, 2015 Player) OG: B 2016

Bjarki Mar Elisson Paul Drux left wing left back • discovered by his fellow country man and • born in Gummersbach, discovered by Füchse former Füchse coach Erlingur Richardsson Berlin, when he was 16 • was already playing two years in Germany • All-star player at the Men’s 20 EHF EURO 2014 (Eisenach), before he joining Füchse in 2015 in Austria, where he led the Germans to the gold medal like at the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2012 • had his debut with the Icelandic national team in 2012 - but has to face the strong competition • just recovered from a meniscus injury occurred at with Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson in the same position the EHF EURO 2018 • one of Füchse’s counter attack specialists • missed several top events due to long-term injuries • known as the joker of the team

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015 EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015 OG: B 2016

Steffen Fäth Erik Schmidt centre back line player • was the first and so far only “IHF Rookie of the • TSG Friesenheim (Ludwigshafen) was his first Year” 2010 Bundesliga club • was EHF EURO U18 champion and U21 World • from 2015 until 2017, he played for TSG Champion Hannover-Burgdorf • after playing for Wallau, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and • at Hannover, he had his first EHF Cup Gummersbach he settled down at Wetzlar in 2010 participation and become national team player • after six years and becoming national team • rather an attack player than a defence specialist player, he joined Berlin in 2016; will return to Löwen • replaced Kresimir Kozina, who left from Berlin to after this season Göppingen • can either play on left back or centre back

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2010 EURO: G 2016 EHF EURO: G2016, OG B 2016

Fabian Wiede Hans Lindberg right back right wing • transferred from Potsdam to Füchse’s youth team • joined Berlin after a long stint with HSV Hamburg in Berlin at the age of 15; since then (in youth and • was top scorer of the Champions League season senior competitions) won ten titles with Füchse 2012/13; top scorer of the Bundesliga in 2012/13 • the loss in the EHF Cup Final in 2017 marked the and WCh 2013 All-star team member first time he and club director Bob Hanning made it • started his career in Viborg; his nickname in to a final of a competition and didn't win it during his days with Viborg was “majestæt” • made his debut in the German national team at • has played more than 240 times for the Danish the age of 19 national team since 2007 • started an apprenticeship at a bank in Berlin only • EHF Cup top scorer in the 2016/17 season and two days after becoming EURO champion in 2016 leader in 2017/18

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015 EC trophies: CL 2013 EURO: G 2016, OG: B 2016 EURO: G 2008, G 2012, S 2014, WCh S 2011, S 2013, B 2007

29 Important regulations Extra-time and penalty throws All matches of the Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals shall be played in 2 x 30 minutes. If a semi-final match or the final ends in a draw, there will be a five minutes break followed by one extra time of 2 x 5 minutes, there will be a one minute half-time break at half-time for the changeover of teams. If the extra-time ends in a draw, the match will be decided by penalty throws.

If the placement match 3/4 ends in a draw, there shall be no extra time, the match will be decided directly by penalty throws.

If penalty throws are needed to decide the match, the procedure is as follows:

• At the Technical Meeting the teams will be • In the second round, a decision is reached when informed at which goal the penalty throws will a goal difference arises after both teams have be taken. The team taking the first penalty throw taken one throw each. shall be determined by the referees by drawing • Eligible players are players entered in the match lots. The team winning the draw may choose report that have not been disqualified or whether it wishes to throw first or last. suspended at the time of the final whistle. • Prior to the penalty throws, each team shall • Serious infractions committed during penalty name five players eligible to play at the end of the throws shall be sanctioned by disqualification. match by handing the referees a list of numbers. If a thrower is disqualified or suffers an injury, These players shall then take one throw each, an eligible substitute player shall be additionally alternating with their opponents. Each team is named. free to determine the sequence in which throwers will take their throws. • While the throws are being taken, only the player taking the throw, the current goalkeeper and the • The goalkeepers may be freely selected from the referees may enter the respective half of the match report and exchanged in accordance playing court. with the Rules of the Game. Goalkeepers may take throws and throwers may perform • If the number of eligible players falls below five, as goalkeepers. players may be named to take a second throw in the same round. • If the scores are equal after the first round of penalty throws, 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).

30 Sunday’s matches Sunday, 20 May 2018 3/4 Placement Match (12:45 hrs): Loser Saint-Raphael/Magdeburg vs Loser Göppingen/Füchse Referees: Ivan Mosorinski, Aleksandar Pandzic (SRB)

Final (17:00 hrs): Winner Saint-Raphael/Magdeburg vs Loser Göppingen/Füchse Referees: Per Olesen, Claus Gramm Pedersen (DEN) Potential head-to-heads Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin 2-0-3 (133:144) 4:6 19.02.2017 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)

Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Frisch Auf Göppingen No previous encounters in European competitions

Füchse Berlin vs SC Magdeburg No previous encounters in European competitions (25 matches - 14 Füchse victories - 4 draws - 7 Magdeburg victories in the domestic competitions)

Frisch Auf Göppingen vs SC Magdeburg 2-0-1 (91:83) 4:2 23.04.2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen vs SC Magdeburg, EHF Cup – Quarter-final 31:25 (13:11) 27.04.2016 SC Magdeburg vs Frisch Auf Göppingen, EHF Cup – Quarter-final 29:27 (17:13) 20.05.2017 SC Magdeburg vs Frisch Auf Göppingen, EHF Cup Finals – Semi-final 29:33 (14:16) (42 matches - 12 Göppingen victories - 4 draws - 26 Magdeburg victories in the domestic competitions)

Impact on the distribution of places in 2018/19

According to the EHF Place Distribution for the 2018/19 season Germany basically has a total of two places in the Champions League available and three places in the EHF Cup. Considering the results of the German Cup Final Four, where Rhein-Neckar Löwen beat Hannover in the final, the two teams ranked No 1 and 2 of the Bundesliga can register for the Champions League, while the third placed as well as the fourth placed team can register for the EHF Cup together with Hannover as the losing team of the Cup final assuming that Rhein-Neckar Löwen will be among the two teams ranked either first or second after the last round of the season The Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals will have a large impact on the situation of the EHF Cup places. The following alternatives are possible:

Füchse Berlin or SC Magdeburg win the EHF Cup and also qualify for the EHF Cup via the domestic league. In this case Germany will have the right to register an additional team to the EHF Cup 2018/19 which then is a total of four teams.

If the winner of the EHF Cup will end the Bundesliga season on either first or second rank, this would not change the situation for the EHF Cup and still bring an additional place, so still a total of four places.

If Saint-Raphael wins the EHF Cup, Germany has no right for a fourth place , but could still request a fourth place which then would be awarded by the EHF or not, depending on the total number of registrations. The right for an additional place would then go the French federation.

If Frisch Auf Göppingen wins the EHF Cup the club is automatically qualified for the next season’s EHF Cup as defending champion. In this case, apart from the third and fourth ranked team and Hannover, no further team can be registered to the EHF Cup.

31 All-time stats of the EHF Cup Finals

All-time ranking 1. Frisch Auf Göppingen GER 6 4 0 2 172:158 +14 8:4 2. Füchse Berlin GER 6 4 0 2 165:157 +8 8:4 3. Rhein-Neckar Löwen GER 2 2 0 0 54:46 +8 4:0 4. Pick Szeged HUN 2 2 0 0 53:50 +3 4:0 5. HBC Nantes FRA 4 2 0 2 103:104 -1 4:4 6. Montpellier Agglomeration HB FRA 2 1 0 1 64:61 +3 2:2 7. Fraikin BM. Granollers ESP 2 1 0 1 51:48 +3 2:2 8. HSV Hamburg GER 2 1 0 1 54:53 +1 2:2 9. Skjern Handbold DEN 2 1 0 1 50:49 +1 2:2 10. SC Magdeburg GER 2 1 0 1 61:64 -3 2:2 11. Team Tvis Holstebro DEN 2 1 0 1 48:53 -5 2:2 12. HCM Constanta ROU 2 0 0 2 60:65 -5 0:4 13. Chambery Savoie Handball FRA 2 0 0 2 46:53 -7 0:4 14. Rk Gorenje Velenje SLO 2 0 0 2 46:54 -8 0:4 15. Saint-Raphael Var Handball FRA 2 0 0 2 55:67 -12 0:4

Most goals in one game Yves Grafenhorst 12 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32 Hans Lindberg 11 20.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-Füchse Berlin 24:35 Uwe Gensheimer 10 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26 Iuliu Alexandru Csepreghi 10 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36 Dragan Gajic 10 18.05.2014 Montpellier Agglomeration HB-Pick Szeged 28:29 Kentin Mahe 10 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27 David Resina Forns 10 14.05.2016 Fraikin BM. Granollers-HBC Nantes 26:27 Ferran Sole Sala 10 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25 Daniel Pettersson 10 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32 Dragan Gajic 9 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36 Marcel Schiller 9 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen 25:28 Cedric Paty 9 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25 Zarko Sesum 9 20.05.2017 SC Magdeburg-Frisch Auf Göppingen 29:33

Most goals in one match: 36 HCM Constanta 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36

Most goals in one match both teams: 68 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36

Least goals in one match : 20 Team Tvis Holstebro 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26

Least goals in one match both teams: 46 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26 46 17.05.2014 Füchse Berlin-Pick Szeged 22:24 46 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25

Biggest win at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: +11 20.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-Füchse Berlin 24:35

Most goals at half-time at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 18 Montpellier Agglomeration HB 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB (14:18)

Most goals at half-time both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 32 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB (14:18)

32 Least goals at half-time at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 7 Frisch Auf Göppingen 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen (7:12)

Least goals at half-time both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 19 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen (7:12)

Biggest gap at half-time at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: +7 Füchse Berlin 20.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-Füchse Berlin (10:17)

Biggest change from half-time score to full-time score at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 8 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen 25:28 (14:9)

Most penalty minutes at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 16’ Frisch Auf Göppingen 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 22:28 16’ Rhein-Neckar Löwen 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26

Most penalty minutes both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 28’ 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26

Least penalty minutes at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 2’ Rk Gorenje Velenje 17.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Skjern Handbold 22:27 2’ Chambery Savoie Handball 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen 25:28

Least penalty minutes both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 8’ 17.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Skjern Handbold 22:27

Most 7m throws at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 11 Saint-Raphael Var Handball 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32

Most 7m throws both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 20 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32

Least 7m throws at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 0 Team Tvis Holstebro 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26

Least 7m throws both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 3 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Most 7m throws scored at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 9 Saint-Raphael Var Handball 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32 9 SC Magdeburg 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32

Most 7m throws scored both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 18 21.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-SC Magdeburg 31:32

Least 7m throws scored at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 0 Team Tvis Holstebro 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26 0 Frisch Auf Göppingen 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Least 7m throws scored both teams at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: 2 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Disqualifications at Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals: Manuel Späth (Frisch Auf Göppingen) 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 22:28 Alexandru Viorel Simicu (HSV Hamburg) 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27 Bjarki Mar Elisson (Füchse Berlin) 20.05.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball-Füchse Berlin 24:35

33 Previous seasons’ top scorers

Season Name & nation Club Goals

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

Current top scorers Rank Name & nation Club Goals

1 Hans Lindberg (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 67 2 Raphael Caucheteux (FRA) Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) 62

Nico Rönnberg (FIN) Cocks (FIN) 62

4 Uladzislau Kulesh (BLR) SKA Minsk (BLR) 58

5 Sasa Barisic Jaman (SLO) RK Nexe (CRO) 57

Marcel Schiller (GER) Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 57

7 Lenny Rubin (SUI) Wacker Thun (SUI) 51

Vedran Zrnic (CRO) RK Nexe (CRO) 51

9 Fahrudin Melic (MNE) Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc H. (FRA) 49 10 Adrian Figueras (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 48

11 Jakub Hrstka (CZE) TATRAN Presov (SVK) 47

Nikolaj Oris Nielsen (DEN) Bjerringbro-Silkeborg (DEN) 47

13 Adam Bratkovic (SLO) RD Koper (SLO) 45

14 Marc Cañellas (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 41 Hampus Jildenbäck (SWE) Lugi HF (SWE) 41

16 Quentin Minel (FRA) Chambery Savoie Mont Blanc H. (FRA) 40 Raul Nantes Campos (BRA) Helvetia Anaitasuna (ESP) 40

David Resina Forns (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 40

19 Steffen Fäth (GER) Füchse Berlin (GER) 39

Matthias Musche (GER) SC Magdeburg (GER) 39

21 Adrien Dipanda (FRA) Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) 37

(Bold text indicates players that are still active in the competition.)

34 Past winners

2017 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)

2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)

2015 Füchse Berlin (GER)

2014 Pick Szeged (HUN)

2013 Rhein Neckar Löwen (GER)

Previous Men’s EHF Cup winners Previous Men’s Cup Winners’ Cup winners

2012 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 2012 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER) 2011 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 2011 VfL Gummersbach (GER) 2010 TBV Lemgo (GER) 2010 VfL Gummersbach (GER) 2009 VfL Gummersbach (GER) 2009 Pevafersa Valladolid (ESP) 2008 HSG Nordhorn (GER) 2008 MKB Veszprem KC (HUN) 2007 SC Magdeburg (GER) 2007 HSV Hamburg 2006 TBV Lemgo (GER) 2006 Chekhovski Medvedi (RUS) 2005 Tusem Essen (GER) 2005 C. BM Ademar Leon (ESP) 2004 THW Kiel (GER) 2004 Portland San Antonio (ESP) 2003 FC Barcelona (ESP) 2003 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP) 2002 THW Kiel (GER) 2002 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP) 2001 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER) 2001 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER) 2000 Metkovic Jumbo (CRO) 2000 Portland San Antonio (ESP) 1999 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER) 1999 Prosesa Ademar Leon (ESP) 1998 THW Kiel (GER) 1998 Caja Cantabria Santander (ESP) 1997 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER) 1997 Elgorriaga Bidasoa (ESP) 1996 BM Granollers (ESP) 1996 TBV Lemgo (GER) 1995 BM Granollers (ESP) 1995 FC Barcelona (ESP) 1994 Aliza Avidesa (ESP) 1994 FC Barcelona (ESP)

Ottostadt Magdeburg EHF Cup Finals 2018

Media Guide by

EHF Media & Communications, 16/05/2018

Contributors: Björn Pazen, Kevin Domas, all stats by Roy Knoppert

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