Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19 Group Phase Media Guide Table of contents

Foreword 4

Media contacts - EHF/M, club contacts 5

2018/19 Playing system diagram - stages & dates 6

EHF Cup Finals goes to Kiel 8

Playing system - organiser Kiel 9

Important regulations - ranking of teams 9

GROUP A

Head-to-head stats 11

Füchse Berlin 12

BM Logroño La Rioja 14

Saint-Raphael Var 17

Balatonfüredi KSE 20

GROUP B

Head-to-head stats 23

TSV Hannover Burgdof 24

Grundfos Tatabanya KC 27

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik 30

RK Nexe 33

2 Table of contents

GROUP C

Head-to-head stats 36

FC Porto Sofarma 37

TTH Holstebro 40

Liberbank Cuenca 43

HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta 46

GROUP D

Head-to-head stats 49

Fraiklin BM Granollers 50

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA 53

THW Kiel 56

GOG 59

Qualification top scorers 62

Past seasons’ winners 63

3 Foreword

Dear media representative,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Michael Wiederer EHF President

4 EHF/M Media contacts

Media matters TV and Radio

Vlado Brindzak Miguel Mateo Marcellán Media and Communications Media Manager European Handball EHF Marketing GmbH Federation +43 1 80 151 224 +43 1 80 151 161 [email protected] [email protected] Twitter: @ehfmedia

Clubs – media contacts

GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D

Füchse Berlin TSV Hannover-Burgdorf FC Porto Sofarma Fraikin BM. Granollers Stefan Güter Georg Müller Fernando Santos Josep Blanchart +49 177 4054946 +49 511 27041230 +351 22 5083100 +34 655 870435 [email protected] [email protected] secretaria.desportiva@ [email protected] fcporto.pt

BM Logroño La Rioja Grundfos Tatabanya KC TTH Holstebro KS Azoty-Pulawy SA Jaime Luis Gonzalez Gutierrez Katalin Marosi Line Kristoffersen Jerzy Witaszek +34 941 585295 +36 30 2807608 +45 28 459081 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

THW Kiel Saint-Raphael Var Handball HC Eurofarm Rabotnik Liberbank Cuenca Christian Robohm Jean Francois Krakowski Dimitar Mitrevski Javier Palacios Blanco +49 1635306300 +33 6 62719230 +389 71 231461 jpalacios@ christian.robohm@thw- [email protected] [email protected] balonmanociudadencantada.com handball.de

Balatonfüredi KSE RK Nexe HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta GOG Sport 2010 Tamás Bene Franjo Lelic Ionut Rudi Stanescu Kasper Jorgensen +36 20 9947383 +385 98 624437 [email protected] +45 62 252135 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

5 2018/2019 MEN'S EHF CUP Qualification Qualification Qualification Group Quarter EHF Cup Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Phase finals FINALS 22 teams 32 teams 32 teams 16 teams 8 teams 4 teams 01/02.09.2018 06/07.10.2018 17/18.11.2018 R1: 09/10.02.2019 20/21.04.19 17.-19.05.2019 first leg first leg first leg R2: 16/17.02.2019 first leg Tournament R3: 23/24.02.2019 played in semi-finals 08/09.09.2018 13/14.10.2018 24/25.11.2018 R4: 02/03.03.2019 27/28.04.19 and finals NATION second leg second leg second leg R5:23/24.03.2019 second leg in one venue R6:30/31.03.2019 DRAWS: 17.07.2018 17.07.2018 16.10.2018 29.11.2018 02.04.2019 30.04.2019 1 Def. Champ. Füchse Berlin 2 GER SC Magdeburg 3 ESP Fraikin BM Granollers 4 GER TSV Hannover-Burgdorf 5 ESP BM. Logrono La Rioja 6 DEN TTH Holstebro 7 HUN Grundfos Tatabanya KC 8 POL KS Azoty-Pulawy SA 9 MKD HC Eurofarm Rabotnik 10 GER THW Kiel 11 FRA St. Raphael var Handball 12 ESP Liberbank Cuenca 13 DEN GOG 14 SWE HK Malmö 15 HUN Balatonfüredi KSE 16 CRO RK Nexe 17 BLR SKA Minsk 18 SUI Pfadi Winterthur 19 SLO RD Riko Ribnica 20 ROU Dobrogea Sud Constanta 21 POL KPR 22 POR SL Benfica 23 NOR HK 24 ISL IBV Vestmannaeyjar 25 RUS HC Spartak 26 CZE HCB Karvina 27 UKR HC ZTR Zaporozhye 28 BEL Achilles Bocholt 29 ISR Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion 30 AUT ALPLA HC Hard 31 SRB HC Vojvodina 32 GRE Olympiacos S.F.P. 33 NED Heren Green Park Tigers1 34 MKD HC 62 35 FRA PAUC Handball 4 Winners4 of Quarterfinals 36 DEN Aalborg Handbold 37 HUN Sport36-Komlö 16 Winners16 of Round Qualification 3 38 CRO RK Dubrava 39 SUI 40 SLO RK Gorenje Velenje 41 ROU CSA Steaua Bucuresti 42 POR FC Porto 43 ISL Selfoss Phase Group the of group each of teams placed 2nd and 1st 44 CZE Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen

45 SRB RK Zeleznicar 1949 2 Round of Qualification 16 Winners 46 NED OCI-Lions 47 EST Pölva Serviti 48 KOS KH Besa Famgas 49 LUX HB Kaerjeng 50 LTU Dragunas Klaipeda 51 GEO BSB Batumi 52 GBR Glasgow HC 53 SWE Alingsas HK 54 CRO GRK Varazdin 1930 55 SUI BSV Bern 11 Winners of Qualification Round 1 Round of Qualification 11 Winners 56 SLO RD Koper 57 ROU AHC Potaissa Turda 58 ISL FH Hafnarfjordur 59 AUT SG Insignis HB West Wien

published version, 10.07.2018

6 7 Kiel to host the EHF Cup Finals in 2019

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

The tournament will take place on 17 and 18 May 2019 with the competitions' four best teams descending on the Sparkassen Arena in Kiel, Germany, which has a capacity of 10,285.

The first edition of the tournament took place in Nantes, France, which also hosted the tournament in 2016. In 2014 and 2015 Füchse Berlin staged the final tournament in the Max-Schmeling Halle in Berlin, while Göppingen was the venue in 2017. The last edition in 2018 was hosted by SC Magdeburg.

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

Playing hall Sparkassen-Arena-Kiel Europaplatz 1 24103 Kiel Germany Capacity: 10,285

Media Accreditation for the EHF Cup Finals

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

8 Playing system – organiser Kiel

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

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

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

Important regulations

Scoring of the matches and ranking

General After completion of the Group Phase if three or more teams All matches of the Men’s EHF Cup shall be played in 2 x 30 have scored the same number of points: minutes with a half-time break of 10 minutes. The EHF reserves the right to extend the half-time break in special circumstances a) number of points in matches of all teams directly involved to 15 minutes. b) goal difference in matches of all teams directly involved c) higher number of plus goals in matches of all teams directly The matches shall be scored as follows: a) win = 2 points b) involved draw = 1 point c) loss = 0 points d) goal difference in all matches of the group e) higher number of plus goals in all matches of the group; Teams’ rankings are obtained by adding up the number of points won. If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is Group Phase determined.

If two or more teams have scored the same number of points, If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained the ranking will be determined as follows: by drawing lots. Lots shall be drawn by the EHF, if possible in the presence of a responsible of each club. During the Group Phase: If one of the participating clubs is the organiser of the EHF a) higher goal difference in all matches; Cup Finals the ranking of the 2nd ranked teams of the Group b) greater number of plus goals in all matches; Phase is as follows:

After completion of the Group Phase if two teams have a) number of points in matches against all teams of the group; scored the same number of points: b) goal difference in those matches as mentioned in a); c) greater number of plus goals in those matches as mentioned a) number of points in matches of the two teams directly in a); involved b) goal difference in matches of the two teams directly involved If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained c) higher number of goals scored in the away match by drawing lots. Lots shall be drawn by the EHF, if possible in d) goal difference in all matches of the group the presence of a responsible of each club. e) higher number of plus goals in all matches of the group Find all the Men’s EHF Cup regulations on eurohandball.com

9 Group A head-to-heads Historic encounters of the Group A opponents in the EC

Füchse Berlin vs BM Logroño La Rioja No previous encounters in European competitions

Füchse Berlin vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball 4-0-2 (172:158) 8:4 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) 20.05.2018 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup Finals – Final 25:28 (13:14)

Füchse Berlin vs Balatonfüredi KSE No previous encounters in European competitions

BM Logroño La Rioja vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball No previous encounters in European competitions

BM Logroño La Rioja vs Balatonfüredi KSE No previous encounters in European competitions

Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Balatonfüredi KSE No previous encounters in European competitions

10 GROUP A Füchse Berlin (GER) FOXES DETERMINED TO OVERCOME TOUGH ROUTE TO FINAL In the past four seasons, they were finalists three times and raised the trophy in 2015 on home ground and 2018 in Magdeburg - now Füchse Berlin are out to go all the way to the EHF Cup Finals once again this season. There may have been a number of chances since last season, with the departures of German international Steffen Fäth and goalkeeper legend Petr Stochl and a long injury list, but hopes are high at Berlin. The opening match of the group phase will be a case of deja-vu for the Foxes as they face Saint-Raphael Var Handball in a repeat of last season’s final. Both clubs have locked horns six times in the past two seasons, each in the group phase, then at the EHF Cup Finals, once in the semi-finals, once in the final. “Again, we have not been lucky with the draw. La Rioja and Saint-Raphael Var are maybe the toughest possible opponents,” says coach Velimir Petkovic, adding: “But we feel confident and will give anything to reach the quarter-finals and the finals in Kiel.” Berlin welcome back new team captain , the two-time top scorer of the competition and newly crowned world champion with Denmark, and their German back court stars (WCh 2019 All Team player) and . Playing hall In contrast, Croatian defence specialist and German talent Max-Schmeling-Halle are ruled out with long-term injuries and the short-term contract of Tunisian Wael Falkplatz 1 Jallouz has ended. 10437 Berlin Their qualification victory against former Danish champions Aalborg was far from Germany easy, but on home court, Berlin turned things around and qualified, like in the 2017/18 Capacity: 8,521 quarter-finals when came from eight behind to beat Nexe. “The two matches against Aalborg were very tough. But now we have six games ahead of us to reach the next round. The international matches are very good for our young Club Address: players to make the next step in their development,” says Petkovic, who has previously Füchse Berlin steered Göppingen and Berlin to EHF Cup glory and believes the 2019 champions will Markgrafenstraße 34 again come from Germany. 10117 Berlin “The Bundesliga teams are always favourites, but this time THW Kiel stand out. Germany However, we have a good team too and want to give our best to defend our title.”

Media contact: Stefan Güter +49 177 4054946 Road to the Group Phase [email protected] EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Online information: 1st leg: @ Aalborg Handbold L 31:29 (13:13) Website: www.fuechse-berlin.de 2nd leg: vs Aalborg Handbold W 28:23 (11:13) Facebook: @fuechseberlin Aggregate score: 57:54 Instagram: @fuechse_berlin Twitter: @FuechseBerlin Newcomers: Jacob Tandrup Holm (Ribe-Esbjerg HH), Kit colours Simon Ernst (VfL Gummersbach), Mijajlo Light Marsenic (RK Vardar), Malte Semisch Player shirt: white (TSV Hannover-Burgdorf) Player short: grey Past achievements Goalkeeper shirt: yellow Left the club: Dark EHF Cup Steffen Fäth (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Player shirt: blue Winners (2): 2014/15, 2017/18 Drago Vuković (VfL Gummersbach), Petr Player short: blue Runners-up (2): 2016/17, 2013/14, Stochl (retired), Ignacio Plaza Jiménez (SC Goalkeeper shirt: red Qualification Round 3 (1): 2015/16 Magdeburg) Other Coach: Velimir Petkovic (since December VELUX EHF Champions League: 2016) 2011/12 VELUX EHF FINAL4 - fourth place, 2012/13 Last 16 Team captain: Hans Lindberg 11 Füchse Berlin (GER) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 11 Tim Bielzer GER Line Player 7/11/97 Berlin, GER 195 51 Kevin Deisting GER Goalkeeper 16/9/96 Oranienburg, GER 187 95 Paul Drux GER Left Back 7/2/95 Gummersbach, GER 192 32 Tolga Durmaz GER Line Player 18/1/00 Mainburg, GER 193 4 Bjarki Mar Elisson ISL Left Wing 16/5/90 Reykjavik, ISL 191 9 2 Simon Ernst GER Centre Back 2/4/94 Düren, GER 195 50 Tim Folgmann GER Goalkeeper 10/1/00 Berlin, GER 189 20 Fynn Ole Fritz GER Left Wing 3/5/97 Berlin, GER 194 11 Bastien Genty FRA Right Wing 1/7/92 Saint-Germain, FRA 179 0 1 Frederik Genz GER Goalkeeper 8/3/97 Waldbröl, GER 194 0 27 Erik Gerntke GER Right Back 14/5/99 Herzberg, GER 190 97 Lennart Gliese GER Right Back 16/11/97 Berlin, GER 190 1 10 CRO Left Back 18/4/86 Split, CRO 203 0 12 GER Goalkeeper 21/10/84 Bad Langensalza, GER 194 1 6 Jacob Tandrup Holm DEN Centre Back 5/9/95 Esbjerg, DEN 194 8 42 Wael Jallouz TUN Left Back 3/5/91 Grombalia, TUN 197 0 77 Johan Koch DEN Line Player 29/11/90 Svendborg, DEN 185 5 53 Gustav König GER Goalkeeper 18/3/01 Frankfurt am Main, GER 192 35 Marko Kopljar CRO Right Back 12/2/86 Pozega, CRO 210 15 Loris Kotte GER Right Wing 13/5/01 Oschatz, GER 180 33 Aron Krai GER Centre Back 10/9/00 Berlin, GER 186 18 Hans Lindberg DEN Right Wing 1/8/81 Höje Taastrup, DEN 188 13 9 Stipe Mandalinic CRO Left Back 9/9/92 Split, SRB 195 93 Mijajlo Marsenic SRB Centre Back 9/3/93 Berane, SRB 202 7 31 Tim Matthes GER Left Wing 5/5/99 Berlin, GER 181 0 5 Torben Matzken GER Centre Back 1/2/00 Mons, BEL 188 1 14 Julius Porath GER Right Wing 30/5/96 Rostock, GER 183 43 Christoph Reißky GER Right Back 11/8/95 Freiberg, GER 187 28 Erik Schmidt GER Centre Back 28/12/92 Mainz, GER 204 1 23 Dorian Schnabel GER Left Back 3/3/94 Berlin, GER 190 37 Julius Schroeder GER Centre Back 24/4/98 Gummersbach, GER 188 16 Malte Semisch GER Goalkeeper 5/9/92 Rehburg-Loccum, GER 208 24 Frederik Simak GER Left Back 24/1/98 Gengenbach, GER 197 7 34 Linus Skroblien GER Centre Back 8/10/97 Schwerin, GER 185 71 Petr Stochl CZE Goalkeeper 24/4/76 Pilsen, CZE 195 7 Kevin Struck GER Left Wing 31/12/96 Berlin, GER 193 52 Erik Ullrich GER Goalkeeper 8/1/01 Jena, GER 196 25 Rolando Urios Gonzales ESP Line Player 10/4/99 La Havanna, CUB 193 3 Fabian Wiede GER Right Back 8/2/94 Belzig, GER 192 4 21 Mattias Zachrisson SWE Right Wing 22/8/90 Huddinge, SWE 178

12 Füchse Berlin (GER) Coach and key players profiles

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 • after six-year stint with Wetzlar he was at the • has played 190 international matches for helm of Frisch Auf Göppingen for nearly 10 years Germany sofar • led Göppingen to two EHF Cup titles and the inaugural EHF Cup Finals in 2013, before arriving at Berlin

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, 2018; IHF CWC 1991 (as coach); Champions Cup 1976 EC trophies: EHF Cup 2007, 2015, 2018 (as player) OG: B 2016

Hans Lindberg Fabian Wiede right wing right back • joined Berlin after a long stint with HSV Hamburg • transferred from Potsdam to Füchse’s youth team at age 15, has won 10 (junior and senior) titles with • was top scorer of the CL and the Bundesliga in Füchse since 2012/13 • defeat in EHF Cup Final 2017 was first time he • member of the WCh 2013 All-star Team and club director Bob Hanning lost a final in any • started career in Viborg; his nickname these days competition was ‘Majestæt’ • made his debut in the German national team at • played more than 240 times for Danish national age 19, started an apprenticeship at a bank in Berlin team since 2007 only two days after winning EHF EURO 2016 • EHF Cup top scorer in 2016/17 and again in • part of the WCh 2019 All-star Team 2017/18

EC trophies: CL 2013; EHF Cup 2018 EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015, 2018 WCh: G 2018 EURO: G 2016; OG: B 2016

13 GROUP A BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP)

LOGROÑO LA RIOJA HOPE FOR POSITIVE RETURN TO THE EHF CUP BM Logroño La Rioja might not feature in the VELUX EHF Champions League this season, after being surpassed by Abanca Ademar Leon domestically, but they still have a chance in the Men’s EHF Cup. The club has had a tricky couple of years. In summer 2017 they lost their main sponsor, and since then have seen a high turnover of players. Nevertheless they are still in the top five of the ASOBAL League at home, and have secured a place in the EHF Cup Group Phase. The current season is the first for Miguel Angel Velasco as head coach. Velasco succeeded Jesus Javier “Jota” Gonzalez, who moved to Paris Saint-Germain as assistant coach. Velasco’s promotion followed six seasons as a player for Logroño and four as assistant coach. He picked retiring player Ruben Garabaya as his assistant after becoming head coach. With a number of changes in the team, Logroño is aiming primarily to be competitive both domestically and in the EHF Cup. Reaching the group phase is already a better result in the latter competition, after the team was knocked out in the third round of Playing hall qualification last year. Palacio de los deportes de la Rioja Their EHF Cup Group Phase place was secured by outgoing captain Gurutz Aginagalde, Avenida Moncalvillo 2 who saved a goal in the last second. The save was even more special as it was Logrono Aginagalde’s last match before leaving to become president of Bidasoa Irun. Spain Logroño will face defending champions Füchse Berlin and last year’s runners-up Saint- Capacity: 3,831 Raphael Var Handball as well as Balatonfüredi KSE in Group A.

Club Address: Road to the Group Phase BM Logroño La Rioja Avenida de Moncalvillo 2 EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 26007 Logrono 1st leg: vs Kadetten Schaffhausen W 26:22 (13:13) Spain 2nd leg: @ Kadetten Schaffhausen L 28:24 (17:10) Aggregate score: 50:50 Media contact: Jaime Luis Gonzalez Gutierrez +34 941 585295 Newcomers: [email protected] Past achievements Vanja Ilic (Metalurg), Erik Balenciaga EHF Cup: (Helvetia Anaitasuna), James Scott Online information: Semi-final (2): 2009/10, 2010/11 Junior (HBC Nantes), Balint Fekete (MOL Website: www.cbclogrono.com Group Phase (1): 2012/13 Pick Szeged), Tomas Moreira Rodríguez Facebook: @cbmlogrorioja (Angel Ximenez Avia Puente Genil), Twitter: @clogronolarioja Other Sergey Hernandez Ferrer (Helvetia EHF Champions League: last 16 2014/15, Anaitasuna), Claudio Ramos (Centro group phase 2013/14, 2015,16, 2016/17 Deportico Cerro Pelado) Kit colours Left the club: Light Jakub Krupa (CSM Bucuresti), Angel Player shirt: white Fernandez Perez (PGE ), Player short: red Pablo Paredes (Quabit Guadalajara), Goalkeeper shirt: yellow Juan Castro (Angel Ximenez Avia Puente Dark Genil), Angel Montoro (Liberbank Player shirt: black Cuenca), Ruben Garabaya (retired), Player short: black Gurutz Aginagalde (retired) Goalkeeper shirt: blue Coach: Miguel Angel Velasco (since 2018)

Team captain: Miguel Sánchez Migallón

14 BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 12 Gurutz Aguinagalde Aquizu ESP Goalkeeper 26/10/77 Irun, ESP 201 0 6 Erik Balenciaga Azcue ESP Centre Back 10/5/93 Zarautz, ESP 170 3 34 David Cadarso Caballero ESP Right Wing 14/12/01 Logroño, ESP 192 0 33 Eduardo Cadarso Caballero ESP Centre Back 13/2/99 Logroño, ESP 192 0 31 Juan Del Arco Perez ESP Left Back 29/11/91 Leganes, ESP 191 2 15 Balint Fekete HUN Right Back 27/6/95 Gyula, HUN 195 3 41 Imanol Garciandia Alustiza ESP Right Back 30/4/95 Urretxu, HUN 201 14 25 Sergey Hernandez Ferrer ESP Goalkeeper 17/6/95 Kropotkin, RUS 197 0 3 Vanja Ilic SRB Left Wing 25/2/93 Belgrade, SRB 186 8 24 Lazar Kukic SRB Centre Back 12/12/95 Beograd, SRB 187 4 9 Tomislav Kusan CRO Line Player 16/12/94 , CRO 201 1 20 Tomas Moreira Rodriguez ESP Line Player 22/8/92 Vigo, ESP 191 7 14 Javier Munoz Cabezon ESP Right Wing 22/5/92 Madrid, ESP 191 72 Claudio Leandro Ramos Madrigal CUB Line Player 28/7/98 La Habana , CUB 197 90 Javier Romeo Lopez ESP Goalkeeper 1/6/90 Logroño, ESP 193 0 2 Miguel Sanchez Migallon Naranjo ESP Left Back 8/2/95 Ciudad Real, ESP 200 1 11 James Junior Scott FRA Left Back 27/5/96 Lens, FRA 200 7

15 BM Logroño La Rioja (ESP) Coach and key players profiles

Miguel Angel Velasco Vanja Ilic coach left wing • came out of five-year retirement in the summer • Serbian player who joined Logroño in the summer of 2018 to succeed ‘Jota’ González as head coach of 2018 from Metalurg • previously worked as an assistant coach at the • replaces Angel Fernandez, who moved to Kielce, club for four years on the left wing • he was a centre back at Valladolid, where he • shares playing time on the left wing with captain spent whole his playing career before moving to Miguel Sánchez-Migallón Logroño in 2008 • scored 22 goals for at WCh 2019 and is also a prolific scorer for Logroño

James Edward Scott Junior Imanol Garciandia left back right back • French player who joined the club on loan from • is in his fourth season with the club and one of Nantes from this season until 2020 the leading payers on the team • brings in CL experience from his time at Nantes • was second-best scorer for the club in the Spanish league last season with 108 goals, second • part of French national under-21 team which won only to Angel Fernandez’s 174 goals silver at junior WCh 2017 in Algeria • was voted best right back of the ASOBAL League • son of American parents; his father, James Scott, in 2017/18 was an NBA player

16 GROUP A Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA)

SAINT-RAPHAEL AIM FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE FINALS French side Saint-Raphael have reached the EHF Cup Finals twice over the last two seasons. After qualifying for the semi-final for the first time in 2016/17, they jumped over one more hurdle last year, only to be beaten in the final by Füchse Berlin. Now that some experienced players have left the club, the team will have to write another story – but the goal is nevertheless to repeat the success of the last two seasons. After last season, three players that had been with the club for years decided to stop their careers. Left back Aurelien Abily, defender Wissem Hmam and centre back Geoffroy Krantz had known everything with the club. Now, coach Joel Da Silva has had to replace them with younger players. “This is almost like a new cycle to us. Players that had been in the backroom for a long time have stepped up and have more responsibilities in the team. I think they are ready now,” said the French coach. So far in 2018/19, Saint-Raphael have recorded mixed results in the French league. In European cup competitions, last year’s finalists had a scare against Israeli side Playing hall Maccabi Srugo Rishon LeZion, but managed to qualify for the group phase. Palais des Sports JF Krakowski This season is the fourth time in a row that Saint-Raphael have reached the group Rue des Chataigniers phase of the EHF Cup. 83700 Saint Raphael Most of the Saint-Raphael squad have become routinely part of the European circuit. France Seven players were already wearing the club’s colours in 2015/16, when they reached Capacity: 2,000 the group phase of the EHF Cup for the first time. Some of them are now even regulars in their respective national teams, which was not the case for Adrien Dipanda and Raphael Caucheteux when they arrived at Saint-Raphael. Club Address: Saint-Raphael Var Handball PO Box BP 503 Road to the Group Phase 83705 Saint Raphael Cedex France EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 1st leg: @ Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion W29:36 (14:17) Media contact: 2nd leg: vs Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion L27:30 (15:15) Jean Francois Krakowski Aggregate score: 63:59 +33 6 62719230 [email protected]

Online information: Newcomers: Website: www.srvhb.com Jeremy Toto (US Créteil), Vadim Gayduchenko Facebook: @SaintRaphaelHandball (Dinamo Bucuresti) Instagram: @srvhb Past achievements Twitter: @SRVHB Left the club: EHF Cup Aurelien Abily, Geoffroy Krantz, Wissem Hmam Finalists (1): 2017/18 Kit colours (retirements), Artsem Karalek (Kielce) Semi-finalists (1): 2016/17 Quarter-finalists (3): 2010/11, 2011/12, Light Coach: Joel Da Silva (since 2014) 2015/16 Player shirt: white / yellow Player short: white / yellow Team captain: Adrien Dipanda Goalkeeper shirt: white Other Dark Player shirt: green / black VELUX EHF Champions League: Player short: green /black 2012/13 qualification Goalkeeper shirt: blue

17 Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 4 Xavier Barachet FRA Right Back 19/11/88 Nice, FRA 195 3 18 Paolo Bardi FRA Centre Back 18/8/99 FREJUS, FRA 181 9 Geoffrey Bourasseau FRA Left Back 18/2/99 PARIS, FRA 187 20 Raphael Caucheteux FRA Left Wing 9/5/85 MONTPELLIER, FRA 202 9 12 Alexandre Demaille FRA Goalkeeper 22/4/93 DRAGUIGNAN, FRA 196 0 32 Adrien Dipanda FRA Right Back 3/5/88 DIJON, FRA 202 8 77 David Eponouh CIV Left Back 1/4/99 ABIDJAN, CIV 193 13 Theo Gaspari FRA Line Player 5/12/99 CAGNES SUR MER , FRA 187 95 Vadim Gayduchenko BLR Left Back 24/4/95 Bobruisk, BLR 192 6 33 Loic Gschwind FRA Goalkeeper 24/1/98 Mulhouse, FRA 188 19 Miroslav Jurka CZE Right Wing 7/6/87 VALASSKE MEZIRICI, CZE189 17 Aleksa Kolakovic SRB Centre Back 10/8/97 PODGORICA, MNE 189 0 31 Nicolas Krakowski FRA Left Back 31/10/87 FREJUS, FRA 196 0 14 DEN Line Player 27/3/90 KOGE, DEN 198 4 8 Jonathan Mapu FRA Line Player 10/3/98 FREJUS, FRA 181 2 1 Romain Mathias FRA Line Player 13/9/97 PARIS, FRA 197 3 Quentin Mazoyer FRA Right Wing 11/5/01 Lyon, FRA 175 10 Drevy-Noah Paschal FRA Left Wing 16/7/01 Angers, FRA 192 1 28 Timmy Petit FRA Line Player 16/10/00 Baie Mahault , FRA 195 16 Mihai Catalin Popescu ROU Goalkeeper 15/3/85 GAESTI, ROU 190 2 29 Romain Quatrevaux FRA Goalkeeper 29/12/99 FREJUS, FRA 188 11 Daniel Sarmiento Melian ESP Centre Back 25/8/83 LAS PALMAS, ESP 188 7 7 Alexandru Viorel Simicu ROU Left Back 8/10/88 Timisoara, ROU 202 8 5 Anass Talib FRA Right Wing 20/4/01 Fréjus, FRA 188 0 26 Jeremy Toto FRA Line Player 15/5/92 Courbevoie, FRA 197 2 27 Alexian Trottet FRA Left Wing 13/5/97 VERNON, FRA 175 1 24 Arthur Vigneron FRA Right Wing 30/1/95 SAINT-MICHEL, FRA 182 10

18 Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) Coach and key players profiles

Joël Da Silva Raphaël Caucheteux coach left wing • after training Toulouse for four seasons, he • at 202cm, one of the tallest wings in the handball signed for Saint-Raphaël in the summer of 2014 world • voted best coach in the French league two • stayed in Saint-Raphael since signing from seasons ago Montpellier in January 2007 – only one in the current squad has played for the club longer • has never played handball at a high level and started coaching at the age of 14 • the top scorer of all time in the French league, with more than 1,500 goals so far • worked in a gardening store before joining Toulouse in 2009 • enjoyed his first France national team gathering in 2018, at 32. He came back from the EHF EURO with a bronze medal

EURO: B 2018

Daniel Sarmiento Adrien Dipanda centre back right back • arrived from FC Barcelona Lassa in the summer • played in Montpellier before moving to Ademar of 2016 Leon and then to Saint-Raphaël in 2012 • was part of the FC Barcelona team which broke all • late bloomer, he played mostly in defence until records in the 2013/14 season, scoring 1,146 goals in his arrival in Saint-Raphaël. There, he developed into only 30 games a complete player • feels so good with Saint-Raphael that he • he also was a late-comer to the national team, extended his contract to 2020 in which he now is a regular fixture. He is among others, won the world championship at home last • the only player in the French side to have ever january won the Velux EHF Champions League • although he is one of the top scorers for Saint- Raphael, he is only used in defence with the national team

EC trophies: CL 2011, 2015 OG: S 2016; WCh: G 2017; EURO: B 2018 WCh: G 2013; EURO: G 2018, B 2014

19 GROUP A Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) BALATONFÜRED LONG FOR EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE Since Balatonfüredi KSE joined the Hungarian first league in 2007, they never finished worse than 10th. And in the last five seasons, the team has been ever present in the top six. The consistency is based on their successful academy system. Teaching and training underage players, then let them further evolve at bigger teams. It’s the strategy of the club’s management, which barely buys any player. From many Hungarian talents, Tamás Iváncsik and Bence Bánhídi are just two examples of players who started at the Lake Balaton’s shore. The top-two spots in the Hungarian top flight are usually occupied by the two powerhouses, Szeged and Veszprém. But Balatonfüredi KSE is usually close to the fire. The expectations of the club’s management for the 2018/19 season have been strict but doable: finishing in the top four of the domestic league, and fighting until the last breath in the Men’s EHF Cup in order to learn and get as much experience as possible. This is the way of building the team believes in. And it provides a perfect opportunity for young players to evolve and get a familiar with international handball. “We are in the toughest group as last year’s two finalists and Logrono, with also a great squad, are our opponents,” said István Csoknyai, head coach of Balatonfüred and co-head coach of the men’s national team. “Our goal is to play in our style and collect more and more points after each round. Playing hall Although, we know that this is going to be hard,” he added. Veszprem Arena Balatonfüred has a legion of great fans, but they will have to travel to attend the EHF Cup Külso Kadartai ut , 8200 home games of their favourites. Balatonfüred will have to play in the Veszprém Aréna, 20 Veszprem, kilometers away, as their own arena at the lake does not match the criteria for hosting Hungary European Cup games. Capacity: 5,019 “It is great to be in the group phase and face excellent line-ups. We hope that playing in Veszprém will help us, as many of our supporters will join and cheer as they always do,” Club Address: Csoknyai said. Balatonfüredi KSE As for the main title contenders, he believed “there is a huge chance that the German Horvath Mihaly u. 08/2 hrsz. clubs can continue their success in this tournament.” 8230 Balatonfüred “THW Kiel, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf and Füchse Berlin, one of them can bring the trophy Hungary home,” he added.

Media contact: Tamás Bene +36 20 9947383 Road to the Group Phase [email protected] EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Online information: 1st leg: @ HBC Karvina W33:34 (16:20) Website: www.balatonfuredikc.hu 2nd leg: vs HBC Karvina W32:29 (17:16) Facebook: @balatonfuredikc Aggregate score: 66:62 Instagram: @balatonfuredikse Newcomers: Past achievements Da Silva Ferreira Uellington (Csurgói KK), EHF Cup: Balázs Szöllősi (Grundfos Tatabánya KC), Kit colours Group phase (1): 2014/15 Bence Zdolik (returning after injury) Round 3 (1): 2011/12 Light Round 2 (1): 2012/13 Left the club: Player shirt: red Kasparek Stanislav (MOL-Pick Szeged), Dávid Player short: red Others Debreczeni (FTC), Milán Varsandán (HE-DO Goalkeeper shirt: black B.Braun Gyöngyös) Dark EHF Cup Winners’ Cup: Last 16 Player shirt: white 2010/11 Coach: István Csoknyai (since 2014) Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: red Team captain: Nándor Fazekas

20 Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 30 Balint Ag HUN Left Wing 26/3/99 Székesfehérvár, HUN 188 96 Arian Ando HUN Goalkeeper 29/1/99 Pásztó, HUN 191 12 Daniel Bösz HUN Goalkeeper 21/1/91 Budapest, HUN 190 0 7 Bendeguz Bóka HUN Left Wing 2/10/93 Veszprem, HUN 190 3 8 Bence Déber HUN Right Wing 3/6/97 Várpalota, HUN 185 0 1 Nandor Fazekas HUN Goalkeeper 16/10/76 Kecskemet, HUN 192 0 15 Uelington Ferreira da Silva BRA Left Back 13/8/86 Rondonopolis, BRA 202 1 47 Peter Hornyak HUN Right Wing 4/10/95 Debrecen, HUN 180 3 13 Otto Kancel SVK Left Back 1/2/95 Kralovsky Chlmec, SVK 202 0 43 Artur Karvatski BLR Right Back 21/1/96 Preili, LAT 195 1 3 Laszlo Kemeny HUN Line Player 23/2/93 Budapest, HUN 191 7 99 Dominik Mathe HUN Right Back 1/4/99 Nyíregyháza, HUN 195 13 34 Alex Nemeth HUN Centre Back 18/9/98 Budapest, HUN 188 10 Balázs Németh HUN Centre Back 27/12/93 Veszprém, HUN 185 1 55 Yury Semenov RUS Centre Back 30/7/90 Chelyabinsk, RUS 194 4 21 Zoltan Szita HUN Left Back 10/2/98 Veszprém, HUN 197 14 9 Oliver Szöllösi HUN Line Player 6/2/98 Budapest, HUN 196 22 Petar Topic CRO Line Player 30/12/91 Split, CRO 204 10 4 Huba Vajda HUN Line Player 5/3/00 Gyor, HUN 192 0 6 Marton Varga HUN Centre Back 1/1/99 Debrecen, HUN 192 0 92 Bence Zdolik HUN Left Back 16/5/92 Bekecsaba, HUN 198 9

21 Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN)

Coach and key players profiles

Istvan Csoknyai Nandor Fazekas coach goalkeeper • joint-coach of the Hungarian national team • 42.years-old goalkeeper returned to with Vladan Matic Balatonfüred in 2015 after playing a number of years abroad • had one other spell as head coach of the Hungarian national team in the 2009/10 season • played 237 matches for the Hungarian national team until 2017 • played for Veszprém for 15 yeara • in 2014 he released an award-winning • made 170 appearances for the Hungarian autobiography national team • father of three children, who also play handball

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

Dominik Mathe Peter Hornyak right back right wing • made his World Championship debut in • played his first senior league match at the age Germany and Denmark with six goals and three of 16 assists against Sweden • got a contract from Germany (TUSEM Essen) • at just 19 has the responsibility of taking when he turned 18, but soon returned to Hungary penalties for the club due to homesickness • leads the club in scoring this season with 61 • the 175 cm tall athlete is known for being among goals the fastest players in Hungary • named as the best junior handball player in • made his Hungarian national team debut in 2015 Hungary in 2018

22 Group B head-to-heads Historic encounters of the Group B opponents in the EC

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs Grundfos Tatabanya KC No previous encounters in European competitions

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs HC Eurofarm Rabotnik No previous encounters in European competitions

TSV Hannover-Burgdorf vs RK Nexe No previous encounters in European competitions

Grundfos Tatabanya KC vs HC Eurofarm Rabotnik No previous encounters in European competitions

Grundfos Tatabanya KC vs RK Nexe No previous encounters in European competitions

HC Eurofarm Rabotnik vs RK Nexe No previous encounters in European competitions

23 GROUP B TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) SPANISH COACHES STRIVE FOR HANNOVER’S NEXT STEP Despite losing the German Cup final last year, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf were handed a significant consolation as they earned a ticket for the EHF Cup. It was a sign of the progress made by the club in their first season under the new all- Spanish coaching duo of Antonio Carlos Ortega, previously at Veszprém, and former Barcelona and Berlin player . Ortega won the EHF Champions League six times with Barcelon and Romero won the Champions League with Barcelona and the EHF Cup with Berlin, which makes this European campaign nothing out of the ordinary for the pair. Although the Bundesliga results are not as good this season, the “Recken” have once again qualified for the final tournament of the German cup and have reached the EHF Cup Group Phase for just the second time in club history – the first was in the 2013/14 season. Five years ago, Hannover lacked the international experience to qualify for the quarter-finals as they fell one point short. This time around, Ortega sees a path through the group for his team. “On paper, we have a very equal and strong group. We’ll face three tough away games, because the fans in Bitola, Nexe and Tatabanya will be very loud. Playing hall “We have to win our home matches and steal one win on the road to have a chance of Swiss Life Hall Hannover reaching the knockout stage.” Ferdinand Wilhelm Fricke Weg 8, In qualification, Hannover comfortably beat Benfica from Lisbon, victories which were 30169 Hannover, “huge for the whole club, for our fans and our players,” according to coach Ortega. Germany “Now it means a lot for the club to be part of the group phase again, because it is only Capacity: 4,097 the second time that we are in Europe. We are really looking forward to the upcoming matches,” says Ortega. Hannover had to replace last season’s Bundesliga top scorer over the summer as Club Address: Casper U. Mortensen transferred to FC Barcelona. He was replaced by experienced TSV Hannover-Burgdorf Spaniard Cristian Ugalde. Expo Plaza 7 They also signed two Slovenian internationals, Urban Lesjak and Nejc Cete, and 30539 Hannover Croatian/American defensive specialist Domagoj Srsen. Germany Road to the Group Phase Media contact: Georg Müller EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 +49 511 27041230 1st leg: vs SL Benfica W41:36 (26:18) [email protected] 2nd leg: @ SL Benfica D33:33 (16:16) Aggregate score: 69:74 Online information: Website: http://www.die-recken.de Facebook: @DIERECKEN Newcomers: Instagram: @dierecken Urban Lesjak (RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko), Past achievements Twitter: @DIERECKEN ‏ Nejc Cehte (Gorenje Velenje), Cristian Ugalde (Telekom Veszprém), Domagoj Srsen EHF Cup (Orosházi FKSE) Group Phase (1): 2013/14 Kit colours Light Left the club: Player shirt: blue Casper Mortensen (Barca Lassa), Rúnar Other Player short: white Kárason (Ribe-Esbjerg), Dominik Kalafut - Goalkeeper shirt: orange (unknown), Sven-Sören Christophersen Dark (retired), Malte Semisch (Füchse Berlin) Player shirt: green Player short: green Coach Antonio Carlos Ortega (since 2017) Goalkeeper shirt: grey Team captain: Kai Häfner

24 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 19 RUS Centre Back 25/5/87 Volgograd, RUS 190 20 Fabian Böhm GER Left Back 24/6/89 Potsdam, GER 198 9 44 Ilija Brozovic CRO Line Player 26/5/91 Split, CRO 196 7 74 Vincent Büchner GER Left Wing 30/5/98 Hildesheim, GER 180 3 Nejc Cehte SLO Right Back 4/9/92 Brezice, SLO 196 1 39 Malte Donker GER Right Back 13/2/98 Peine, GER 193 56 Hannes Feise GER Left Back 5/6/96 Neustadt a. Rbge., GER 200 0 17 Kai Häfner GER Right Back 10/7/89 Schwäbisch Gmünd, GER 193 10 2 Torge Johannsen GER Right Wing 6/4/83 Husum, GER 187 Petar Juric CRO 14/7/00 73 GER Right Wing 25/6/95 Stadthagen, GER 180 14 24 Jannes Krone GER Right Wing 23/4/97 Hildesheim, GER 184 0 15 Lars Lehnhoff GER Left Wing 20/9/86 Celle, GER 181 8 90 Urban Lesjak SLO Goalkeeper 24/8/90 Celje, SLO 188 0 8 Veit Mävers GER Centre Back 3/12/00 Hameln, GER 190 0 34 Morten Olsen DEN Centre Back 11/10/84 Lejre, DEN 190 19 9 Mait Patrail EST Left Back 11/4/88 Pölva, EST 202 14 Evgeni Pevnov GER Line Player 13/2/89 Taschkent, UZB 198 2 33 Domagoj Srsen CRO Line Player 31/12/90 New York, USA 202 0 13 Joshua Thiele GER Line Player 10/6/98 Pinneberg, GER 193 0 23 Cristian Ugalde Garcia ESP Left Back 19/10/87 Barcelona, ESP 187 4 22 Jonas Wilde GER Goalkeeper 22/1/98 Ostercappeln, GER 198 1 Martin Ziemer GER Goalkeeper 14/4/83 Rostock, GER 187 0

25 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) Coach and key players profiles

Carlos Antonio Ortega Morten Olsen coach centre back • arrived at Hannover in 2017, accompanied by • played for four Danish clubs before joining Spanish assistant coach Iker Romero Hannover for the first time in 2010 • led Veszprém to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 twice, • returned to the club in 2015 after stints with later coached Kolding and Japan’s national team Saint-Raphael (FRA) and Al-Rayyan (QAT) • was part of the ‘golden generation’ of players at • a classical playmaker with a huge number of FC Barcelona assists • has won all three EHF club competitions • also a key player for the Danish national team, which won the WCh 2019

EC trophies: CL 1996-2000, 2005, EHF Cup 2003, CWC 1995 OG: G 2016, WCh: G 2019 OG: B 2000, EURO: S 1998, B 2000

Fabian Böhm Kai Häfner left back right back • started his professional career at SC Magdeburg • started his career as a right wing at Frisch Auf and played for five more Bundesliga clubs between Göppingen, where he turned to right back 2010 and 2016 • went to Balingen in 2011, arrived at Hannover in • had just had his debut in the German national 2014 team when he joined Hannover in 2016 • at EHF EURO 2016, as a late replacement for • has scored more than 750 Bundesliga goals injured , he scored the crucial goal in semi-final against Norway • nicknamed ‘The Warrior’ by German national team coach • at WCh 2019, he was again a late replacement for Weinhold

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

26 GROUP B Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN) TATABÁNYA READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP Tatabánya’s blue tigers enjoyed their prime in the 70’s and 80’s, when they stood top of Hungarian handball on a number of occasions. A setback followed the glorious period, but with the help of the many members from the successful era, the club has made strides in the right direction in recent years. Grundfos Tatabánya KC have finished the domestic league with a bronze medal for the past four years, leaving them as four times in a row, results which has seen them emerge as the best hope to challenge perennial favourites Szeged and Veszprém. Not surprisingly, the club is yet again in third position in the Hungarian league with the best defensive record in the whole competition, conceding and average of only 23 goals per game. Led by Vladan Matic, who won the championships in 2008 with Szeged, playing defence will be always the coach’s main focus. Playing hall For the management of Tatabánya to reach the bronze medal for the fifth time in a row Dragao Caixa is a must, while Veszprém are their next cup opponents. Via Futebol Clube do Porto However, hopes for success remain in the EHF Cup and progressing from the group 4350419 Porto phase is their first goal. Portugal “I think we can reach the quarter-finals. The squad of Hannover is the strongest in our Capacity: 2,225 group, but I believe in my players and we have a chance to win against RK Nexe and Rabotnik,” said Vladan Matic. Playing hall “We have been in the same situation two years ago. In the group phase, we need to Audi Arena Györ play at the highest level in more competitions and this could be harmful to our line-up. Toth Laszlo utja “It is a great success for us that we reached this stage and this can be our time. We have 9027 Györ to show our supporters, that the team is ready for the next step internationally,” adds Hungary Matic. Capacity: 5,500 According to the Tatabánya coach, it is difficult to look beyond the German sides winning the competition, with THW Kiel and Füchse Berlin his favourites to bring home Club Address: the trophy. Grundfos Tatabanya KC Szent Borbála út 11. Road to the Group Phase 2800 Tatabanya Hungary EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 1st leg: vs OCI-LIONS W31:18 (14:9) Media contact: 2nd leg: @ OCI-LIONS W27:27 (12:12) Katalin Marosi Aggregate score: 58:45 +36 30 2807608 [email protected]

Online information: www.tatabanyahandball.com Facebook: Grundfos Tatabánya KC Newcomers: Instagram: @tatabanyahandball László Bartucz (Csurgói KK), Zsolt Past achievements Schäffer (NEKA), Mátyás Győri (Telekom Veszprém HC), Bence EHF Cup Nagy (CYEB Budakalász), Uros Quarter-finals (1): 2016/17 Kit colours Borzas (Telekom Veszprém HC on Last 16 (1): 2010/11 Light loan) Round 3 (3): 2004/05, 2005/06, Player shirt: White 2011/12 Player short: White Left the club: Round 2 (1): 2012/13 Goalkeeper shirt: light green /red Gergely Harsányi (retired), Szabolcs Dark Szöllősi (Dabas KK). Iancu Ionut Player shirt: blue (CSM Bucuresti), Balázs Szöllősi Other Player short: blue (Balatonfüredi KSE) - Goalkeeper shirt: purple Coach: Vladan Matic (since 2014)

Team captain: János Dénes 27 Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals

16 Laszlo Bartucz HUN Goalkeeper 5/11/91 Oroshaza, HUN 192 0 2 Milos Bozovic MNE Left Back 10/12/94 Budva, MNE 199 1 1 Xaver Demenyi HUN Goalkeeper 16/4/99 Budapest, HUN 185 24 Janos Denes HUN Line Player 15/11/84 Dunaujvaros, HUN 195 0 51 Daniel Fekete ROU Left Back 14/6/99 Székelyudvarhely, ROU 198 0 23 Demis Cosmin Grigoras ROU Right Back 30/6/93 Vaslui, ROU 194 10 22 Matyas Györi HUN Centre Back 2/2/97 Debrecen, HUN 194 18 Ferenc Ilyés HUN Left Back 20/12/81 Székelyudvarhely, ROU 198 4 7 Adam Juhasz HUN Centre Back 6/6/96 Debrecen, HUN 183 10 4 Akos Pasztor HUN Right Wing 24/6/91 Miskolc, HUN 187 3 19 Miklos Rosta HUN Line Player 14/2/99 Gyor, HUN 199 4 9 Kevin Rozner HUN Right Wing 30/4/98 Tatabánya, HUN 180 0 44 Zsolt Schäffer HUN Right Back 13/5/99 Tata, HUN 195 1 8 Adrian Sipos HUN Line Player 8/3/90 Szombathely, HUN 198 2 12 Marton Szekely HUN Goalkeeper 2/1/90 Budapest, HUN 194 0 14 Balazs Szöllösi HUN Centre Back 24/10/92 Veszprem, HUN 192 7 77 Vladimir Vranjes BIH Line Player 14/12/88 Banja Luka, BIH 200 2 93 Jakov Vrankovic CRO Right Back 12/6/93 Split, CRO 198 1 6 Milos Vujovic MNE Left Wing 5/9/93 Cetinje, MNE 181 13

28 Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN) Coach and key players profiles

Vladan Matic Milos Vujovic coach left wing • joint-coach of the Hungarian national team • Tatabánya is the 25-year-old’s first foreign with István Csoknyai club • played 105 times for the Yugoslavian national • leading the team in scoring with 76 goals in team thirteen league matches • he was born in a town called Sabac, Serbia, • his speed and accuracy makes him dangerous home of two-time Champions Cup winners • the Montenegrin player has represented his Metaloplastika country 27 times, scoring 52 goals • as a rookie coach, he led MOL-Pick Szeged to win the domestic title in 2007

WCh: B 1999, 2001 (as player)

Ferenc Ilyes Jakov Vrankovic left back right back • the 37-year-old was born in Romania, but took • the two-metre-tall athlete joined Tatabánya Hungarian citizenship in 2017 • has played 213 matches for Hungary and • in 2015 won the “Best Foreign Player” award scored 501 goals in Romania • made his international debut in 2003 against • his first appearance in the Croatian national Czech Republic team was in 2017 and he played in January’s World Championship • has played for both of Hungary’s powerhouses, Szeged and Veszprém • one of the best defender’s in Tatabánya and is a reliable goalscorer in crucial situations

EC: EHF Cup (2010, 2014)

29 GROUP B HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD) RABOTNIK WRITE NEW PAGE IN CLUB HISTORY Eight years after they were founded, HC Eurofarm Rabotnik Bitola are playing their third consecutive season in the Macedonian Super League. And they are doing well: they finished third in the last two seasons and also reached the domestic cup final. This season, they have had 13 victories and one draw so far to lead the standings and secure a spot in the play-off series, where the Bitola-based team will fight for the championship with Vardar and Metalurg. Now Rabotnik are also leaving their mark in Europe. In their first season in the competition, they have qualified for the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19. In Qualification Round 3, they eased past Swiss opponents BSV Bern. After winning the home game by 10 goals (29:19), they defeated Bern also in the away game in Switzerland (30:28), reaching the group phase as one of the youngest squads among all teams. The home city is proud of Rabotnik’s achievements. “We have the smallest budget among our competitors but we aim for more than leaving a good impression and waving the white flag,” head coach Djordje Cirkovic says. “I think that we have to set bigger goals in order to progress. When the impossible becomes an obligation, this leads to progress.” Rabotnik will face TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, Grundfos Tatabanya KC and RK Nexe in Playing hall Group B. Sportska sala "Mladost" Bitola “Stronger leagues, bigger budgets, better rosters, significantly more experience Partizanska b.b. playing in European competitions... All factors except our ambition are on the side 7000 Bitola FYRO of our opponents,” Cirkovic says. “When it comes to favourites, I would like to Macedonia emphasize my desire and see other teams than German and French playing in the Capacity: 4,100 finals." Road to the Group Phase Club Address: EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 HC Eurofarm Rabotnik 1st leg: vs BSV Bern W29:19 (15:7) 7000 Bitola 2nd leg: @ BSV Bern W28:30 (15:13) FYR Macedonia Aggregate score: 59:47 Media contact: Dimitar Mitrevski Newcomers: +389 71 231461 Past achievements Nikola Markovski (HC Oroshazi), [email protected] Blagojce Trajkovski (HC Ohrid), EHF Cup Milan Dzukic (HC Zeleznicar Nis), Online information: - Filip Kuzmanovski (HC Metalurg), www.rkeurofarmrabotnik.com Mirko Radovic (HC Lovcen), Facebook: @rkeurofarmrabotnik Other Nikola Ivanovic (HC Crvena Zvezda) Instagram: @hceurofarmrabotnik Left the club: Challenge Cup: Last 16 2017/18 Zlatko Mojsovski (HC Butel), Stefan Drogriski (HC Pelister), Kit colours Igor Trajkovski (HC Pelister), Nikola Ivanovic, Light Yevhen Umovist, Player shirt: N/A Rati Mskvhvilidze, Player short: N/A Nikola Ivanovic Goalkeeper shirt: N/A Dark Coach: Djordje Cirkovic (since 2018) Player shirt: N/A Player short: N/A Team captain: Goce Ojleski Goalkeeper shirt: N/A

30 HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals

88 Dimitrija Blazevski MKD Right Wing 15/11/01 Bitola, MKD 184 21 Gradimir Chanevski MKD Goalkeeper 4/3/88 , MKD 189 0 10 Filip Curlevski MKD Centre Back 22/2/92 Bitola, MKD 177 4 66 Milan Djukic SRB Right Wing 16/8/85 Kragujevac, SRB 185 14 55 Stefan Drogrishki MKD Left Back 9/9/94 Bitola, MKD 192 59 Elmir Gradjan BIH Line Player 28/12/93 Gorazde, BIH 190 8 1 Nikola Ivanovic SRB Right Back 19/12/98 Subotica, SRB 195 0 12 Filip Ivanovski MKD Goalkeeper 2/5/94 Bitola, MKD 191 0 13 Boban Kakovski MKD Centre Back 13/4/00 Bitola, MKD 188 25 Goran Krstevski MKD Left Back 29/3/96 Resen, MKD 198 7 24 Milorad Kukoski MKD Left Back 7/12/87 Struga, MKD 195 1 77 Goran Kuzmanoski MKD Centre Back 30/11/82 Prilep, MKD 190 18 Filip Kuzmanovski MKD Left Back 3/7/96 Bitola, MKD 197 12 27 Andrija Mandic MKD Left Back 19/5/01 Bitola, MKD 195 4 Nikola Markoski MKD Line Player 22/5/90 Struga, MKD 198 1 17 Faruk Memic MKD Line Player 17/4/84 Bitola, MKD 186 1 3 Goce Ojleski MKD Left Wing 10/10/89 Struga, MKD 180 4 8 Dejan Pecakovski MKD Left Back 12/1/86 Bitola, MKD 192 1 83 Mihail Petrovski MKD Right Back 22/12/83 Bitol, MKD 193 5 9 Stefan Talevski MKD Left Wing 9/2/93 Bitola, MKD 182 1 16 Blagojce Trajkovski MKD Goalkeeper 6/10/86 Prilep, MKD 184 0

31 HC Eurofarm Rabotnik (MKD)

Coach and key players profiles

Djordje Cirkovic Filip Kuzmanovski coach left wing • as a player he wore the jersey of several clubs, • started career at Pelister Bitola, and played in including Vojvodina and Partizan the Challenge Cup with them, before moving to Metalurg in 2015 on a three-year contract • before joining Eurofarm Rabotnik, he was head coach at Vojvodina and Constanta • debuted for Macedonian national team at the EHF EURO 2016 • his biggest coaching success came with Vojvodina, winning several titles in the Serbian • scored 11 goals for Metalurg in his debut CL championship and participating in SEHA League and season 2015/16 EHF Cup • will move to SC Magdeburg in the summer of 2019

Mihail Petrovski Milan Djukic right back right back • at 34, is an experienced backcourt player who • Serbian right wing, arrived in Bitola in 2018 on a played for 10 domestic and international clubs in his two-year contract career • played for Radnicki Kragujevac, Vojvodina and • before joining Eurofarm Rabotnik in January Zeleznicar in Serbia, and Borac Banja Luka and 2018, he played in the Hungarian league for Dabas Meshkov Brest in , winning several domestic titles in both countries • also played for Eurofarm Rabotnik’s city rivals, Pelister Bitola, in the past • has broad European Cup experience, in EHF Cup, Challenge Cup and former Cup Winners’ Cup • graduated in computer science

32 GROUP B RK Nexe (CRO)

NEXE AIM TO REPEAT LAST SEASON'S SUCCESS After reaching the quarter-finals in 2017/18, long-time Croatian vice-champions RK Nexe are aiming high in this season of the EHF Cup. Following their place as third best second-ranked team in the group phase last season, Nexe faced Füchse Berlin, who went on to win the competition, in the first round of knock-out matches. It was not an easy clash, and the German side blocked Nexe’s way to the EHF Cup Finals – but the players gained important experience, and their ambition is to show that this time around. Nexe had a strong start to the season, as they claimed an historic win over PPD Zagreb. The first victory ever against the big rivals motivated the team for what is coming next, especially in the European competition. The goal is to stay on the same route and become one of the eight teams in pursuit of a place at Sparkassen-Arena, Kiel in May. The Nasice-based team have a few new names on their list, forming a mixed squad of young and experienced players. One of the most prominent transfers was , a 20-year-old Croatian talent who has already ranked among the top scorers in both the VELUX EHF Champions League and the SEHA-Gazprom League. From his many choices, Jaganjac decided to return to Croatia from Metalurg this season. Playing hall Another fresh face in the team this season is Tomi Vozab, who arrived from Nimes. OS Kralja Tomislava, Nasice One player from the transfer list who is missing is Mihailo Radovanovic. The Serbian Matice Hrvatske 1 goalkeeper was injured in the qualification match against Greek club Olympiacos SFP 31500 Nasice and will be recovering for the rest of the season. Croatia “We have some new and some old faces in our roster. The main goal is to repeat last Capacity: 2,000 season’s result. We will give our best and then you never know. Surprises are always possible, but we know that we have tough opponents,” said coach Hrvoje Horvat. “

Club Address: RK Nexe Matice Hrvatske 1 Road to the Group Phase 31500 Nasice Croatia EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 1st leg: @ Olympiacos SFP D22:25 (14:13) Media contact: 2nd leg: vs Olympiacos SFP W30:25 (14:13) Franjo Lelic Aggregate score: 55:47 +385 98 624437 [email protected]

Newcomers: Online information: Halil Jaganjac (HC Metalurg), Moreno Car Website: www.rknexe.hr (HC Porec), Mihailo Radovanovic (Ramat Facebook: @rknexenasice Hasharon HC), Ivan Vida (HC Dubrava), Twitter: @rknexe Vladan Loncar (HE-DO B. Braun Gyöngyös), Twitter: @rk_nexe Can Celebi (Göztepe SK), Tomi Vozab Past achievements (USAM Nîmes Gard) Kit colours EHF Cup Left the club:Josip Juric Grgic (RKHM Light Quarter-final (1): 2017/18 Dubrovnik), (Kadetten Player shirt: white Group Phase (1): 2014/15 Schaffhausen), Matjaz Brumen (RD Izola Player short: black Last 16 (1): 2011/12 Butan Plin), Dinko Baricevic (MHC Metalac) Goalkeeper shirt: red Round 3: 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11 Dark Round 2: 2012/13 Coach: Hrvoje Horvat (since November Player shirt: green 2016) Player short: black Other Goalkeeper shirt: yellow - Team captain: Marko Mrdenovic

33 RK Nexe (CRO) Team roster

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

9 Saša Barišic Jaman SLO Left Back 10/11/82 Brežice, SLO 200 0 15 Marko Buvinic CRO Right Back 28/6/92 Rijeka, CRO 190 8 12 Moreno Car CRO Goalkeeper 22/4/96 RIJEKA, CRO 184 0 49 Can Celebi TUR Right Back 27/4/90 Ankara, TUR 194 25 Bruno Cuic CRO Left Back 20/8/01 Našice, CRO 189 6 Albin Eter CRO Left Wing 20/3/84 Zagreb, CRO 183 2 4 Ante Gadža CRO Centre Back 26/8/92 Zagreb, CRO 194 9 17 Marin Greganic CRO Left Wing 18/8/00 Našice, CRO 182 45 Halil Jaganjac CRO Left Back 22/6/98 Rijeka, CRO 200 5 18 Marin Jelinic CRO Left Wing 7/12/96 Metkovic, CRO 189 1 39 Tomislav Kvastek CRO Line Player 7/12/01 Našice, CRO 195 32 Aljaž Lavric SLO Left Back 14/7/93 Novo Mesto, SLO 199 5 Patrik Leban SLO Centre Back 7/9/89 Ljubljana, SLO 187 2 1 Perica Lelic CRO Goalkeeper 11/10/82 Zagreb, CRO 186 24 Vladan Loncar BIH Left Back 25/1/97 Sarajevo, BIH 195 1 8 Marko Mrdenovic CRO Line Player 19/8/84 Rijeka, CRO 197 0 16 Mihailo Radovanovic SRB Goalkeeper 18/12/92 Cacak, CRO 194 0 34 Ryan Safar CRO Centre Back 5/4/02 Osijek, CRO 182 2 Marin Sipic CRO Line Player 29/4/96 Soden am Taunus, GER 190 9 88 Stjepan Strmecki CRO Left Wing 15/6/00 Nasice, CRO 185 33 Mario Tomic QAT Line Player 22/6/88 Zagreb, CRO 191 3 19 Ivan Vida CRO Right Wing 14/3/95 Zagreb, CRO 186 0 66 Tomi Vozab CRO Centre Back 26/4/90 Zagreb, CRO 188 5 7 Vedran Zrnic CRO Right Wing 26/9/79 Zagreb, CRO 188 10

34 RK Nexe (CRO) Coach and key players profiles

Hrvoje Horvat Vedran Zrnic coach right wing • son of the legendary Croatian playmaker Hrvoje • legendary Croatian international who scored 570 Horvat Cveba goals in 189 appearances for the national team • former successful Beach Handball player, with • a “Franjo Bucar” award laureate in 2004 – the seven medals won at major competitions, including highest accolade for sports achievements in Croatia World Championship gold • three-time EHF Champions League runner-up • cut his playing career short to focus on coaching with Zagreb (1997, 1998, 1999) • one of the most talented Croatian coaches, • EHF Cup winner in 2009 and two-time EHF having plied his trade at Dubrava and youth ranks Cup Winner's Cup champion (2010, 2011) with of Croatia Gummersbach • current Croatia national assistant coach, and the • played for Zagreb, Prule, Gorenje, Gummersbach, right hand of Lino Cervar Wisla Plock and Besiktas before joining Zagreb’s biggest rivals, Nexe, in 2015

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

Marin Sipic Halil Jaganjac line player left back • member of the Croatia national team that won • member of the Croatia national team; was the gold at the XVIII Mediterranean Games in Tarragona youngest in the team at the EHF EURO 2018 Croatia in 2018 • part of the Croatia national youth categories • a member of the Croatia national youth category team (1998-born) and won a silver medal at the teams (1996 born) since 2013 Men's 18 EHF EURO 2016 Croatia • first handball steps taken at the Balic & Metlicic • scored 57 goals in VELUX EHF Champions League Academy in Split; also played for Split and GRK in his debut season Varazdin 1930 before arriving in Nasice • top scorer in the SEHA-Gazprom League 2017/18 (100 goals) at just 19 years of age • started his career in MRK Kozala, from where he transferred to Paris Saint-Germain's second team and later to Metalurg. He joined Nexe at the beginning of November 2018

35 Group C head-to-heads Historic encounters of the Group C opponents in the EC

FC Porto Sofarma vs TTH Holstebro No previous encounters in European competitions

FC Porto Sofarma vs Liberbank Cuenca No previous encounters in European competitions

FC Porto Sofarma vs HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta No previous encounters in European competitions

TTH Holstebro vs Liberbank Cuenca No previous encounters in European competitions

TTH Holstebro vs HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta No previous encounters in European competitions

Liberbank Cuenca vs HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta No previous encounters in European competitions

36 GROUP C FC Porto Sofarma (POR) AMBITIOUS PORTO AIMING FOR FIRST FINALS APPEARANCE With a consistent and growing project, FC Porto aim to reach the Men’s EHF Cup Finals for the first time. The club has been collecting 20 national titles but is now eager for more. “Playing the group phase of the EHF Cup is a very good and important stage of our season. Our team will play against very good teams and the enthusiasm is big among the players,” Porto coach Magnus Andersson said. Starting in Qualification Round 1, Porto defeated reigning Challenge Cup winners AHC Potaissa Turda and SKA Minsk in the early stages of the competition, but truly underlined their European ambitions in Round 3, when they eliminated the third-place team and hosts of last season’s finals, SC Magdeburg. The German side looked set for the group phase again when they defeated Porto 26:23 in the first leg. But backed by a strong blue-white home crowd in the Dragão Caixa, Porto turned the tie around with a blistering 34:27 victory, led by eight goals from António Areia - a twist that history will never erase. “A little luck and a lot of team work, with great defence and goalkeeping,” Andersson said when asked about the secrets behind Porto reaching the EHF Cup Group Phase. Goalkeeper , , Víctor Iturriza and Playing hall constitute a real defensive wall, which will be hard to break through for any team. Dragao Caixa The Portuguese team's defensive performance will be key to their performance in the Via Futebol Clube do Porto group stage of this competition. 4350419 Porto Portugal Capacity: 2,225 Road to the Group Phase

EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Club Address: 1st leg: @ SC Magdeburg L26:23 (14:11) FC Porto Sofarma 2nd leg: vs SC Magdeburg W34:27 (18:12) Estadio do Dragao Aggregate score: 57:53 Via FC Porto, Portugal EHF Cup, Qualification Round 2 1st leg: vs SKA Minsk W34:29 (18:14) Media contact: 2nd leg: @ SKA Minsk L25:24 (14:14) Fernando Santos Aggregate score: 58:54 +351 22 5083100 [email protected] EHF Cup, Qualification Round 1 1st leg: vs AHC Potaissa Turda W41:21 (19:12) Online information: 2nd leg: @ AHC Potaissa Turda W24:27 (15:12) Website: www.fcporto.pt Aggregate score: 68:45

Newcomers: (no club), Djibril Past achievements Mbengue (Stuttgart), Yoan Balasquez (SD Teucro), Leonel Fernandes (ISMAI), EHF Cup Fábio Magalhães (Chartres), Alexis Group Phase (2): 2014/15, 2016/17 Kit colours Last 16 (3): 1998/99, 2010/11, 2011/12 Light Borges (Barça) Player shirt: white and blue Other Player short: white or blue Left the club: Yoel Cuni (Istres), Jose Carrillo (Ademar VELUX EHF Champions League: Last 32 Goalkeeper shirt: blue 1999/00, group phase 2013/14, 2015/16 Dark Leon), Nikola Spelic (Maribor), Aleksander Spende (Metalurg) Player shirt: grey Cup Winner's Cup: quarter final 2000/01, Player short: grey 2001/02, Last 16 1996/97, 2007/08 Goalkeeper shirt: grey Coach: Magnus Andersson (since 2018) Team captains: Hugo Laurentino and Daymaro Salina

37 FC Porto Sofarma (POR) Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 92 Nuno Almeida POR Back 10/2/00 porto, POR 189 29 Miguel Alves POR Wing 22/7/96 Porto, POR 184 9 15 Daymaro Amador Salina POR Line Player 1/9/87 Havana, CUB 202 17 24 Thomas Bauer AUT Goalkeeper 24/1/86 Wien, AUT 188 0 7 Yoan Blanco Balasquez CUB Back 26/12/95 Havana, CUB 193 0 23 POR Wing 25/7/94 AVEIRO, POR 184 14 1 Alfredo Bravo Quintana POR Goalkeeper 20/3/88 Havana, POR 202 0 21 Leonel Fernandes POR Wing 12/3/98 Porto, POR 186 8 27 Andre Gomes POR Back 27/7/98 BRAGA, POR 195 23 22 Alexis Hernandez Borges POR Line Player 6/10/91 Habana, CUB 197 10 13 Angel Hernandez Zulueta CUB Back 4/2/94 Havana, CUB 196 4 4 Victor Manuel Iturriza Alvarez CUB Line Player 22/5/90 Havana, CUB 200 11 87 Manuel Lima POR Back 18/7/00 porto, POR 178 16 Hugo Madeira Laurentino POR Goalkeeper 22/7/84 Evora, POR 188 0 88 Fabio Magalhães POR Back 12/3/88 Lisboa, POR 193 15 11 Djibril Omar Mbengue GER Back 13/5/92 Stutgard, GER 198 6 99 Filipe Morais POR Wing 12/4/00 Porto, POR 188 90 Francisco Oliveira POR Goalkeeper 15/3/02 SJMaderia, POR 194 17 Miguel Pinto POR Wing 26/4/99 Porto, POR 193 25 Antonio Rodrigues Areia POR Wing 21/6/90 Lisboa, POR 191 41 58 Alejandro Romero Carreras CUB Goalkeeper 17/9/94 Havana, CUB 198 6 Leandro Semedo CPV Back 24/12/95 Praia, CPV 192 3 97 Goncalo Silva POR Wing 12/9/00 Porto, POR 180 10 Miguel Soares Martins POR Back 4/11/97 Porto, POR 194 8 5 Andre Sousa POR Back 3/3/02 Porto, POR 184 0 14 Rui Sousa Martins Silva POR Back 28/4/93 Guimaraes, POR 186 14 90 Tiago Sousa POR Line Player 6/12/00 Porto, POR 186 98 Alfredo Torres POR Wing 4/10/00 Guarda, POR 192

38 FC Porto Sofarma (POR) Coach and key players profiles

Magnus Andersson Alfredo Quintana coach goalkeeper • originally from Havana, Cuba, Quintana arrived • took charge at Porto in June 2018 in Porto in 2010 • former Swedish international played as a • current Portuguese national team player center back and was the MVP at EHF EURO 1994 in Portugal • won several Portuguese titles, all of them with Porto • as a player was also a two-time world champion and four-time European champion • a confident goalkeeper who can change a game when he hits form

EHF Cup 2016 and 2017 (as a coach)

Daymaro Salina Antonio Areia line player right wing • one of the most experienced players and one of • Portuguese player, who moved to FC Porto from the team’s captains Benfica in 2015 • won several Portuguese titles, all of them with • he is a true penalty expert FC Porto • won two Portuguese Super cups with SL Benfica • a defensive machine, but very capable of scoring • the left-handed wing is a technically-gifted player at the other end • has a great mentality and is a complete line player

39 GROUP C TTH Holstebro (DEN) QUARTER-FINAL THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE FOR HOLSTEBRO Playing in Europe is far from a new experience for the men at TTH Holstebro. Although they have never made it as far as the club’s women’s team, who have three European titles on their CV, the men’s side are in Europe for the eighth time. They have been in the VELUX EHF Champions League group phase once, while their finest achievement in the EHF Cup so far was reaching the final tournament in 2013. Compared to the squad which qualified for the EHF Cup by winning the Danish Cup last season, there have been changes in central positions. Goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud, who played an important role in Holstebro’s fine season, left for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and has been replaced by one of Denmark’s greatest goalkeeper talents, Sebastian Frandsen, who joined from Bjerringbro-Silkeborg. Another key player, right back Simon Birkefeldt is also playing in the Bundesliga now, for MT Melsungen. Holstebro still have former Danish international in that position, while Dutch international right back Kay Smits has joined him. TTH have an experienced man in the coaching seat, former Finnish international Patrick Westerholm, who won four Danish championships with KIF Kolding, and he is happy to Playing hall have his team in Europe once again. Gräkjaer Arena “We enjoy playing those EHF Cup matches and facing some non-Danish opposition. Hostrupvej 27 7500 “We hope to gather some experience ahead of the play-offs in the Danish league, Holstebro where we aim to at least reach the semi-finals,” says Westerholm, who has the quarter- Denmark final as his first objective. Capacity: 3,250

Road to the Group Phase Club Address: TTH Holstebro EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Stationsvej 37 1st leg: @ PAUC D25:25 (13:12) 7500 Holstebro 2nd leg: vs PAUC W28:25 (15:13) Denmark Aggregate score: 53:50

Media contact: Line Kristoffersen +45 28 459081 [email protected] Newcomers: Past achievements Niels Lindholt (Lemvig-Thyborøn Online information: Håndbold), Jonathan Würtz (Nyborg Website: www.tthholstebro.dk EHF Cup GIF Håndbold), Malthe Justesen (youth Facebook: @tthholstebro Runners-up (1):2012/13 team), Sebastian Frandsen (Bjerringbro- Instagram: @tthholstebro Quarter-final (1): 2014/15 Silkeborg), Kay Smits (Wilhelmshaven) Group phase (1): 2015/16 Qualification round 3 (1): 2017/18 Left the club: Anders Agger (Lemvig-Thyborøn Other Kit colours Håndbold), Matin Hansen (Follo VELUX EHF Champions League: Group Light Håndball, NOR), Emil Sidelmann (Lemvig- phase 2016/17 Player shirt: white / red Thyborøn Håndbold), Simon Birkefeldt Player short: black (MT Melsungen), Torbjørn Bergerud (SG Challenge Cup: Round 4 2002/03 Goalkeeper shirt: black Flensburg-Handewitt) Dark Cup Winner's Cup: quarter final 2009/10 Player shirt: blue / black Coach: Patrick Westerholm – since 2015 Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: yellow or red Team captain: Peter Balling

40 TTH Holstebro (DEN) Team roster

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

26 Peter Balling Christensen DEN Right Back 5/4/90 Skive, DEN 188 8 10 Magnus Grubb Bramming DEN Left Wing 1/10/90 Roskilde, DEN 182 9 4 Thomas Bohl Damgaard DEN Centre Back 15/7/99 Holstebro, DEN 190 30 Sebastian Leth Frandsen DEN Goalkeeper 27/5/94 Århus, DEN 204 0 1 Simon Sandgrav Gade DEN Goalkeeper 3/1/97 Holstebro, DEN 194 0 9 Jeppe Favrholt Hauskov DEN Right Wing 5/12/98 LEMVIG, DEN 190 19 Malte Bennedsgaard Justesen DEN Left Wing 9/9/99 Holstebro, DEN 187 0 8 Jac Johan Gunnar Karlsson FIN Centre Back 16/4/86 Karis, FIN 186 5 21 Kasper Emil Kildelund DEN Right Wing 11/5/94 SVENDBORG, DEN 183 3 3 Johan Thesbjerg Kofoed DEN Left Back 4/7/01 VARDE, DEN 201 20 Gustav William Pätschke Lind DEN Goalkeeper 1/3/99 Holstebro, DEN 191 31 Rasmus Schmidt Lind DEN Goalkeeper 8/4/83 Struer, DEN 192 7 Niels Lindholt DEN Line Player 27/4/95 Holstebro, DEN 186 0 14 Mikkel SandholmMortensen DEN Right Wing 13/9/00 Struer, DEN 175 0 5 Lars Mousing Nielsen DEN Line Player 4/3/92 København, DEN 195 7 15 John Viktor Östlund SWE Left Back 19/1/92 Husby- Ärlinghndra, SWE 198 7 25 Jonas Sogaard Porup DEN Left Back 12/2/91 Lemvig, DEN 196 7 23 Kay Smits NED Right Back 31/3/97 Geleen, NED 186 4 2 Vignir Svavarsson ISL Line Player 20/6/80 Reykjavik, ISL 196 3 6 Jonathan Mosbæk Tønning Würtz DEN Centre Back 29/9/99 Nyborg, DEN 198 22 Simon B. Pytlick DEN Back 11/12/00 Thurø, DEN 192 3 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 0 23 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

41 TTH Holstebro (DEN) Coach and key players profiles

Patrick Westerholm Sebastian Frandsen coach goalkeeper • head coach at the club since 2015 • joined in the summer of 2018 from league rivals Bjerringbro-Silkeborg • former Finnish international with a glorious club career with Danish clubs KIF Kolding and Skjern • had big shoes to fill in succeeding Norwegian Håndbold international Torbjørn Bergerud, who left for SG Flensburg-Handewitt • previous experience as head coach with former league club HC Midtjylland • a tall, 204 cm, keeper with a fine reach and a calm approach • tactically clever and generally calm, but can also show his temper if needed • has EHF Cup experience as well as VELUX EHF Champions League experience with Bjerringbro- Silkeborg • turned down an offer from Barcelona at a young age

Viktor Østlund Peter Balling left back right back • joined the club in 2016 from Eskilstuna Guif in his • joined from league rivals Skanderborg Håndbold homeland Sweden in 2014 • A tall and efficient left back with a fine shot, good • also represented Mors Thy Håndbold in the at both ends of the court Danish league • part of the Swedish national team who won the • part of the Danish national team at EHF EURO silver medal at the EHF EURO 2018 in Croatia, as he 2016 and 2018 was called up just before the semi-final • possesses a fine variation of shots and is also • will leave TTH after this season, but his next club good at one-on-one situations has yet to be revealed • brother Morten also plays in the Danish league with Skanderborg EHF EURO: S 2018

42 GROUP C Liberbank Cuenca (ESP) DREAMERS CUENCA MAKING THE MOST OF FIRST EUROPEAN ADVENTURE 2018 was the best year in the history of Spanish club Liberbank Cuenca. After finishing fifth in the ASOBAL League and qualifying for Europe for very first time, the dream did not end there as they progressed from Round 3 of the Men’s EHF Cup and prolonged their adventure into 2019. European participation is a big achievement for the club and the city. They have record membership numbers at the club, the fans are fully behind the team and interest from children wanting to play has risen. Cuenca’s goals for this season is to be competitive in Europe and stay competitive in the top half of the Spanish league and return to Europe next season. The key to getting this far was keep the core of the squad together for the past three seasons and have the backing of fans who always support their team. Coach Lidio Jimenez leads the team for the fifth season and he speaks proudly about the effort of players to become a competitive team and belief in the club’s project. “Playing in Europe gave us more reach, which makes it easier to sign new players and keep the young talented players we have,” explains Jimenez. “It is our first time, we want to enjoy playing in Europe, without forgetting we are in a competition. We do not stop dreaming and we will not discard anything, we want to keep dreaming and go as far as we can,” says coach Jimenez, who recognises his side Playing hall had a bit of luck with the draw. Pabellon Polideportivo el Sargal Firstly, in Round 3, where his side beat Belgian club Achilles Bocholt 71:54 on C/Sargal s/n aggregate, and in the group phase they will face FC Porto, TTH Holsterbo and HC 16002 Cuenca Dobrogea. Spain “Comparing with other teams, we have a more even group and more reason to dream, Capacity: 1,750 because we do not have German or French teams in our group. “It is not going to be easy as we are the most modest club by far and our opponents Club Address: have more experience, but we have ambition.” Liberbank Cuenca Road to the Group Phase C/ SARGAL S/N (PABELLON EL SARGA 16002 CUENCA EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Spain 1st leg: @Achilles Bocholt W29:34 (11:18) 2nd leg: vs Achilles Bocholt W37:25 (20:13) Media contact: Aggregate score: 71:54 Javier Palacios Blanco jpalacios@ balonmanociudadencantada.com Newcomers: Past achievements Online information: Santiago Baronetto (Handball Dorrego), www.bmciudadencantada.club Lucas Dario Moscariello (BM Villa de Aranda), EHF Cup Facebook: @BMCdadEncantada Angel Montoro (BM Logroño La Rioja), - Facebook: @bmcdadencantada Kristian Eskericic (Willstatt/Schutterwald), Twitter: @BMCdadEncantada ‏ Natan Antonio Suárez Díaz (SD Teucro) Other - Left the club: Kit colours Rafael Lopez (retired), Marc Canyigueral Light (retired), Vuk Perovic (RK Pelister), Javier Player shirt: white Fernandez (SRC Peña deportiva) Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: blue Coach: Lidio Jimenez Carrascosa – since 2014 Dark Player shirt: red Team captain: David Mendoza Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: yellow

43 Liberbank Cuenca (ESP) Team roster

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

13 Thiago Alves Ponciano BRA Left Back 8/5/94 Foz De Iguazu, BRA 194 5 9 Santiago Baronetto ARG Right Wing 22/10/92 Caba, ARG 187 2 24 Francisco Javier Castro Pena ESP Centre Back 10/9/96 Terrassa, ESP 186 6 Martin Ariel Doldan ITA Line Player 31/1/87 31/01/1987, ITA 190 6 3 Leonardo Dutra Ferreira BRA Left Back 29/3/96 29/03/1996, BRA 183 15 28 Sergio Lopez Garcia ESP Left Wing 30/9/97 30/09/1997, ESP 181 7 10 Hugo Lopez Ortega ESP Left Wing 7/5/92 07/05/1992, ESP 182 1 40 Leonel Marciel ARG Goalkeeper 4/1/89 Buenos Aires, ARG 192 0 8 David Mendoza Gomez ESP Line Player 22/11/82 Cuenca, ESP 198 1 33 Angel Montoro Cabello ESP Right Back 10/4/89 Toledo, ESP 213 9 11 Lucas Dario Moscariello ARG Line Player 19/2/92 Buenos Aires, ITA 190 8 20 Adrian Nolasco Macia ESP Left Back 24/5/93 Elche, ESP 193 8 32 Kilian Garajonay Ramirez Santana ESP Goalkeeper 2/6/98 Las Palmas, ESP 190 1 23 Oscar Rio ESP Centre Back 21/7/80 Santander, ESP 185 7 82 Alejandro Taravilla ESP Line Player 13/12/01 Cuenca, ESP 190 1 5 Pablo Vainstein ITA Left Wing 18/7/89 Buenos Aires, ITA 186

44 Liberbank Cuenca (ESP) Coach and key players profiles

Lidio Jimenez Leonardo Dutra Ferreira coach left back • replaced Zupo Equisoian as coach at the end of • top scorer of the team by far with 168 goals in the 2013/14 season and is in his his fifth season as a ASOBAL League last season and 112 in the first half Cuenca coach, his first experience with a top flight of this season, which leads the entire league team. He extended his contract with the club in • known as ‘La bestia’ (the beast), he is a Brazilian January until June 2021 international, but did not play in January’s World • led the team to their best finish in club history last Championship 2019 season season, placing fifth in the ASOBAL League • arrived in Spain in 2017 from Brazilian club and qualified for the EHF Cup for the first time. EC Pinheiros. In 2016, he was the MVP and top scorer with 45 goals of the Pan-American Club Championship and MVP of the Brazilian League.

Thiago Alves Ponciano Angel Montoro left back right back • arrived from Brazil in 2015, playing his fourth • played football and basketball first, but eventually season with Cuenca. found handball and played with a local club in his home city Toledo • Brazilian international, who was part of side which finished ninth at the World Championship • tallest player in the ASOBAL League at 213 cm 2019 • first season in Cuenca after moving from Logroño. • arrived as a defensive specialist, but can also play His debut in the ASOBAL league was with Leon, in attack before he moved to Barcelona in 2012 and has since had spells with Toulouse and Wisla Plock. • world champion with Spain in 2013 after making his national team debut in 2011

45 GROUP C HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU)

THE REVIVAL OF A FORMER POWERHOUSE Handball has a long tradition in Constanta, the fifth biggest city in Romania, with former club HCM Constanta being a constant in the VELUX EHF Champions League for many years. Wins against Barça, Montpellier or Pick Szeged helped the side build an interesting presence in the competition, yet financial trouble saw them fold in 2015. Former players like Rudi Stanescu, George Buricea or Laurentiu Toma helped build another side in the second league from the ashes of the former powerhouse and the results are there to be seen: 2018 has been kind with HC Dobrogea Sud, as they won their first Romanian cup and progressed to the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup. “We are happy with what we have achieved only three-and-a-half years after the team was founded. We could have been in the group phase last year, but we drew Magdeburg in the third round and it was impossible to beat them,” said Constanta president Rudi Stanescu, a former goalkeeper at HCM Constanta. Constanta’s main advantage is the experience of players like Dalibor Cutura, Laurentiu Toma or George Buricea, but there are also several younger players that can bring a lot to the table. “Constanta is a balanced team and all players are important. Now, we obviously want to progress to the next stage of the competition, but it will not be easy,” added Stanescu. Playing hall Group C is looking to be the most balanced one in the competition, with no clear favourites City Hall Constanta to proceed to the quarter-finals. B.dul Tomis Nr. 104-106 “I can say that I am happy that we are not playing against a German side or against Fraikin Constanta BM. Granollers, who are having a very good season in their domestic league. But are there Rumania any easy teams at this stage of the competition?,” questioned Constanta’s president. Capacity: 3,410 As for the team’s objective, Constanta is deploying a step-by-step approach. After they were eliminated last season by Magdeburg on the last step before the group phase, they are here now. Club Address: HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta Tudor Vladimirescu, no. 19, 2nd 900684 CONSTANTA Romania Road to the Group Phase

Media contact: EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Ionut Rudi Stanescu 1st leg: @ HK Malmö W22:23 (14:9) [email protected] 2nd leg: vs HK Malmö W34:28 (17:12) Aggregate score: 57:50 Online information: Website: www.hcdobrogeasud.ro EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Facebook: HC Dobrogea Sud 1st leg: vs Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen W28:21 (15:15) Constanta 2nd leg: @ Talent Robstav M.A.T. Plzen W23:29 (13:14) Aggregate score: 57:44

Kit colours Newcomers: Light Past achievements Janez Gucek (DOL TKI Hrastnik), Ivan Player shirt: white EHF Cup Sever (RK Umag), Nejc Poklar, Marko Player short: white Qualification Round 3 (1): 2017/18 Goalkeeper shirt: light blue Nikolic Dark Other Left the club: Player shirt: blue - Player short: blue Jan Gorela, Rok Gašperšič (RK Jadran) Goalkeeper shirt: pink Coach: Veselin Vujovic (since August 2017, successor of Zoran Jovicic)

Team captain: Uros Rapotec

46 HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU) Team roster

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

7 Alexandru George Andrei ROU Left Wing 17/7/98 Braila, ROU 175 0 77 George Ionut Buricea ROU Left Wing 1/8/79 Braila, ROU 179 3 8 Irakli Chikovani GEO Left Back 28/7/89 Tbilisi 197 11 15 Nikola Crnoglavac SRB Right Back 22/4/92 Kraljevo 195 13 18 Vencel Csog ROU Left Wing 26/6/97 Baraolt 7 17 Dalibor Cutura SRB Centre Back 14/6/75 Sombor, SRB 190 2 94 Ionut Ciprian Iancu ROU Goalkeeper 18/2/94 Ploiesti, ROU 192 0 51 Sabin Iulian Ignat ROU Centre Back 29/7/87 PIATRA NEAMT, ROU 191 1 10 Janko Kevic CRO Line Player 21/4/86 ZAGREB, CRO 187 12 4 Dejan Malinovic BIH Right Back 12/4/92 Banja Luka 191 12 64 Velko Markoski MKD Line Player 5/4/86 Struga 194 1 1 MKD Goalkeeper 3/10/85 Bitola 188 0 46 Nemanja Mladenovic SRB Left Back 4/1/94 Sombor, SRB 193 5 66 Marius Iulian Mocanu ROU Line Player 9/12/86 Calarasi 195 15 23 Zoran Nikolic SRB Line Player 23/2/91 Beograd 188 7 5 Ionut Nistor Ionita ROU Right Back 24/5/94 Bucuresti, ROU 184 10 20 Viachaslau Saldatsenka BLR Goalkeeper 23/7/94 Orsha 189 0 34 Daniel Andrei Susanu ROU Line Player 4/3/98 Galati, ROU 190 2 14 Laurentiu Mihai Toma ROU Right Wing 28/6/81 Ploiesti, ROU 194 4 16 Dan Lucian Vasile ROU Goalkeeper 9/7/97 Bistri?a, ROU 189 0 11 Stevan Vujovic MNE Centre Back 7/4/90 Cetinje 190 9 3 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 0 23 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

47 HC Dobrogea Sud Constanta (ROU) Coach and key players profiles

Zvonko Sundovski Ionut Iancu coach goalkeeper • is in his second stint as head coach, after also • made debut for Constanta in 2012/13, winning leading the club between 2012 and 2015 his only Romanian league title • worked at CSM Bucuresti for two years from • joined CSM Bucuresti in Romania and later 2015-17 Tatabanya in Hungary, and played EHF Cup with both teams • was coach of the Macedonian national team when they placed fifth at EHF EURO 2012 • returned from one season at Tatabanya to Constanta in the summer of 2018 • is second goalkeeper in Romanian national team, behind former Constanta player Mihai Popescu

Dalibor Cutura Dejan Malinovic centre back right back • at 43, the Serbian playmaker is the oldest • has previous EHF Cup experience with HC player still in the competition Izvidac, Maribor Branik and US Creteil • previously played for Veszprém and Ademar • Bosnian back, who draws inspiration from León, and has been with Constanta since 2012 former French star Jerome Fernandez • loves to play tennis, has been competing in • was also keen football and basketball player, senior events in recent years but picked handball and has meanwhile played more than 50 times for the national team • son David played football at academy of Romanian standout Gheorghe Hagi

48 Group D head-to-heads Historic encounters of the Group D opponents in the EC

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs KS Azoty-Pulawy SA 2-0-0 (69:56) 4:0 18.02.2018 Fraikin BM. Granollers vs KS Azoty-Pulawy SA, EHF Cup – Group D 32:26 (21:14) 31.03.2018 KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs Fraikin BM. Granollers, EHF Cup – Group D 30:37 (13:17)

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs THW Kiel No previous encounters in European competitions

Fraikin BM. Granollers vs GOG No previous encounters in European competitions

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs THW Kiel No previous encounters in European competitions

KS Azoty-Pulawy SA vs GOG No previous encounters in European competitions

THW Kiel vs GOG 7-0-1 (256:225) 14:2 07.11.1998 GOG Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group C 26:31 (9:15) 02.01.1999 THW Kiel vs GOG Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group C 28:23 (13:14) 26.11.2000 GOG Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group C 22:23 (9:9) 17.12.2000 THW Kiel vs GOG Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group C 28:34 (14:17) 01.10.2006 GOG Svendborg TGI Gudme vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Group E 28:32 (8:19) 02.11.2006 THW Kiel vs GOG Svendborg TGI Gudme, EHF Champions League – Group E 34:32 (13:17) 15.02.2009 GOG Svendborg TGI vs THW Kiel, EHF Champions League – Main Round Group 4 31:43 (13:19) 25.02.2009 THW Kiel vs GOG Svendborg TGI, EHF Champions League – Main Round Group 4 37:29 (20:20)

49 GROUP D Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

GRANOLLERS FIGHTING FOR EHF CUP PROGRESSION IN 75TH YEAR This year marks Fraikin BM. Granollers’ 75th anniversary and the club is marking the occasion with its fifth successive appearance in the Men’s EHF Cup. The Catalan side is also a regular in the top tier of the Spanish ASOBAL League – a strong achievement for a club which sees a high turnover of players each summer. Granollers have won the EHF Cup twice, in 1995 and 1996, and reached the final in 2016 in Nantes. However coach Antonio Rama is a little less confident about his team’s chances this year. “Being realistic, we will fight for second position in the group but we can finish in fourth without anything exceptional happening,” he says. Rama rates Granollers’ opponents in Group D highly. He says THW Kiel have no rivals in the group, while people do not give Danish club GOG the recognition they deserve. “They’re a fast team, with talented young players and they are a good team,” Rama says of GOG. Granollers beat Polish team KS Azoty-Pulawy in both legs last season, but Rama says they, too, are to be feared. “They can beat us and for sure they will win some points,” he says. Matches against Kiel will be special for the club as the German team are one of the biggest clubs in Europe with vocal fans. Playing hall “We want to enjoy this experience, at home and away, and we want to share this with Palau d’Esports de Granollers our fans,” adds Rama. Adva. Francesc Macia s/num. 08400 Granollers Spain Capacity:5,260 Road to the Group Phase EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Club Address: 1st leg: vs RK Gorenje Velenje L24:25 (11:11) Fraikin BM. Granollers 2nd leg: @ RK Gorenje Velenje W24:33 (12:16) C/Voluntaris 1 Aggregate score: 57:49 08402 Granollers Spain

Media contact: Josep Blanchart Newcomers: +34 655 870435 Past achievements: Borja Lancina (Bidasoa Irún), Oswaldo [email protected] EHF Cup: Dos Santos (Helvetia Anaitasuna), Ivan Winners (2): 1994/95, 1995/96 Popovic (Bidasoa Irún), Antonio Garcia (CSM Online information: Semi-final (2): 1996/97, 2015/16 Bucarest), Victor Saez (Handbol Sant Quirze) Website: www.bmgranollers.cat Quarter-final (1): 2004/05 Facebook: BMGranollers Last 16 (2): 2007/08, 2011/12 Left the club: Instagram:@bmgranollers Group Phase (2): 2014/15, 2016/17 Twitter: @BMGranollers Alvaro Cabanas (BM. Benidorm), Gonzalo Porras (BM. Benidorm), Roland Bernantonis Other (SBS Eger), Albert Pujol (Helvetia Anaitasuna), Kit colours Cup Winners’ Cup: final 2009/10, Marc Cañellas (IKF Kristianstad), Josep Light quarter-final 2005/06 Reixach (H. Bordils), Jorge de Silva (Blendio Player shirt: white Champions Trophy: final 1995/96 Sinfín), David Resina (retired) Player short: blue City Cup: semi-final 1993/94 Goalkeeper shirt: green Coach: Antonio Rama (since 2017) Dark Player shirt: red Team captain: Marc Garcia Player short: black Goalkeeper shirt: black

50 Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

Team roster

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

71 Pol Blanchart Fernandez ESP Left Wing 25/1/96 Granollers, ESP 180 16 Oswaldo Dos Santos Maestro ESP Right Wing 23/10/89 Sao Paulo, BRA 185 4 11 Ismael Bela Esono Mangue ESP Left Back 21/10/96 Malabo, ESP 191 8 Alvaro Ferrer Vecilla ESP Centre Back 17/3/82 Granollers, ESP 190 0 13 Adrian Figueras Trejo ESP Line Player 31/8/88 Barcelona, ESP 192 15 34 Sergi Franco Miro ESP Right Wing 10/5/99 Barcelona, ESP 189 0 7 Marc Garcia Dieguez ESP Left Back 27/9/84 Barcelona, ESP 194 0 99 Antonio Jesus Garcia Robledo ESP Left Back 6/3/84 La Llagosta, ESP 191 12 19 Mamadou Gassama Cissokho ESP Right Wing 28/10/93 Granollers, ESP 188 8 1 Marc Guardia Tomas ESP Goalkeeper 13/1/95 Barcelona, ESP 187 0 24 Nil Guiteras Canal ESP Goalkeeper 8/3/01 Granollers, ESP 185 6 Borja Lancina Domingo ESP Centre Back 3/9/92 Cardedeu, ESP 170 0 95 Alejandro Marquez Coloma ESP Right Back 5/1/95 Alcobendas, ESP 194 3 17 Adria Martinez Bages ESP Left Wing 25/5/98 Les Franqueses, ESP 185 1 18 Aleix Martinez Bages ESP Line Player 17/6/95 Les Franqueses, ESP 185 38 Pau Navarro Baches ESP Line Player 7/12/99 Granollers, ESP 191 89 Cesar Augusto Oliveira de Almeida BRA Goalkeeper 6/1/89 Sao Paulo, BRA 190 0 5 Edgar Perez Lopez ESP Left Wing 20/3/94 Granollers, ESP 178 33 Ivan Popovic SRB Line Player 21/3/94 Beograd, SRB 195 0 25 Vukasin Rakocija SRB Left Back 26/4/96 Novi Sad, SRB 195 3 20 Victor Saez Lozano ESP Left Wing 13/11/92 BARCELONA, ESP 174 6 28 Ian Tarrafeta Serrano ESP Centre Back 4/1/99 Sabadell, ESP 188 5 9 Pol Valera Rovira ESP Centre Back 19/9/98 Granollers, ESP 187 0

51 Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP)

Coach and key players profiles

Antonio Rama Cesar Oliveira de Almeida coach goalkeeper • in his second season as head coach after Carlos • known as ‘Bombom’ Almeida, one of the most Viver became head coach of Spain’s national popular players of the team women’s team • Brazil international who arrived in Spain in 2013 • voted best coach of the ASOBAL League in • played two seasons for Quabit Guadalajara 2017/18 before signing for Granollers in 2015/16 • arrived at Granollers as a young player in 1993/94 • moved to ØIF Arendal in Norway for one year but never made the first team before returning to Catalan club in the summer of • started coaching in 2000, became assistant coach 2017 of first team in 2014

Adria Figueras Antonio Garcia line player left back • MVP of the ASOBAL League twice, 2015/16 and • formed as a player in Granollers, joining the club 2017/18, and best line player in past three seasons as a 14-year-old, and playing in the first team from 2003-11 • is the top goal scorer and a key player of Granollers • played for León, PSG, Pick Szeged, Copenhagen, Barça and Bucuresti before getting back to • has extended his contract with the club for two Granollers for the final seasons of his career more years, until 2020 • has contract with Granollers until June 2021 • joined Ganollers in 2014, coming from youth team of Barça Lassa • was best left back of the ASOBAL League in 2010/11 (Granollers) and 2011/12 (Ademar León) • international for Spain since 2016 • scored 145 goals in 78 matches for Spain before retiring from national team in 2016

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

52 GROUP D KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL)

JURECKI'S NEW ROLE TAKES AZOTY TO SECOND EHF CUP GROUP PHASE Polish handball star Bartosz Jurecki built his name as a player and last year led KS Azoty-Pulawy to their first-ever Men’s EHF Cup Group Phase. This season Jurecki has got a completely new challenge after taking over as Azoty- Pulawy’s coach from the legendary Daniel Waszkiewicz. But the transition has not been as easy as he might have hoped. “This is a totally different kind of job,” says Jurecki. “As a player I was preparing myself only for training sessions, resting in between, and now I think about handball all the time. I work a lot at home analysing video, but I really like this job and I would like to keep going.” Jurecki admits that he still cannot fully switch into the new mode and lives the emotions like a player. “I’m rather impulsive,” he says. “I’m trying to be calm, because I know that it’s easier to notice all important things then, but you know, I barely finished my first half-year in the role. At the beginning I was running alongside the line all the time. Now it’s a bit better.” Current and former players praise Jurecki’s work so far. He says his coaching style has been influenced by his years on the court. Playing hall “First of all I speak with my players, I don’t want to introduce dictatorship as I Globus Hall remember from my own experience that it’s not good,” he comments. “Rigour yes, Kazimierza Wielkiego 8, 20-611 but on the court. Besides, we’re still friends and one does not exclude the other.” Lublin, Jurecki’s first year as coach has not been an easy one. In the Polish league Azoty had Poland several slips and the winter break came just in time, giving the team a break from an Capacity: 4,221 away losing streak which had lasted since September. At the end of the year the club ran a deep analysis of the situation including talks and performance tests.

Club Address: KS Azoty-Pulawy SA Aleja Partyzantow 11 Road to the Group Phase 24-100 Pulawy Poland EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 1st leg: vs Selfoss W33:26 (14:15) Media contact: 2nd leg: @ Selfoss W28:27 (16:16) Jerzy Witaszek Aggregate score: 60:54 [email protected]

Online information: Website: www.azoty-pulawy.pl Newcomers: Facebook: @KS-AZOTY-PUŁAWY Ante Kaleb (TuS N-Luebbecke), Instagram: @azotypulawy Jerko Matulic (HBC Nantes), Lukasz Rogulski (Wybrzeze Gdańsk) Past achievements

Kit colours Left the club: EHF Cup Light Bartosz Kowalczyk (), Group Phase (1): 2017/18 Player shirt: white Patryk Kuchczynski (Orlęta Zwoleń), Qualification round 3 (2): 2015/16, Player short: red Vladislav Ostroushko (Selka Eskisehir Hentbol 2016/17 Goalkeeper shirt: yellow SK), Dark Robert Orzechowski (MMTS Kwidzyn) Other Player shirt: dark blue Challenge Cup: 2013/14 semi-finals, Player short: dark blue Coach: Bartosz Jurecki (since 2018) 2010/11, 2014/15 quarter-finals, Last 16 Goalkeeper shirt: green 2012/13, Round 3 2011/12 Team captain: Pawel Grzelak

53 KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL) Team roster

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

17 Kacper Adamczuk POL Left Back 25/2/97 Szczebrzeszyn, POL 197 1 Vadim Bogdanov RUS Goalkeeper 26/3/86 Leningrad, RUS 196 0 16 Wojciech Borucki POL Goalkeeper 15/10/01 Pulawy, POL 196 14 Mateusz Flont POL Right Back 20/10/98 Garwolin, POL 200 20 Pawel Grzelak POL Line Player 26/11/87 Pulawy, POL 202 1 44 Wojciech Guminski POL Left Wing 10/2/89 Gorzów Wlkp., POL 190 2 98 Piotr Jarosiewicz POL Left Wing 28/6/98 Lebork, POL 179 3 7 Ante Kaleb CRO Centre Back 9/5/93 Metkovic, CRO 196 1 25 Tomasz Kasprzak POL Line Player 6/2/86 Warszawa, POL 196 0 81 Valentyn Koshovy UKR Goalkeeper 5/2/81 Zaporozhye, UKR 200 0 6 Jakub Kosiak POL Right Wing 8/12/97 Pulawy, POL 186 10 Krzysztof Lyzwa POL Back 28/5/90 Ostrow Wkpl., POL 195 3 21 Piotr Maslowski POL Centre Back 20/2/88 Plock, POL 190 11 11 Jerko Matulic CRO Right Wing 20/4/90 Supetar, CRO 187 8 Marko Panic BIH Right Back 10/3/91 Jajce, BIH 197 12 27 Piotr Pezda POL Centre Back 24/1/90 Pulawy, POL 188 9 Pawel Podsiadlo POL Left Back 29/3/86 Kielce, POL 196 8 34 Nikola Prce BIH Left Back 31/8/80 Capljina, CRO 200 2 19 Lukasz Rogulski POL Line Player 10/6/93 Ketrzyn, POL 193 4 88 Mateusz Seroka POL Right Wing 24/12/88 Tczew, POL 180 9 13 Adam Skrabania POL Left Wing 21/2/85 Tarnowskie Góry, POL 189 2 5 Kamil Sliwinski POL Left Wing 11/11/96 Pulawy, POL 185 22 Witalij Titow POL Right Back 2/5/80 Bobrujsk, BLR 198 2 12 Emil Wiejak POL Goalkeeper 21/6/98 Pulawy, POL 197

54 KS Azoty-Pulawy SA (POL) Coach and key players profiles Bartosz Jurecki Marko Panic coach right back • former Polish international, most awarded • started his career at boyhood club Jajce in figure in the club, three-time WCh medallist in 2007, Bosnia-Herzegovina, making his professional debut 2009 and 2015 for Borac Banja Luka in 2006, where he spent five successful seasons • all-star line player at WCh 2015 in • ambidextrous player, possessing the rare ability • took over as head coach at the beginning of to shoot with both his left and right arm equally the 2018/19 season, replacing Daniel Waszkiewicz well, just like his teammate Krzysztof Łyżwa shortly after retiring from his playing career after two years in an Azoty-Puławy shirt • made his international debut with Bosnia- Herzegovina in 2010, aged 19, and since became a • legend at German side SC Magdeburg, where key member of the national team he spent nine years and won the EHF Cup in 2007; after last match in 2015 his shirt was hung under the • joined Azoty Puławy in 2017, following roof of GETEC Arena and his number 31 was retired five seasons at French side Chambery; will join Belarusian club HC Meshkov Brest for two years next • his younger brother Michał Jurecki is the season captain of Champions League participants, Polish side PGE VIVE Kielce

EC Trophies: EHF Cup 2007 WCh: S 2007, B 2009, B 2015

Vadim Bogdanov Pawel Podsiadlo goalkeeper left back • Russian international, participating in several • versatile player able to cooperate with the world and European championships, most recently wings and line players, who has a frighteningly good at WCh 2017 in France long-range shot • three-time Russian champion with • born in Kielce, where he began his career with Chekhovskije Medvedi in 2008-2010 and Belarussian PGE VIVE Kielce, but left in 2011 with two Polish champion with Dinamo Minsk in 2013 titles in the direction of the French league • important element of the team, known for • after six years at Selestat Alsace and USAM being able to change the course of the game by Nimes Gard he returned to Poland in 2017, signing a himself if he is in good form three-year contract with Azoty Pulawy • one of the top goalkeepers in the Polish league • one of Pulawy’s top three scorers in the Polish this season, with a 32 per cent save rate in the first league so far this season alongside Marko Panić and part of 2018/19 season Piotr Masłowski

55 GROUP D THW Kiel (GER) KIEL TARGET HOME FINALS ON EHF CUP RETURN On 24 April 2004, 10,000 fans went crazy as THW Kiel secured a clear 27:19 victory in the second leg of the final against BM Altea from Spain to raise the EHF Cup trophy for the third time. Kiel would not play another EHF Cup match for 14 years, during which the German record champions were regulars in the EHF Champions League and picked up three titles in 2007, 2010 and 2012. Now the ‘Zebras’ are back in the EHF Cup and are considered to be favourites by most to go all the way. Kiel will host the EHF Cup Finals on 17/18 May and took the first step towards their home event with a Round 3 win over Norwegian side Drammen. Reaching and winning the final tournament would be a fitting farewell to coach Alfred Gislason, who will leave his role after eleven years and will be succeeded by current assistant coach Filip Jicha. “From the first moment on, it was our goal to make it to the EHF Cup Finals. The fact that the EHF awarded us the event is a great additional motivation,” says Gislason. He hopes for a huge support from the stands: “We expect at least 7,000 fans in our three home matches in the group phase, and 500 are supposed to accompany us to the Playing hall away match in Odense, Denmark.” Sparkassen-Arena-Kiel This game will be something very special for the newly crowned world champion Europaplatz 1 brothers Niklas and Magnus Landin, as Niklas is a former GOG player. Their other group 24103 Kiel Germany opponents are Granollers and Azoty-Pulawy. Capacity: 10,285 “We face interesting opponents, which we mostly have never faced before, in an exciting group,” says Gislason. As he spent his early playing days in Spain and faced Granollers many times, he is looking forward to this first duel between the clubs: “Granollers have a long and successful tradition and are a big name and we will have an Club Address: interesting opener against Azoty-Pulawy.” THW Kiel Ziegelteich 30 24103 Kiel Road to the Group Phase Germany EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 Media contact: 1st leg: vs Drammen HK W34:23 (16:14) Christian Robohm 2nd leg: @ Drammen HK W18:36 (9:17) +49 1635306300 Aggregate score: 70:41 [email protected]

Online information: Newcomers: Past achievements: Website: www.thw-handball.de Magnus Landin (KIF Kolding-Kopenhagen), EHF Cup: Facebook: @thwhandball Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson (FH Hafnarfjördur), Winners (3): 1997/98, 2001/02, Instagram: @thwhandball (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), 2003/04 Twitter: @thw_handball (Rhein-Neckar Löwen) Other Left the club: VELUX EHF Champions League: Emil Frend Öfors (HSG Wetzlar), Raul Santos Winners 2006/07, 2009/10, 2011/12, Kit colours (SC DHfK Leipzig), (Telekom Runners-up 1999/00, 2007/08, Light Veszprem), Christian Zeitz (SG Nußloch), 2008/09, 2012/13, 2013/14, Player shirt: white (HC Vardar) 2014/15,2015/16 Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: black Coach: Alfred Gislason (since 2008) Champions Trophy: winners 2006/07, Dark Runners-up 2000/01, 2001/02, Player shirt: black Team captain: , Patrick 2003/04, 2007/08 Player short: black Wiencek and Niklas Landin Goalkeeper shirt: red

56 THW Kiel (GER) Team roster No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals

53 AUT Left Back 28/11/96 Tunis, TUN 198 5 23 GER Left Wing 10/4/93 Kiel, GER 189 7 4 Domagoj Duvnjak CRO Centre Back 1/6/88 Dakovo, CRO 198 3 18 SWE Right Wing 23/12/88 Ystad, SWE 191 5 9 Sebastian Firnhaber GER Line Player 18/4/94 Buxtehude, GER 198 8 11 Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson ISL Centre Back 30/7/99 Reykjavik, ISL 191 0 16 Tom Landgraf GER Goalkeeper 11/3/96 Aschersleben, GER 198 7 DEN Left Wing 20/8/95 Helsingør, DEN 196 0 1 DEN Goalkeeper 19/12/88 Soborg, DEN 200 0 65 SWE Left Back 16/11/96 Ystad, SWE 192 11 61 Hendrik Pekeler GER Line Player 2/7/91 Itzehohe, GER 203 5 22 Ole Rahmel GER Right Wing 19/11/89 Achim, GER 190 6 6 Harald Reinkind NOR Right Back 17/8/92 Trondheim, NOR 195 6 41 SRB Right Back 7/12/84 Backa Palanka, SRB 201 7 13 Steffen Weinhold GER Right Back 19/7/86 Fuerth, GER 188 0 17 GER Line Player 22/3/89 Duisburg, GER 200 5 33 GER Goalkeeper 3/3/91 Euskirchen, GER 198 0 24 SLO Centre Back 12/10/91 Novo Mesto, SLO 178 2

57 THW Kiel (GER) Coach and key players profiles

Alfred Gislason Niklas Landin coach goalkeeper • five-time coach of the year in Germany, who • joined Kiel in the summer of 2015 after three won nine domestic championships with Essen, seasons with Rhein-Neckar Löwen Magdeburg and Kiel, five German cup titles, six • captain of world-title winning Danish national European club titles team, successor of legendary Kasper Hvidt after • started coaching career in home town breaking through at WCh 2011 Akureyri, later took over Hameln, Magdeburg • also played for Gudme in Denmark, where he was and Gummersbach in Germany and the Icelandic No. 1 at age 20 national team • best goalkeeper at the WCh 2013 and 2019, EHF • joined Kiel in 2008 as the successor of Noka EURO 2014, CL 2013/14, Olympics 2016 Serdarusic and led THW to 19 trophies so far • will leave THW after this season, handing over to assistant coach Filip Jicha

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2013 OG: G 2016, WCh: G 2019, S 2011, 2013, EURO: G 2012, S 2014

Nikola Bilyk Domagoj Duvnjak left back centre back • born in Tunis, where his father Serhij was • THW’s top signing before 2014/15 season, goalkeeper at Esperance; later father and son played arriving from Hamburg, where he played since 2009 for Fivers in Vienna after starting career in Dakovo, Croatia • at 18, was youngest player at WCh 2015 in Qatar, • in 2013, he became IHF World Handball Player of got offers from Barça and Kiel after tournament the Year and best Bundesliga player • was MVP, top scorer and best centre back at M20 • not just a typical playmaker, also a good scorer EHF EURO 2014 in and essential in defence • was top scorer of Austrian league in 2015/16, • made comeback at end of last season after netting 210 times for Fivers; has scored more than various injuries 120 times for national team

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

58 GROUP D GOG (DEN)

PROUD GOG HAPPY TO BE BACK IN EUROPE Before the reconstruction of the club in 2010, GOG were one of the most successful clubs in Danish handball. During the eight years since, the club from the southern part of the island of Funen have not won a title yet, but in recent years, the club has begun to play a bigger role among Danish league’s top table. This had earned them European Cup participation several times and this season, after a year of absence, the yellow boys from Funen are back in Europe, this time ready for the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup. A few days before Christmas, their hopes for success in the Danish league and Europe suffered a severe blow as right back Niclas Kirkeløkke suffered an ACL injury. The injury to Kirkeløkke, who will be joining German top team Rhein-Neckar Löwen next season, was a severe handicap to the Danish national team ahead of the World Championship as well as to GOG. However, being the largest talent factory in Danish handball, GOG are used to finding solutions and young Jon Andersson will be the primary replacement to Kirkeløkke. Head coach Nicolej Krickau is well aware of the ambitions at the club and he shares Playing hall them. SU ́VI:T Arena “GOG is set in the world to win titles. Staerkaervej 1 “Nationally, we go hard after the championship. In the EHF Cup, it is primarily about 5884 Gudme advancement from the group. After that, we will have to see what happens,” says Denmark Krickau, who strongly believes his club belongs in Europe. Capacity: 1,756 “GOG as a great club with a proud history nationally, but also in Europe in the past. “We are happy to be back in this company again and we look forward to showing our Club Address: spectators some European handball again,” says Krickau who sees THW Kiel from his GOG Sport 2010 team’s own group as the favourites to win the EHF Cup. Staerkaervej 1 “Kiel look like a great favourites. Berlin, Porto and Hannover also look strong, but we 5884 Gudme see Kiel as a relatively big favourite to win the title.” Denmark Road to the Group Phase Media contact: Kasper Jorgensen EHF Cup, Qualification Round 3 +45 62 252135 1st leg: @ Vojvodina W27:32 (12:13) [email protected] 2nd leg: vs Vojvodina W38:25 (19:12) Aggregate score: 70:52 Online information: Website: www.gog.dk Facebook: @GOGsport Newcomers: Past achievements Instagram: @GOGsport Oscar Bergendahl, Allingsas HK Josef Pujol, VfL Gummersbach EHF Cup Kit colours Odin Thor Rikhardsson, FN Hafnarfjordur Quarter-finals (3): 1999/00,2001/02, Henrik Tilsted, Morst Thy Håndbold 2005/06 Light Group Phase (1):2016/17 Player shirt: yellow Left the club: Round 4 (1): 2009/10 Player short: red Lasse Rosendahl, Odense HC, Mads Bruus, Goalkeeper shirt: green end of career, Torsten Laen, end of career, Other Dark Henrik Jakobsen, Toulouse, Gøran Søgaard VELUX EHF Champions League: Last 32 Player shirt: blue Johannessen, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 2004/05, 2006/07, Main Round 2007/08 Player short: red Mark Strandgaard, Aalborg Handball, Cup Winners’ Cup: Runners-up 1995/96, Goalkeeper shirt: white Magnus Jøndal, SG Flensburg-Handewitt Quarter-final 1993/94,1997/98, Round 4 2002/03, Round 3 2003/04 Coach: Nicolej Krickau – since 2017

Team captain: Lasse Kronborg

59 GOG (DEN) Team roster

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Goals 9 Frederik Bo Andersen DEN Right Wing 9/12/98 Roskilde, DEN 186 5 Victor Skjellerup Bang DEN 30/7/99 23 Oscar Bergendahl SWE Line Player 8/3/95 Kungsbacka, SWE 192 1 25 Jeppe M. Cieslak DEN Left Wing 1/4/00 Maribo, DEN 183 4 77 Frederik Kiehn Clausen DEN Left Back 29/6/95 Svendborg, DEN 197 0 16 Ole Erevik NOR Goalkeeper 9/1/81 , NOR 196 0 18 Lars Eriksen Hald DEN Line Player 28/10/88 Kærby, DEN 194 0 19 Mathias Gidsel DEN Centre Back 8/2/99 Skjern, DEN 190 4 39 Frederik Elmkjaer Hansen DEN Right Back 20/8/98 Kerteminde, DEN 194 31 Emil M. Jakobsen DEN Left Wing 24/1/98 Kerteminde, DEN 190 8 14 Lukas Jörgensen DEN Line Player 31/3/99 Roskilde, DEN 193 6 3 Niclas Vest Kirkelokke DEN Right Back 26/3/94 Ringe, DEN 195 8 20 Lasse Kronborg DEN Centre Back 18/5/84 Svendborg, DEN 193 0 8 Torsten Laen DEN Line Player 26/11/79 Odense, DEN 198 15 Emil B. Laerke DEN Left Back 4/6/99 Roskilde, DEN 203 11 7 Kristian Larsen DEN Back 13/12/97 Høve, DEN 190 6 Jon Lindenchrone Andersen DEN Right Back 2/1/97 Nørre Snede, DEN 195 5 12 Frank Mikkelsen DEN Goalkeeper 24/6/88 Ullerslev, DEN 190 0 64 Lasse Kjaer Møller DEN Left Back 11/6/96 Gudme, DEN 199 70 Josef Pujol SWE Centre Back 19/2/92 Stocholm, SWE 183 5 22 Simon B. Pytlick DEN Back 11/12/00 Thurø, DEN 192 3 Odinn Thor Rikhardsson ISL Right Wing 23/10/97 Reykjavik, ISL 181 13 Svend Bro Rughave DEN 5/2/01 196 0 23 Henrik Tilsted DEN Left Wing 17/5/94 Thisted, DEN 185

60 GOG (DEN) Coach and key players profiles

Nicolej Krickau Ole Erevik coach goalkeeper • joined GOG from league rivals Skanderborg • joined GOG in 2017 from French PAUC Håndbold in 2017 • started his career in Stavanger IF in his • was the youngest coach ever in the Danish homeland, Norway, and has played in Spain and men’s league when he took over at Skanderborg Germany as well as with several Danish clubs in 2013 aged 27 • plays with special spectacles to protect his • is tactically very well equipped and eyes after suffering problems a few years ago particularly good at developing new talents • ended his career in the Norwegian national • has a dream of becoming a TV commentator team in 2016 • characterised by his fast reactions and emotional displays • announced he will retire at the end of this season

Lasse Møller Jon Andersen left back right back • Like so many other GOG players, he is a • spent his entire senior career at GOG product of the club’s own talent development program • a tall and flexible left-hander with a fine and varied shot • A big and tall, but also creative backcourt player who can also play as a playmaker • has extra responsibility after the first choice in the position, Danish international Niclas Kirkeløkke, • awarded MVP at the 2017 Junior World was sidelined for the season with a cruciate Championship ligament injury • the son of former national team goalkeeper • will leave GOG for league rivals SønderjyskE Bent Møller, who played his entire career with GOG this summer

61 Top scorers of the qualification

Rank Name & nation Club Goals

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

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

3 Rodrigues Areia Antonio (POR) FC Porto Sofarma (POR) 16 Stojkovic Rastko (SRB) Maccabi Srugo Rishon Lezion (ISR) 16

5 Dutra Ferreira Leonardo (BRA) Liberbank Cuenca (ESP) 15 Figueras Trejo Adrian (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 15

Marques Pedro (POR) SL Benfica (POR) 15

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

Csaszar Gabor (HUN) Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) 14

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

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

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

Musche Matthias (GER) SC Magdeburg (GER) 14 Szita Zoltan (HUN) Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) 14

15 Jonsson Elvar Örn (ISL) Selfoss (ISL) 13 Lindberg Hans (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 13

Mathe Dominik (HUN) Balatonfüredi KSE (HUN) 13 Rikhardsson Odinn Thor (ISL) GOG (DEN) 13

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

Bold lettersindicate players who are still in the competition

Previous seasons’ top scorers

Season Name & nation Club Goals

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

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

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

2014/15 Skube Stas (SLO) Rk Gorenje Velenje (SLO) 81 2013/14 Dragan Gajic (SLO) Montpellier Agglomeration HB (FRA) 72

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

62 Past winners

2018 Füchse Berlin (GER)

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)

Men’s EHF Cup 2018/19 Group Phase

Media Guide by

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

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