Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena Saturday 3 May 2014 Semi-final 1 (15:00 hrs) Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs FC Midtjylland (DEN) : Semi-final 2 (17:30) WHC Vardar SCBT (MKD) vs Buducnost (MNE) : Sunday 4 May 2014 3/4 Placement match (14:30) : Final (17:00) : Table of contents Club media contacts at the MVM EHF FINAL4 4 Playing system diagram - stages and dates 5 Playing order & regulations 6 MVM EHF FINAL4 preview 8 Expert’s view 10 Gyõri Audi ETO KC 11 FC Midtjylland 16 WHC Vardar SCBT 21 Budućnost 26 Head-to-heads 31 Current Top Scorers 32 Women’s EHF Champions League Past Winners 33 Women’s EHF Champions League Top Scorers 34 All-time club standings 35 3 Club media contacts at the MVM EHF FINAL4 FC Midtjylland Györi Audi ETO KC Torben Kolbaek Tamas Szabo +45 25 600080 +36 30 364 55 18 [email protected] [email protected] WHC Vardar SCBT Buducnost Ana Mihajlovska Milos Pavicevic +389 76487979 +382 682 226 66 [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] / [email protected] 4 Women’s EHF Champions League 2013/14 playing system Qualication Qualication Round 2 Group Matches Main Round FINAL4 Round 1 4 tournaments Semi-nals vs. vs. vs. 3rd Place Match 5 vs. Final Home matches 3 3 Total matches 6 6 vs. Season 2013/14 playing dates Qualication Qualication Round 2 Group Matches Main Round FINAL4 Round 1 4 tournaments 05./06.10.2013 01./02.02.2014 03. / 04.05.2014 rst leg 14/15.09.2013 12./13.10.2013 08./09.02.2014 24/25.08.2013 19./20.10.2013 15./16.02.2014 02./03.11.2013 01./02.03.2014 second leg 09./10.11.2013 08./09.03.2014 31.08/01.09.2013 16./17.11.2013 15./16.03.2014 MVM EHF FINAL4 Playing order overview Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena Saturday 3 May 2014 Sunday 4 May 2014 15:00 hrs Semi-final 1: 14:30 hrs 3/4 Placement match Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs FC Midtjylland (DEN) Referees: Viktoria Alpaidze (RUS), Tatyana Berezkina (RUS) Referees: Diana-Carmen Florescu (ROU), Anamaria Stoia (ROU) EHF Delegates: Mona Förström (FIN), Carmen Manchado Lopez (ESP) 17:00 hrs Final Referees: Charlotte Bonaventura (FRA), Julie Bonaventura (FRA) 17:30 hrs Semi-final 2: WHC Vardar SCBT (MKD) vs Buducnost (MNE) All times local. Referees: Kjersti Arntsen (NOR), Guro Röen (NOR) EHF Delegates: Viktor Konopliastyi (UKR), Janka Stasova (SVK) Important regulations What follows, if a match ends in a draw All matches of the MVM EHF FINAL4 shall be played in 2 x 30 minutes • If the scores are equal after the first round of penalty throws, it with a half-time break of 15 minutes. shall be continued until a decision is reached. In the second round, the other team shall start. Again five players shall be If a Semi-final match or the Final (place 1/2) ends in a draw, there will named who are eligible to play (the players named before may be be a five minutes break followed by one extra time of 2 x 5 minutes, named once again). there will be a one minute half-time break at half time for the changeover of teams. • In the second round, a decision is reached when a goal difference arises after both teams have taken one throw each. If the placement match 3/4 ends in a draw, there shall be no extra time, the match will be decided directly by penalty throws. • Eligible players are players entered in the match report that have not been disqualified or suspended at the time of the final If penalty throws are needed to decide the match, the procedure is as whistle. follows: • Serious infractions committed during penalty throws shall be • Prior to the penalty throws, each team shall name five players sanctioned by disqualification. If a thrower is disqualified or eligible to play at the end of the match by handing the referees suffers an injury, an eligible substitute player shall be a list of numbers. These players shall then take one throw each, supplementary named. alternating with their opponents. Each team is free to determine the sequence in which throwers will take their throws. • While the throws are being taken, only the player taking the throw, the current goalkeeper and the referees may enter the • The goalkeepers may be freely selected from the match respective half of the playing court. report and exchanged in accordance with the Rules of the Game. Goalkeepers may take throws and throwers may perform • If the number of eligible players falls below five, players may be as goalkeepers. named to take a second throw in the same round. • At the Technical Meeting the teams will be informed at which goal the penalty throws will be taken. The team taking the first penalty throw shall be determined by the referees by drawing lots. The team winning the draw may choose whether it wishes to throw first or last. 6 MVM EHF FINAL4 preview Time has finally come The underdogs Budapest, the crown jewel of Central Europe awaits, the magnificent It’s going to be Midtjylland then! The Danes have the youngest and László Papp Arena is set to welcome the first ever final four of all fastest squad in the MVM EHF FINAL4 and both come handy when women’s competitions. The best of the best of women’s handball you play two games in 24 hours plus Midtjylland sure have the have taken the start grid and are eager to provide the feast for the strength Vardar is lacking: all field players speak the same language, eye we have been longing to see. That fact that the maiden edition of come from the same handball culture and know each other well. the MVM EHF FINAL4 will be the greatest spectacle women’s handball Consider the fact that Danish newcomers will be absolutely free from has ever seen is there for you to discover. So will it be… pressure and the wall in front of the splendid Sabine Englert has the capacity to outmove (then outrun ) any opponent and you have a surprise winner! The holders It has got to be Győr with the home advantage on the holders’ side, Hold on now, you can’t seriously think that a team with no their rock solid defence and the genious of top scorer Anita Görbicz, considerable European experience and no world class heavy shooters right? The unbeaten and unrivalled Hungarian team play splendid can challenge the best in the world, can you? handball under coach Ambros Martin and it’s been a year since they last tasted defeat. The finest seek ways Well, that’s how easy it is to predict who will emerge as winners in Oh, wait... that is a team that has lost so many finals which they Budapest. Odds mean nothing as the format is unknown to each and arrived to as huge favorites that even though they were the best team every team and there are a lot of decisive factors you cannot predict. it was a surprise they went all the way last year. And this time home The trophy is up for grabs and the finest of European women’s court advantage, the grudging obligation of holders and sky-high handball are present to figure out which way to reach it. Is massive expectations put Győr under pressure of unprecedented proportions. defending the key? Can shooting power win it? Or will it be all about running? The best combination of the above? The bitter rivals That’s just too many questions the world of handball can hardly Then it must be Buducnost! Winners of 2012 already snatched a draw wait to learn the answers to. But for us supporters, journalists, fans, in Hungary this year – mind you, in Győr not in Budapest – and apart pundits and experts the good news is that we can already take a few from Milena Knezevic’s one game suspension Dragan Adzic will once things granted. The scene is set, breathtakingly beautiful Budapest again have the full squad at his disposal. If attack wins the battle but awaits all friends of handball. Teams are ready to provide us with defence wins the war the wall of the Montenegrin should do the job the hardcore action we have been so hungry to consume. The new in Budapest, right? format ensures we’ll get to see the cream of the crop, the very top of Well, considering the prospective hostile atmosphere and the fact women’s handball. The winner will be undisputed champion. The one that Buducnost will have two enormous mountains to climb in 24 that endures the phyisical challange formerly known only to men of hours and the first without their first choice playmaker, not so much. Cologne. The one that best combines strength with skill, stamina with Not to mention they couldn’t beat Győr in their last four encounters talent and ambition with tactics. losing three in the process. More good news is that you can just sit back and enjoy all the above. Relax and get ready: top drawer handball action from Budapest will blow you away this weekend! The expected unexpected? It’s Vardar then! Just look at the abundance of talent, experience and versatility in the Macedonian squad let by current player of the year Andrea Lekic! Once a blink-and-you-miss-it dot in the map of handball Vardar became a European powerhouse as the proud of Skopje marched through their campaign with a single loss during the entire Champions League season.