Dear Media Representative, On behalf of the European Handball Federation it gives me great pleasure to welcome you back for a new season and to the Group Phase of the VELUX EHF Champions League 2011/12. The media continues to play an integral role in the continued development and success of the VELUX EHF Champions League and we aim to provide you with the very best service we can. Your coverage of the competition, the teams, the players, the fans and extended handball family is greatly appreciated. We are always interested in hearing any feedback from you to improve our service and make it as enjoyable and easy as possible for you to do your job. Now the best 24 men’s teams in Europe battle it out to emerge from one of the four groups of six in this opening phase and progress through to the first knock-out round, the Last 16, to be played in March 2012. For the players and teams as well as fans and the media there are a lot of exciting matches ahead and I wish you all an enjoyable VELUX EHF Champions League 2011/12. I look forward to seeing you in May 2012 in Cologne when we crown the new Kings of European Handball. I hope you enjoy watching handball at its very best! Tor Lian EHF President EHF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Dear Media Representative, Following FC Barcelona’s Men’s EHF Champions League win for a record seventh time last May, the teams in the VELUX EHF Champions League 2011/12 are now on the long road to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May 2012 at the LANXESS arena, Cologne, Germany. Many media representatives from across Europe attended matches last season with over 300 media accredited in Cologne of which just under half were from the written press. The EHF Media and Communications Department are honoured to have you cover our games and are at your disposal at all times. If you should have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us on the details below. JJ Rowland Peter Hofer Andrew McSteen Head of EHF Media and Comms. EHF Online Manager EHF Media Relations [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] + 43 (0) 699 171 422 06 +43 (0) 660 122 0793 +43 (0) 681 207 32013 Official name of the VELUX EHF Champions League The official name of the competition is: VELUX EHF Champions League. The full name of the competition should always be used. VELUX and the three letter abbreviation for the European Handball Federation should always be displayed in capital letters before the name of the competition. Please note: If the season is required, it has to be positioned after “Champions League” e.g. VELUX EHF Champions League 2011/12. The wording “Champions League” should always be written with a capital letter at the beginning of each word, i.e. Champions League. The remaining letters should be in lower case. The word Champions does not have an apostrophe after the ‘s’. GROUP A FC Barcelona Intersport Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb Kadetten Schaffhausen Chambery Savoie HB HC Bosna BH Gas Sarajevo IK Sävehof GROUP B Chekhovskie Medvedi MKB Veszprém KC BM Atletico Madrid Füchse Berlin Bjerringbro-Silkeborg KS Vive Targi Kielce GROUP C HSV Hamburg RK Cimos Koper HCM Constanta St. Petersburg HC Orlen Wisla Plock HC Metalurg GROUP D Montpellier Agglomeration HB AG Kobenhavn THW Kiel Reale Ademar Leon Pick Szeged RK Partizan Beograd VELUX EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2011/12 PREVIEW • 8,880 minutes until the trophy is won • 19th season for the EHF Champions League • 24 teams from 15 countries (36 from 24 if including Qualification Phase) • 148 matches until the final destination Cologne • RK Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb participate for the 18th time • Chekhovskie Medvedi for the 12th straight time • Three newcomers One trophy, one city, one dream: 24 teams have to go 18 (or maybe even 20) steps to be on top of Europe; to be crowned champions of the VELUX EHF Champions League 2011/2012. In 275 days, on 27 May 2012, the winner of the most important cup in the world of the club handball will be known – after 148 matches in Group Stage, Last 16, Quarter-Finals and the VELUX EHF FINAL4. FC Barcelona Intersport start as defending champions – but the number of top opponents is huge this season. With their new name and new home BM Atletico Madrid are keen to continue their successful tradition, when they were known as BM Ciudad Real. The German sides from Hamburg and Kiel will be strong like the Catalans and like the new Danish champions AG Kobenhavn or traditionally strong teams like MKB Veszprem, MAHB Montpellier or Chekhovskie Medvedi. The first steps for all of them are the 10 matches of the Group Stage. On 28 September the starting whistle will be blown and after the break for EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia the Group Stage continues with the last three rounds on 8 February 2012. By 26 February the 16 participants of the knock-out stage will be known, whilst the Last 16 (14 – 25 March) will also be played in the same form as last season. The four group winners face the four fourth-ranked teams, and the clubs ranked third meet those ranked second. The better ranked teams have the home right in the second leg. The winners of the Last 16 qualify for the Quarter-Finals (18 – 29 April 2012), which is the last step to Cologne. The group winners (if they qualify) again have the home right in the decisive second leg – and group winners cannot face each other before the VELUX EHF FINAL4. The semi-finals will take place in Cologne on 26 May – and one day later the 19th winner of the VELUX EHF Champions League will be known. VELUX EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2011/12 FACTS FC Barcelona Intersport are the current EHF Champions League record holders with seven titles, followed by Atletico Madrid (three titles as BM Ciudad Real) and THW Kiel (two titles). In total, Spanish teams have won the trophy 13 times, and all of the EHF Champions League winners since 2005 are participating this season, however, it is not a team from the Iberian peninsula who are competing this year who have participated the most in the competition though, it is RK Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb. Since the start of the EHF Champions League in 1993 the 20-time Croat champion have only missed it once in the 2001/2002 season and currently start the competition for the 18th time. Behind Zagreb are MKB Veszprem, the 20-time Hungarian champions, who participate for the 17th time in the EHF Champions League ahead of FC Barcelona Intersport and THW Kiel (both 15), MAHB Montpellier (14) and Chekhovskie Medvedi (12). Medvedi, the Russian champions, are the only team to be part of the EHF Champions League for the 12th straight time, again ahead of Veszprem (11) and Montpellier (10 times). In contrast, Füchse Berlin (GER), Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and AG Kobenhavn (both DEN) play in the Group Stage of the VELUX EHF Champions League for the first time. The first 16 matches of this season’s competition have already been played in the three qualification and tournaments and one Wild Card tournament. After 20 teams had qualified directly for the VELUX EHF Champions League, due to the EHF seeding list, IK Savehof, Partizan Belgrade, Metalurg Skopje and Vive Targi Kielce made their way through to the Group Stage as the winners of those tournaments, played in a new play-off format with semi-finals and finals in contrast to the group matches before. So, after 8,880 minutes of regular time played by more than 400 players in the 24 teams coming from 15 countries one team captain will raise the one trophy everyone wants in Cologne in May 2012. VELUX EHF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2011/12 TEAM OVERVIEW Group A: FC Barcelona Intersport (ESP) The defending champions have been tipped by many VELUX EHF Champions League coaches as big favourites to win the VELUX EHF Champions League again this season, with team captain Laszlo Nagy hoping for a record eighth title too. “It’s easier to get to the top than to remain there,” he said. The Spanish champions can rely on almost the same team from last season in their 15th season of participation in the EHF Champions League. Only Iker Romero has left the club but Spanish internationals Viran Morros (Atletico Madrid) and Mikel Aguirrezabalaga (Reale Ademar León) signed for the Catalans, who hold the record for winning the EHF Champions League the most times. Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb (CRO) For the 20th straight time Zagreb are Croatian champions and for the 18th time (the most out of all the participants in the competition this season) they play in the EHF Champions League. After reaching the Last 16 in the last two years the Croats hope to make the Quarter-Finals this season. The only key player who departed is goalkeeper Gorazd Skof, but experienced Josip Valcic from Gummersbach has joined the club. Ivano Balic is the head of the team, but youngsters like Gojun and Kopljar are emerging as contenders for the leading position. Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) Last season the Swiss champions were close to a big sensation, as they were close to eliminating MAHB Montpellier in the Last 16, but lost the second leg. This season coach Petr Hrachovec has to face the fact that three of his top stars left the club; goalkeeper Bjorgvin Gustavsson, top scorer Mait Patrail and experienced wing Jan Filip.