Media Information

Saturday 20 May 2017

Semi-final 2 15:00SC Magdeburg vs FRISCH AUF! Göppingen

Semi-final 1 17:45Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin

Sunday 21 May 2017

3/4 Placement match 14:30

Final 17:00

:

:

:vs

:vs

LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals 2017EWS Arena, Göppingen

2

- Foreword 3

1. Introduction 4

- Welcome 4- EHF / EHFM / Frisch Auf Göppingen Media Team 4

2. Media timetable 5

3. Essential media information 6

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

4. Media rules and guidelines 8

- Rules for ENG crews 8- Rules for photographers 9

5. Event information 11

- EHF CUP / EHF Cup Finals 11- EHF Cup Finals Program and Officials 12- Tournament management 12- Tickets information 12- Potential head-to-heads for Sunday’s games 12- Facts & Figures 13- Semi-final 2 Preview 16- SC Magdeburg (Germany) 17- FRISCH AUF! Göppingen (Germany) 20- Semi-final 1 Preview 23- Saint-Raphael Var Handball (France) 24- Füchse Berlin (Germany) 27- Important regulations - extra-time and 7m throws 30- All-time EHF Cup Finals records 31- EHF Cup 2016/17 - map of participants 33- Playing system - dates and rounds 34- Top scorers 2016/17 after quarter-finals 36- Previous winners 37

Table of contents

3

Foreword

Dear media representative,

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

Our host for the weekend is FRISCH AUF! Göppingen, the defending EHF Cup champions, and a club with a long tradition of success both in the German Bundesliga and indeed European competition since its foundation over 70 years ago.

The EHF Cup Finals event is also slowly building a history of its own, with this the fifth event and the first to have attracted a title sponsor in the form of LIQUI MOLY, a globally renowned manufacturer of premium quality lubricants, motor oils, additives and vehicle care products. I am pleased to say that interest in the event from fans has also been tremendous with tickets for the two-day event in the EWS Arena completely sold-out well in advance.

We will see four outstanding teams take to the court in Göppingen and, even before the draw back in April, it was clear that we would see two very exciting and wide open semi-final matches. Each of the teams playing in the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals clearly has was it takes to make the final and claim the trophy.

In each semi-final pairing we have one newcomer facing a former or reigning champion. The only non-German side Saint-Raphael from France, take on the 2015 winners Füchse Berlin, while SC Magdeburg, who won the old format of the EHF Cup three times, have reached the final tournament for the first time in the club’s history. They will lock horns with the defending champions and hosts FRISCH AUF! Göppingen.

Although we may have just two nations represented in the final weekend this does not mean that the event will lose its strong international flavour. The four clubs from Germany and France boast no fewer than 15 different nationalities in their ranks, not to mention of course the delegates and officials representing the EHF, who hail from right across Europe.

Finally, on behalf of both the EHF and EHF Marketing GmbH, I would like to thank the management of FRISCH AUF! Göppingen for their professional approach to the organisation and hosting of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals. Handball plays an important part in the life of the city and I am sure that Europe’s top clubs and their fans will receive a warm welcome here.

I would like to wish all four teams the very best of luck as we look forward to crowning the winners of the EHF Cup 2016/17 on Sunday, 21 May.

Michael WiedererEHF President

4

Welcome to the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals/Göppingen

It is a great pleasure to welcome all media representatives to Göppingen for the fifth edition of the Men’s EHF Cup final tournament - the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals.

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

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

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

1. Introduction

LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals Media Team

Vlado BrindzakEHF Media ManagerTel. +43 1 80151 161Mob: +421 908 721 328brindzak@eurohandball.com

Oliver LaaberEHFM Media (TV/Radio)Tel: +43 1 80151 217Mob: +43 676 770 9309laaber@ehfmarketing.com

Alexander KolbFRISCH AUF! Göppingen

Tel: +49 7161 965975-90Email: alexander.kolb@frischauf-gp.de

5

Friday, 19 May 201713:00 – 14:00 Training FRISCH AUF! Göppingen EWS Arena14:10 - 15:10 Training SC Magdeburg EWS Arena14:15 Winners’ Trophy presentation Media Room, EWS Arena14:15 – 14:45 Media Call FRISCH AUF! Göppingen Media Room, EWS Arena (coach Magnus Andersson, Tim Kneule, Marco Rentschler, Marcel Schiller, Primoz Prost, Zarko Sesum)14:45 – 15:15 Media Call Saint-Raphael Var Handball Media Room, EWS Arena (coach Joel Da Silva, Adrien Dipanda, Alexandru Simicu, Daniel Sarmiento, Geoffrey Krantz, Raphael Caucheteux)15:15 – 15:45 Media Call SC Magdeburg Media Room, EWS Arena(coach Bennet Wiegert, Michael Damgaard, Nemanja Zelenovic, Matthias Musche, Finn Lemke, Yves Grafenhorst)15:20 - 16:20 Training Saint-Raphael Var Handball EWS Arena15:45 - 16:15 Media Call Füchse Berlin Media Room, EWS Arena(coach Velimir Petkovic, Paul Drux, Silvio Heinevetter, Hans Lindberg, Steffen Fäth, Petar Nenadic)16:30 - 17:30 Training Füchse Berlin EWS ArenaOnly first 15 minutes of each training open for media.

Saturday, 20 May 201714:30 Photographers’ briefing Media Room, EWS Arena15:00 Semi-final 2 SC Magdeburg vs FRISCH AUF! Göppingen EWS Arena15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and a key player from each team) EWS Arena17:45 Semi-final 1 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin EWS Arena15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and a key player from each team) EWS Arena20:00 Media Get-Together Schlossplatz Göppingen

Sunday, 21 May 201714:30 3/4 Placement Match Trocardiere15 minutes after final whistle Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and key player from each team) EWS Arena17:00 Final EWS Arena15 minutes after winners’ ceremony Post-match Press Conference Press Conference Room, (Head coach and key player from each team) EWS Arena

2. Media Timetable

6

3. Essential media information

Accreditation collectionYour accreditation can be collected from the accreditation desk at the EWS Arena in Göppingen from Friday, 19 May 2017, 13:00 hrs. Please bring an official form of identification – your press card or passport – and your official confirmation. Accreditations will not be issued without these.

Media parkingContact Alexander Kolb for Media Parking requests.

Photographer bibsBibs for photographers will be issued at the accreditation desk at the EWS Arena from Friday, 19 May 2017 against a payment of a returnable deposit of €20 upon collection of the locker keys. The press cards and deposits will be returned at the end of the event when the keys and bibs are returned to the Media Centre.

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

Media Centre Opening TimesThe Media Centre is located in the EWS Arena. Opening hours for accredited media representatives are as follows:

Friday, 19 May 2017 13:00 – 17:30 hrsSaturday, 20 May 2017 13:00 – 21:30 hrsSunday, 21 May 2017 12:30 – 21:30 hrs

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

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

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

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

Open training for the mediaTeam training on Friday, 19 May 2017 will be open to the media for the first 15 minutes, for TV footage to be

7

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

LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals OnlineThe event will be covered extensively online by both the EHF Media and Communications Department and FRISCH AUF! Göppingen. The event can be followed on the EHF Cup and EHF Cup Finals websites: www.eurohandball.com and www.frischauf-gp.de and the following social media channels: Facebook EHF, Twitter ehf_live and snapchat ehf_live.

Live BlogThere will be a live blog available at www.eurohandball.com starting from Friday noon.

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

Television and live streamingCoverage of the event will be shown on television by the following confirmed TV stations (at the time of publication): MDR (GER), RBB (stream) TV3 Sport 1 (DEN), Viasat (NOR), Viasat (SWE), SFR (FRA), Sport TV (SLO), Digi Sport (ROU) - delayed, Sport TV (CZE/SVK), Sport TV (HUN) - delayed

ehfTV coverage and English commentaryAll four matches will also be streamed live and on-demand around the world at ehfTV.com, the European Handball Federation’s online streaming platform.For the fourth time in the Men’s EHF Cup the matches will be also broadcast with a live English commentary - by Chris O’Reilly.Visit ehfTV.com for more details and to watch games not only from the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals, but also from the VELUX EHF FINAL4 and on demand from the recent TIPPMIX EHF FINAL4.

Invitation to Media Get TogetherAll accredited media representatives are invited by FRISCH AUF! Göppingen for a Media Get Together on Saturday 20 May at 20:00 hrs local time at the Schlossplatz Göppingen.

8

4. Media rules and guidelines

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

1. ENG crews are obliged to produce a media identification card upon request.2. The Host Broadcaster acts on behalf of the European Handball Federation/EHF Marketing GmbH3. ENG personnel are requested to wear the bib and accreditation at ALL times.4. All ENG crews must use the stickers provided on their camera equipment.5. The bib and the accreditation are only valid for the EHF Cup Finals.6. Only the Host Broadcaster is permitted onto the playing court.7. Right holders have to stay in the positions designated to them during the games8. Non-rights holders are not permitted to film during the matches.9. The guidelines and instructions of the Host Broadcasters MUST be followed at all time10. At no time, before, during or after the match are ENG crews permitted to stay in the area behind the

players‘seats or behind the official table. They must place themselves in the position advised by the EHFM.

11. ENG crews are only permitted in the TV area of the mixed zone12. ENG crews are not permitted to interfere/obstruct in the work of the Host Broadcaster.

9

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

1. Photographers must attend the photographer briefing in the Media Centre on Saturday 20 May at 14:30 hrs2. Photographers are only allowed to enter the court following the match for 3/4 place and final when

permitted to do so. There will be a roped off area clearly marked for photographers in front of the timekeepers’ table.

3. Photographs can be taken during the player line-up. An area will be defined before the match for this purpose. Photographers may stand in this position until the pre-match procedure is over. They must then return to their designated position behind the advertising boards at the ends of the court.

4. Photograph bibs should be worn at all times. These will be issued as part of the accreditation process and are available from the Media Info Desk

5. During the match all photographers should be at the ends of the court where seats are available behind the advertising boards. Photographers will be advised before the match of an additionally designated areas where they may take photos looking down on the court.

6. It is not allowed to change ends during the game. This has to be done at the half-time or at the end of the match. If a photographer wishes to change ends during the half-time break, he/she must follow the routing system

7. Photographers are not allowed to stand behind the players’ seats or on the opposite side of the court.8. Photographers have to remain seated and cannot change seats during the match.9. Photographers are allowed to sit in front of the nets after the point where it is fixed to the advertising

borders (fixed 3 metres each side of the goal).10. Photographers are not allowed sit or stand in front of or to obstruct the view of the advertising boards.11. Strobe light photography is not permitted.12. Photographers are not allowed to enter the court during the celebration and awarding ceremony

which follows final. During the celebration and awarding ceremony there will be a clearly marked area reserved for photographers in front of the timekeepers’ table.

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

Wherever you are!

Watch it wherever you are on ehfTV.com!

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

11

Men’s EHF Cup

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

In its fifth season 63 teams from 35 countries joined the race for the exclusive trophy, but only 16 qualified for the group phase – four from Germany, three Denmark, two from each Portugal and Spain and one from Israel, Finland, France, Hungary and Slovenia. There were just three-quarter-finals played as the EHF Cup Finals hosts FRISCH AUF! Göppingen managed to qualify directly for the final tournament as winners of their group.

Men’s EHF Cup Finals

The first EHF Cup Finals was played in the Palais des Sports de Beaulieu in Nantes in 2013 and the German club Rhein-Neckar Löwen won the trophy. In 2014 the final tournament was welcome by the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin and saw a stunning victory of Pick Szeged from Hungary. Füchse Berlin won the next edition on the home court and FRISCH AUF! Göppingen dominated in Nantes last year.

Göppingen to host the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals

Playing hallEWS Arena GöppingenNördlichen Ringstrasse 8773033 GöppingenGermanyCapacity: 5,600

12

LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals 2017 Programme

Saturday, 20 May 2017Semi-final 2 (15:00 hrs):SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)Referees: Nenad Nikolic and Dusan Stojkovic (SRB )Delegates: Dragan Nachevski (MKD), Marek Goralczyk (POL)

Semi-final 1 (17:45 hrs)Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)Referees: Duarte Santos and Ricardo Fonseca (POR)Delegates: Jiri Konecny (CZE), Kristian Johansen (FAR)

Sunday, 21 May 20173/4 Placement Match (14:30 hrs):Loser Saint-Raphael/Füchse vs Loser Magdeburg/GöppingenReferees: Csaba Dobrovits and Peter Tajok (HUN)

Final (17:00 hrs):Winner Saint-Raphael/Füchse vs Winner Magdeburg/GöppingenReferees: Vaidas Mazeika and Mindaugas Gatelis (LTU)

Tournament ManagementBozidar Djurkovic, EHF Executive Committee MemberGabriella Horváth, EHF Executive Committee MemberDavid Szlezak, Managing Director EHF MarketingMarkus Glaser, EHF Chief Sports Officer

TicketsThe tickets are available in the ticket shop:https://www.eventimsports.de/ols/goeppingenehfcup/de/tickets/channel/shop/areaplan/venue/event/75921

Potential head-to-heads stats for Sunday’s games:

In the European club competitions:Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs SC MagdeburgSaint-Raphael Var Handball vs Frisch Auf GöppingenFrisch Auf Göppingen vs Füchse BerlinFüchse Berlin vs SC Magdeburg No previous encounters

In the domestic competitions:Füchse Berlin vs FRISCH AUF! Göppingen 14 wins - 2 draws - 11 defeatsFüchse Berlin vs SCM Magdeburg 13 wins - 2 draws - 6 defeats

13

Facts & FiguresThree former winners, a defending champion and a French side for a premiere

Four matches only remain in the Men’s EHF Cup to decide the winner and the successor of Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER). Besides the defending champions, who also host the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals the former EHF Cup winners Magdeburg and Berlin plus the semi-final debutant Saint-Raphael are in the pot, when the semi-finals of the tournament will be drawn on Tuesday morning in Göppingen. Find all major facts, figures and numbers on the competition here.

0 EHF Cup champions managed to defend their title in the new format, implemented in the 2012/13 season, so far. After their successes in 2013 and 2014, Löwen and Szeged continued in the Champions League, while 2015 champions Berlin failed in the 2015/16 qualification.

0 French men’s team has ever won the EHF Cup neither in the new nor in the old format or the Cup Winners’ Cup.

0 national champions arriving from the VELUX EHF Champions League qualification made it to the quarter-finals.

1 team, which started in the second qualification round, made it to Göppingen: Füchse Berlin

1 team - Saint-Raphael Var Handball - will have their debut in any European Cup semi-final, the remaining three teams have even all been winners of the EHF Cup.

1 host of the EHF Cup Finals took the trophy so far: Berlin in 2015. The same team failed in the semis 2014 on home ground, as Nantes failed twice in the finals against Löwen (2013) and Göppingen (2016).

1 former EHF Champions League winner - as every year so far - is still in the race for the EHF Cup trophy: SC Magdeburg. The same club had been quarter-finalist in 2013 and 2016, besides it were later-on finalists Montpellier (2014) and Hamburg (2015).

1 of 54 matches since the start of the group phase ended with a draw, the 23:23 of Kolding vs Magdeburg in the group phase.

1 nation - Serbia - is represented in all four LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals.

1 coach, present at the LIQUI MOLY EHF FINAL4, had been EHF Cup winner as a player - and even with the club he coaches now: Bennet Wiegert (Magdeburg/2007)

2 winners of the new version of the EHF Cup is among the four participants of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals: host and defending champions Frisch Auf Göppingen and the 2015 winners Füchse Berlin

2 participants have already been part of EHF Cup Finals in the new format: Berlin and Göppingen.

2 teams - Magdeburg and Saint-Raphael - are EHF Cup Finals debutants.

2 teams - Göppingen (eight wins in eight matches) and Magdeburg (nine wins, one draw in ten matches) - arrive unbeaten at the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals.

2 coaches of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals participants have won the EHF Cup as a coach - both with Frisch Auf Göppingen: Velimir Petkovic (2011, 2012) and Magnus Andersson (2016).

3 times - including the upcoming event - Göppingen and Berlin have been part of the EHF Cup Finals.

3 - which means all - teams arriving from the quarter-finals won both k.o. matches.

3 - which means all - German teams have won the EHF Cup at least once: Magdeburg (1998, 2001, 2007), Göppingen 2011, 2012, 2016) and Berlin (2015).

3 German teams had qualified for the semi-finals the last time in the 2011/12 season (Göppingen, Magdeburg and Rhein-Neckar Löwen). The season before it were Göppingen, Lemgo and Großwallstadt.

3 nations are represented by the origin of the coaches of the previous EHF Cup Finals winners: Iceland (Gudmundur Gudmundsson/2013 and Dagur Sigurdsson/2015), Spain (Juan Carlos Pastor/2014) and Sweden (Magnus Andersson/2016).

14

Facts & Figures3 participants of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals had finished on top of their groups: Berlin (group A), Göppingen (group B) and Magdeburg (group C).

4 nations are represented by the origin of the coaches of the four LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals: Germany (Bennet Wiegert/Magdeburg), Sweden (Magnus Andersson/Göppingen), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Velimir Petkovic/Berlin) and Portugal (Joel da Silva/Saint-Raphael).

5 of 54 matches since the start of the group phase ended with 45 or less goals, none of it in the quarter-finals.

5 - which means all - times the host of the EHF Cup Finals qualified directly from the group phase, skipping the quarter-finals (2x Nantes and Berlin, now Göppingen).

5 times – like in all previous EHF Cup Finals at least one German team is part of: 2013: Göppingen and Löwen, 2014 Berlin, 2015 Berlin and Hamburg, 2016 Göppingen.

6 matches of the group phase - and zero of the quarter-finals - ended with a margin of ten goals or more.

7 nations have been represented by the clubs in all EHF Cup Finals since 2013: Germany (9 teams including 2017), France (5), Denmark (3), Spain (1), Hungary (1), Romania (1) and Slovenia (1).

10 goals difference was the lowest margin in the quarter-finals (Magdeburg vs Anaitasuna 59:49), while 12 goals were the highest one (Saint-Raphael vs Melsungen 61:49). Berlin vs Anaitasuna (58:47) was in between by eleven.

10 EHF Cup matches in a row (including the last season) have been won by Göppingen.

12 points from six group matches - the optimum - were taken by Göppingen. The defending champions were the second ever team with this outcome in the group phase after Montpellier in the 2013/14 season.

13 matches - 9 in the group phase and four quarter-final games were attended by more than 3000 fans.

15 nations are represented by the players on court of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals: FRA, GER, SRB, ROU, CZE, BLR,

DEN, ESP, CRO, NOR, SWE, NED, AUT, ISL, SLO. Berlin count on players from ten different nations, Magdeburg eight, Saint-Raphael seven and Göppingen four.

16 matches - 14 in the group phase and two in the quarter-finals - ended with 60 or more goals scored.

17 times a German team has won the old (14) and the new (3) version of the EHF Cup since the implementation of the competition in the 1993/94 season. Five times the winner came from Spain, once each from Croatia and Hungary.

18 goals were the biggest margin since the start of the group phase, when Magdeburg beat Tel Aviv 42:24 in the group matches.

21 away wins (18 in the group phase, three in the quarter-finals) were among the 54 matches since the start of the group phase.

32 times (29 in the group matches, three times in the quarter-finals), the home team was victorious since the start of the group phase.

68 goals were scored in the group matches Berlin vs Ribnica (38:30) and Saint-Raphael vs GOG (32:36) to be the highest score since the start of the group phase. The 35:32 of Magdeburg against Anaitasuna (67 goals) were the quarter-final high score.

76 goals so far make Raphael Caucheteux (Saint-Raphael) top the top scorer list.

+76 is the impressive goal difference of SC Magdeburg after group phase and quarter-finals.

3,029 goals were scored since the start of the group phase, which means an average of 56,1.

5,926 spectators in the group match Berlin vs Ribnica was the highest attendance so far, the biggest number of fans in a quarter-final match were 4828 in Berlin against Anaitasuna.

20,554 fans in total attended the four home matches of Berlin sinced the start of the group phase - an average of 5,138.

16

SC Magdeburg vs FRISCH AUF! Göppingen

EWS Arena, GöppingenSaturday 20 May, 15:00 hrs. local time

LIVE ON EHFTV.COM

At least one German team will be part of Sunday’s final of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals in Göppingen. The question is whether the host can end their black series or if SC Magdeburg can continue on the winners’ way and take revenge for last year’s elimination in the EHF Cup quarter-finals.

Which three-time EHF Cup winner will remain in the race for the fourth trophy? The statistics and the current series speak for SC Magdeburg, the home advantage for Frisch Auf Göppingen. SCM, the EHF Cup winners in 1999, 2001 and 2007 have the high hopes to win an anniversary title after lifting the last international trophy ten years ago. Frisch Auf Göppingen were the last club to win the old format of the EHF Cup in 2012 and defending their 2011 titles - and now hope to be the first side in the new format of the competition to defend their 2016 title.

But the host of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals face a series of defeats. Right after winning their sixth and last group match of the EHF Cup to skip the quarter-finals and qualify directly for the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals, they lost all six Bundesliga matches in a row, including the 19:29 at Wetzlar last weekend, which sent Göppingen down to the twelfth position of Bundesliga. “If we want to have a chance in the semi-final against Magdeburg we have to improve at least by 100 percent,” said coach Magnus Andersson.

On the other hand, Magdeburg are on a big winning run at the moment: in Bundesliga and EHF Cup combined, the team, of coach Bennet Wiegert has not been defeated in the last 22 matches. In that period, they beat Göppingen twice in Bundesliga both by a single goal difference (33:32, 29:28). And Magdeburg was the last team to beat Göppingen in the EHF Cup, one year ago in the quarter-finals (29:27). Since then,

Frisch Auf have won all matches in this competition. But also Magdeburg arrived unbeaten at the EWS Arena. Their season record in the EHF Cup is nine wins and one defeat (in the group phase against Kolding).

“We go to Göppingen to win this trophy. It will be a tough fight in the semi-finals, as we do not care how many matches we have won and Göppingen have lost. We are truly ambitious to win the next international trophy after ten years,” left wing Matthias Musche said. Magdeburg will be accompanied by more than 300 fans to Göppingen. After goalkeeper Jannick Green the second Danish Olympic champion, Michael Damgaard, just extended his contract at the 2002 EHF Champions League winners.

“We hope for a full arena and to have the boost we need to make our dream come true,” said Göppingen’s manager Gerd Hofele. Göppingen could become the fourth hosts in the fifth edition of the EHF Cup Finals since 2013 to make it to the final: In 2013 (Nantes), 2015 (Berlin) and 2016 (Nantes again) it happened, but only Berlin (against Hamburg) took the trophy later. In 2014, Pick Szeged were the only non-German winner of this competition since FC Barcelona in 2003.

The overall balance of two of the most traditional German handball clubs speaks another language in favour of Magdeburg: In 39 matches, SCM won 24 times, tied four times and were defeated eleven times only. “Statistics do not count on Saturday. It is about 60 minutes to make it to a final, nothing else,” underlined SCM coach Wiegert.

Head-to-head stats in the EC competitions: SC Magdeburg vs Frisch Auf Göppingen 1-0-1 (54:58) 2:223.04.2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen vs SC Magdeburg, EHF Cup – Quarter-final 31:25 (13:11)27.04.2016 SC Magdeburg vs Frisch Auf Göppingen, EHF Cup – Quarter-final 29:27 (17:13)

Head-to-head stats in the domestic competitions:SC Magdeburg vs Frisch Auf Göppingen 24-4-11

Semi-final 2

Triple winners fight for fourth trophy already in the semi-final

17

Once more, German side SC Magdeburg are the only former winners of the EHF Champions League in the current EHF Cup season. Furthermore, they have won the EHF Cup three times when it was still played in its old format – the last victory came exactly ten years ago and in the 2016/17 season they hope to emulate that success at their first EHF Cup Finals.

Taking into consideration results since the middle of November, the side of young head coach Bennet Wiegert is the clear number one men’s team in Germany currently. In 22 matches the 2002 Men’s EHF Champions League winners are unbeaten in both the Bundesliga and the Men’s EHF Cup.

In the latter they picked up five wins and a draw to win their group and added two more wins in the quarter-final against Helvetia Anaitasuna, although the Spanish team gave them a good run for their money partially in the first half of the second leg. Courtesy of an impressive second half, however, they booked their first-ever ticket for the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals. In 2013 and 2016, they stumbled in the quarter-finals after they failed against the eventual winners (in 2013 vs Rhein-Neckar Löwen, in 2016 vs Frisch Auf Göppingen).

SC MAGDEBURG (GER)

Club Address:SC MagdeburgHandball magdeburg GmbHFriedrich-Ebert-Straße 6839114 Magdeburg, Germany

Media contact:Marc Henrik Schmedt+49 391 88685610Marc-Henrik.Schmedt@sc-magdeburg.de

Online information:Website: www.scm-handball.deFacebook: SCMagdeburgTwitter: @SCMagdeburg

Playing hallGETEC-Arena - BördelandhalleBerliner Chaussee 3239114 MagdeburgGermanyCapacity: 7,800

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: white/redPlayer short: white/redGoalkeeper shirt: yellow

DarkPlayer shirt: green/redPlayer short: green/redGoalkeeper shirt: red

Past achievementsVELUX EHF Champions League Winners (1): 2001/02Semi-final (1): 2003/04Quarter-final (1): 2002/03Last 16 (1): 2005/06

EHF CupWinners (3): 1998/99, 2000/01, 2006/07Runners-up (1): 2004/05Quarter-final (1): 2012/13Last 16 (1): 1999/00

OtherChampions Trophy: Winners (2000/01, 2001/02)Cup Winners’ Cup: Semi-finals (1996/97), Quarter-finals (2007/08)German league: 12 titles (outdoor 1967, indoor 1970, 1977, 1980-85, 1988, 1991 - all GDR, 2001)German cup: 7 titles (1970, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1990 - all GDR, 1996, 2016)

Road to the semi-finals:

Quarter-final@ Helvetia Anaitasuna W27:34 (13:15)vs Helvetia Anaitasuna W35:32 (15:18)

Group Phase@ KIF Kolding Kobenhavn T23:23 (13:13)vs Grundfos Tatabanya KC W30:25 (17:13)@ Maccabi CASTRO T. AvivW22:38 (12:16)vs Maccabi CASTRO Tel AvivW42:24 (21:9)vs KIF Kolding Kobenhavn W36:24 (19:12)@ Grundfos Tatabanya KC W28:31 (12:17) Qualification Round 3vs RK Nexe W31:22 (17:12)@ RK Nexe W27:30 (12:14)

GROUP C Final Table:

1. SC Magdeburg 6 5 1 0 200:146 (54) 112. Grundfos Tatabanya KC 6 4 0 2 161:157 (4) 83. KIF Kolding Kobenhavn 6 2 1 3 166:172 (-6) 54. Maccabi CASTRO T. Aviv6 0 0 6 146:198 (-52) 0

18

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals14 Jacob Bagersted DEN Line Player 25/03/1987 København, DEN 196 111 2525 Marko Bezjak SLO Centre Back 26/06/1986 Ptuj, SLO 184 87 1620 Mads Christiansen DEN Right Back 03/05/1986 Næstved, DEN 194 92 1522 Andre Czech GER Right Wing 17/05/1996 Calbe/Saale, GER 182 78 34 Michael Damgaard Nielsen DEN Left Back 18/03/1990 Lolland, DEN 192 95 5815 Yves Grafenhorst GER Left Wing 15/03/1984 Staßfurt, GER 186 84 3116 Jannick Green Krejberg DEN Goalkeeper 29/09/1988 Lemvig, DEN 195 94 19 Justus Kluge GER Left Wing 24/12/1997 Magdeburg, GER 190 87 50 Finn Lemke GER Right Back 30/04/1992 Bremen, GER 210 115 912 Florian Link GER Goalkeeper 31/07/1997 Magdeburg, GER 193 89 2 Zeljko Musa CRO Line Player 08/01/1986 Mostar, CRO 200 103 136 Matthias Musche GER Left Wing 18/07/1992 Magdeburg, GER 186 75 3124 Christian O’Sullivan NOR Centre Back 22/08/1991 Oslo, NOR 190 89 3111 Daniel Pettersson SWE Right Wing 06/05/1992 Eskilstuna, SWE 179 72 3521 Dario Quenstedt GER Goalkeeper 22/09/1989 Burg, GER 190 93 29 Alexander Saul GER Right Back 06/10/1995 Premnitz, GER 197 91 7 Julian Schulze GER Left Wing 23/03/1998 Magdeburg, GER 176 70 10 Fabian Van Olphen NED Left Back 30/03/1981 Den Haag, NED 194 102 28 Johannes Wasielewski GER Right Back 22/09/1997 Halle, GER 195 94 28 Robert Weber AUT Right Wing 25/11/1985 Bregenz, AUT 179 76 2818 Tim Wiebe GER Right Back 23/05/1996 Rostock, GER 199 98 42 Nemanja Zelenovic SRB Right Back 27/02/1990 Knin, CRO 194 93 35

Team roster

Domestic leagueBundesliga (GER)

Last 3 games 14.05. vs Coburg 2000 W30:23 26.04. @ Lemgo W25:34 19.04. vs TVB Stuttgart W27:26 Next game 24.05. @ Füchse Berlin

Standings (as of 18/05/2017) 1. Flensburg 29 904:710 52 2. Rhein-Neckar 28 840:698 51 3. THW Kiel 30 858:751 47 ...

5. Magdeburg 29 828:772 43 ... 18. Coburg 2000 29 723:851 9

Nations represented in the squad: 8 (GER, DEN, SRB, CRO, NOR, SWE, NED, AUT)

19

Bennet Wiegertcoach• part of the SCM squad from 1998 until 2013, with the exception of only three years and won the CL with Magdeburg in 2002

• former German international on the left wing

• appointed new coach in December 2015 as successor of Geir Sveinsson

• his father Ingolf (Olympic champion as a player in 1980) was also Magdeburg coach

• director of the SCM youth academy until December 2015

Jannick Greengoalkeeper• his mother was Danish international, his father was his coach at Lemvig and his younger brothers plays for Aalborg in the first Danish division

• was Danish champion and EHF CL participant with two different clubs: Aalborg and Bjerringbro

• joined Magdeburg in 2014; currently fights with Flensburg’s Kevin Möller for the second goalkeeper position in the Danish team below Niklas Landin

• just extended his contract until 2020

Finn Lemkeleft back/defence• the tallest player of the squad (2.10 m)

• arrived from Lemgo before the 2015/16 season, where he scored over 300 goals in four seasons

• by the number of blocks - the most efficient defence player at the EHF EURO 2016

• born near Bremen, he is a big fan of Werder Bremen football club

• will leave Magdeburg after this season to join MT Melsungen

Matthias Muscheleft wing• plays for SCM since he is eight years old, excluding the 2012/13 season when he was on loan at Schwerin

• had his Bundesliga debut with Magdeburg at the age of 19

• part of all the age categories of the German national team; had his debut for the men’s team in 2014; part of the squad at the WCh 2015 in Qatar

• SCM’s third top scorer in Bundesliga at moment after Damgaard and Weber

OG: B 2016, EURO: G 2016

EC trophies: CL 2002, EHF Cup 2001 (as player) OG: G 2016; EURO S 2014; WCh S 2013

Michael Damgaardleft back• before he joined SCM played for Gudme (2008-10) and Holstebro (2010-15)

• part of the first EHF Cup Finals 2013 in Nantes with Holstebro, finishing third

• his brother Allan left Holstebro at the same time to Hamburg, but is back in Denmark (Bjerringbro)

• back-up of Mikkel Hansen in the Danish national team

• just extended his contract for two more years

Marko Bezjakcentre back• arrived from Gorenje Velenje in 2013

• Slovenian champion three times and gained Champions League experience

• in long Slovenian tradition is more a classical playmaker than a shooter

• shares the position with Norwegian Christian O’Sullivan

• currently part of the Slovenian national team and was Olympian with them in Rio

Robert Weberright wing• top Austrian scorer at the EHF EURO 2014 and the 2015 WCh; scored more than 500 for Austria

• scored more than 1,300 goals for Magdeburg since his arrival in 2009, before he played at Balingen (Germany) and Hard (Austria)

• Bundesliga top scorer in 2014/15 with 271 goals (as first ever Magdeburg player in history), current top scorer again

• counter-attack and penalty throw specialist

Nemanja Zelenovicright back• plays for his fourth club in the fourth different country after Serbia, Slovenia and Poland

• after playing for Red Star Belgrade, Celje and Plock was supposed to join Magdeburg in summer 2016, but already arrived in November 2015 as SCM faced severe injury problems in the right back position

• classical Balkan backcourt shooter

• shares the right back position with Danish Olympic champion Mads Christiansen

OG: G 2016 WCh: B 2017

20

For the first time in the short history of the EHF Cup Finals, the defending champions will have a chance to defend their title on home court. After lifting the last two trophies of the old version in 2010 and 2011, Göppingen beat the 2016 hosts HBC Nantes last year to win the current format for the first time and now successfully applied for the upcoming EHF Cup Finals on 20/21 May.

Despite their tough schedule in the Bundesliga, coach Magnus Andersson is confident of going all the way for the third time after 2012 and 2016. His club is already looking forward “to being a good host of the event for all teams and their fans.

Over the last summer the defending champions lost their 2007 World Champion Michael Kraus (now Stuttgart), but signed German international Jens Schöngarth from Magdeburg and Sebastian Heymann, one of the country’s biggest talents.

On their way to the group phase, the defending champions did not have to travel that far to take the win at their Swiss neighbours Winterthur. They also cruised past the group phase after winning all six games in Group B and consequently clinched the direct ticket to the home court final tournament. Göppingen will not only enter the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals as the defending champions but also as a team with the longest winning streak garnering ten victories in a row since their 2015/16 quarter-final defeat by Magdeburg.

FRISCH AUF! GÖPPINGEN (GER)

Club Address:Frisch Auf GöppingenLeonhard Weiss -Strasse 4073037 GöppingenGermany

Media contact:Alexander Kolb+49 7161 965 975 90alexander.kolb@frischauf-gp.de

Online information:Website: www.frischauf-gp.deFacebook: frischaufgpTwitter: @FRISCHAUFGP

Playing hallEWS Arena GöppingenNördlichen Ringstrasse 8773033 GöppingenGermanyCapacity: 5,600

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: greenGoalkeeper shirt: red

DarkPlayer shirt: greenPlayer short: whiteGoalkeeper shirt: black

Past achievementsEHF CupWinners (3): 2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16Runners-up (1): 2005/06EHF Cup Finals (2): fourth ranked 2013Quarter-final (1): 2009/10

OtherGerman league: 11 titles (outdoor 1954, 1957, indoor 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1970, 1972)

Road to the semi-finals:

Group Phasevs Fraikin BM. Granollers W29:28 (13:15)@ Futebol Clube do Porto W27:31 (14:13)@ HC Midtjylland W22:25 (14:17)vs HC Midtjylland W31:23 (14:15)@ Fraikin BM. Granollers W27:35 (11:14)vs Futebol Clube do Porto W30:28 (10:13)

Qualification Round 3@ Pfadi Winterthur W30:33 (15:16)vs Pfadi Winterthur W37:32 (19:17)

GROUP B Final Table:

1. Frisch Auf Göppingen 6 6 0 0 181:155 (26) 122. Fraikin BM. Granollers 6 3 0 3 171:165 (6) 63. Futebol Clube do Porto 6 2 0 4 159:170 (-11) 44. HC Midtjylland 6 1 0 5 155:176 (-21) 2

21

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals13 Niclas Andreas Barud SWE Line Player 22/03/1988 Partille 196 105 721 Andreas Berg SWE Left Wing 09/05/1992 Säve, SWE 190 88 135 Joschua Braun GER Right Wing 11/07/1998 Laupheim, GER 190 8517 Daniel Fontaine GER Left Back 02/07/1989 Saarlouis, GER 194 95 203 Tobias Gehrke GER Left Wing 05/01/1996 Esslingen, GER 178 80 30 Anton Halen SWE Right Wing 28/11/1990 Helgum 185 96 1410 Sebastian Heymann GER Left Back 01/03/1998 Heilbronn, GER 198 91 518 Lars Kaufmann GER Left Back 25/02/1982 Görlitz, GER 199 107 204 Tim Kneule GER Centre Back 18/08/1986 Reutlingen, GER 190 99 2726 Adrian Pfahl GER Right Back 30/07/1982 Bietigheim-Bis., GER 192 92 1916 Primoz Prost SLO Goalkeeper 14/07/1983 Trbovlje, SLO 186 96 212 Daniel Rebmann GER Goalkeeper 16/01/1994 Stuttgart, GER 190 100 27 Marco Rentschler GER Right Wing 28/12/1994 Bietigheim-Bis., GER 185 82 2423 Bastian Rutschmann GER Goalkeeper 30/12/1982 Karlsruhe, GER 195 93 24 Marcel Schiller GER Left Wing 15/08/1991 Bad Urach, GER 189 94 466 Jona Schoch GER Centre Back 02/08/1994 Ostfildern, GER 192 90 7 Christian Schöne GER Right Wing 23/02/1981 Halle, GER 188 8033 Jens Schöngarth GER Right Back 07/12/1988 Emmendingen, GER 203 98 1715 Zarko Sesum SRB Left Back 16/06/1986 Backa Palanka, SRB 195 97 229 Manuel Späth GER Line Player 16/10/1985 Ostfildern, GER 200 101 15

Team roster

Domestic leagueBundesliga (GER)

Last 3 games 14.05. @ THW Kiel L32:28 26.04. vs Hannover-Burgdorf W34:27 19.04. @ MT Melsungen T28:28 Next game 24.05. vs SC Magdeburg

Standings (as of 18/05/2017) 1. Flensburg 29 904:710 52 2. Rhein-Neckar 28 840:698 51 3. THW Kiel 30 858:751 47

... 12. Göppingen 30 819:856 21 ... 18. Coburg 2000 29 723:851 9

Nations represented in the squad: 4 (GER, SWE, SLO, SRB)

22

Magnus Anderssoncoach• as a player was part of the famous “Bengan Boys”, the most successful generation of Swedish handball, playing 307 international matches

• started his coaching career at Halmstadt in Sweden, where he was until 2010

• coach of AG Kobenhavn, leading them to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2012, before the club ceased to exist

• was parallel coach of the Austrian national team from 2010 until 2012 and also coach of Malmö and the Swedish junior team, before he arrived at Göppingen in summer 2014

Primoz Prostgoalkeeper• has gained EHF Champions League experience at Velenje, Bjerringbro-Silkeborg and Montpellier

• French champion with Montpellier, at the side of players like Nikola Karabatic

• joined Frisch Auf Göppingen in summer 2013, shares the position between the Frisch Auf posts with Bastian Rutschmann

• has played more than 80 matches for the Slovenian national team, with the highlighter at the 2013 WCh in Spain (semi-finals)

• back after a long-term injury break

Zarko Sesumleft back• born in the same Serbian city, Backa Palanka, like THW Kiel’s right back Marko Vujin; like Vujin, he transferred to Veszprem, in 2010 switched for Rhein-Neckar Löwen, then for Frisch Auf

• severely injured (skull fracture) during an incident in a night club in Veszprem in 2009, when his former teammate Marian Cozma was killed

• hit by a coin in the eye after the EURO 2012 semi-final Serbia vs Croatia, nearly lost his eye sight

• MVP of the EHF Cup Finals 2016 in Nantes

Tim Kneulecentre back• like many others in the Göppingen squad played in the youth programme of TV Neuhausen; joined Frisch Auf at the age of 20 in 2006

• one of the rare players, who was part of all three of Göppingen’s trophy campaigns in the EHF Cup

• part of the successful German younger age category teams - U20 EURO champions 2006, runners-up U21 WCh 2007

• needed six more years to have his debut in the German national team in 2012 (23 caps)

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016 (as coach)WCh: G 1990, 1999, EURO: G 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, OG: S 1992, 1996, 2000 (as player)

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, 2016

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016

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

Adrian Pfahlright back/right wing• started his career close to Göppingen, in Oßweil, before joining first Dormagen and then VfL Gummersbach in 2008

• joined Hamburg right after HSV became Champions League winner, in January 2016, when HSV went insolvent transferred to Göppingen

• has played 61 internationals for Germany including the 2011 & 2013 WCh and the EURO 2012

• only player in the squad with four EC trophies

• has scored more than 1,000 goals in German Bundesliga, highlighted by 225 goals in 2010/11

Anton Halenright wing• started his career in Drott Halmstad, becoming Swedish cup winner and champion

• best right wing of the Swedish league in 2012/13

• discovered by Swedish Frisch Auf coach Magnus Andersson and transferred to Göppingen in 2014

• has been part of the Swedish national team since 2013

• shares the position with Marko Rentschler

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

Manuel Späthline player• captain of Frisch Auf wears Göppingen’s jersey since 2006, played all of his senior career at the club

• made a special record on 9 November 2013, when he played his 250th Bundesliga match (his 309th match in total) for Göppingen in a row, without missing a match due to injury

• boss of Frisch Auf’s defence had been playing more than 30 matches for Germany

• in the summer 2017 he will join TVB 1898 Stuttgart

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, 2016

Marcel Schillerleft wing• started his career in Neuhausen, the same “home club” as team captain Manul Späth; German youth champion with Neuhausen

• arrived at Göppingen in 2013 after scoring 172 Bundesliga goals for Neuhausen in the 2012/13 season

• shares the left wing position with young Swede Andreas Berg

• second best scorer of the EHF Cup 2015/16 (69 gls)

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2016

23

Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin

EWS Arena, GöppingenSaturday 20 May, 17:45 hrs. local time

LIVE ON EHFTV.COM

Saint-Raphael Var Handball are the only non-German club at the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals in Göppingen. In their first ever international semi-final they hope to cause a sensation against the much more experienced foxes from Berlin.

Both sides clashed already in the group phase, both sides are currently fourth ranked in Europe’s top leagues and both sides lost their domestic dress rehearsal against a top team highly closely: there’s so much similar, but also so many differences between the two participants of the second semi-final of the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals.

Saint-Raphael on Sunday gave a hard fight to VELUX EHF FINAL4 participant and defending French champions Paris Saint-Germain, but were defeated 29:32. Berlin had the chance to pass THW Kiel to become third ranked in Bundesliga, but lost 28:32. In the group phase, both sides each had won their home match, but now they face on neutral ground at Göppingen.

“Due to their experience and the quality of their squad, Berlin are the favourites,” says outgoing Saint-Raphael coach Joel da Silva. He steered his side to their first ever semi-final of an international competition after the 2016 French runners-up had failed three times in quarter-finals of the EHF Cup. Their home win against Berlin was one statement, the two clear victories in the quarter-final against another German team, MT Melsungen, have boosted the confidence of former EHF Cup winner Geoffroy Kranz (with VfL Gummersbach) and his teammates.

While the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals at Göppingen is a new adventure for the Saint-Raphael, Berlin had been hosting the 2014 and 2015 editions of the EHF Cup Finals already, besides they had been part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 at Cologne in 2012. In the quarter-finals they left Hungarian side Tatabanya behind in a dominant way after becoming winner of group A.Thus, Berlin play their third EHF Cup semi-finals - their balance is equal: In 2014, they lost against Montpellier, in 2015 they finally took the trophy by beating Hamburg. Since then, the “Foxes” sensationally became IHF Super Globe winner twice.

One statistic fact can be an advantage for Saint-Raphael: The last two times, Berlin were eliminated in the EHF Cup was against French teams: In the 2014 semi-final against Montpellier, and in the 2015/16 qualification round by Chambery Savoie. Ironically enough, Chambery eliminated Saint-Raphael in the 2016 quarter-finals.

Saint-Raphael can make history next weekend: Never before, a French club has won the EHF Cup either in the old or the new format or the Cup Winner’s Cup. Since the implementation of the new playing system in the 2012/13 season, three French sides had made it to the finals (Nantes twice, Montpellier once), but never took the trophy.

If on the other hand Füchse win, the second all-German final of a EHF Cup Finals would be completed. Berlin hopes that their top scorer Petar Nenadic will be ready to rumble at Göppingen after an ankle injury, occurred in the match against Kiel.

Head-to-head stats in the EC competitions: Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin 1-0-1 (58:54) 2:219.02.2017 Füchse Berlin vs Saint-Raphael Var Handball, EHF Cup – Group Phase 33:31 (19:14)01.04.2017 Saint-Raphael Var Handball vs Füchse Berlin, EHF Cup – Group Phase 27:21 (11:12)

Semi-final 1

German tradition or French debut

24

Last season, two goals separated Saint-Raphael Var Handball and a place in the EHF Cup Finals as they lost an all-French quarter-final against Chambery. This year, coach Joel de Silva had no intention of missing out despite meeting a representative of a German bundesliga in the quarter-finals.

Already in the summer the French runners-up have bolstered their squad with Spanish world champion and two-time EHF Champions League winner Dani Sarmiento (from Barcelona) as the successor to Icelandic playmaker Arnor Atlasson and Belarusian World Championship star Artsem Karalek. The line player joined the team which knocked his former club SKA Minsk out in the qualification round. In the group phase they ranked second in Group A behind Füchse Berlin.

Despite winning the first quarter-final leg at home against Melsungen only by four goals, there was never really a hint of doubt for Saint-Raphael in the second leg in Germany, which they also won. Already before the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals it is clear that the fifth European season of the club has become a breakthrough campaign for the team from the south of France. Not surprisingly the club’s name sake Raphael Caucheteux is leading the charge with 76 goals being also on the top of the current competition ranking.

Club Address:Saint-Raphael Var HandballPO Box BP 50383705 Saint Raphael CedexFrance

Media contact:Vanessa Patucca-Bourgeais+33 4 94 95 76 00vanessa.srvhb@gmail.com

Online information:Website: www.srvhb.comFacebook: saintraphaelvarTwitter: @SRVHB

Playing hallPalais des Sports JF KrakowskiRue des Chataigniers83700 Saint RaphaelFranceCapacity: 2,000

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: whitePlayer short: whiteGoalkeeper shirt: green

DarkPlayer shirt: redPlayer short: redGoalkeeper shirt: blue

Past achievementsVELUX EHF Champions LeagueQualification (1): 2012/2013

EHF CupQuarter-finals (3): 2010/11, 2011/12, 2015/16Round 3 (1): 2012/13

OtherFrench League: - (2016 runners-up)

SAINT-RAPHAELVAR HANDBALL (FRA)

Road to the semi-finals:

Quarter-finalvs MT Melsungen W30:26 (15:14)@ MT Melsungen W31:23 (15:15)

Group Phasevs GOG L32:36 (17:19)@ Füchse Berlin L33:31 (19:14)@ RD Riko Ribnica W24:31 (12:15)vs RD Riko Ribnica W26:22 (15:14)@ GOG W28:32 (15:17)vs Füchse Berlin W27:21 (11:12) Qualification Round 3@ SKA Minsk L30:28 (16:13)vs SKA Minsk W33:25 (17:10)

GROUP A Final Table:

1. Füchse Berlin 6 5 0 1 185:163 (22) 102. Saint-Raphael Var H. 6 4 0 2 179:164 (15) 83. GOG 6 3 0 3 187:190 (-3) 64. RD Riko Ribnica 6 0 0 6 154:188 (-34) 0

25

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals6 Chamal Abdullah FRA Right Wing 20/07/1998 Marseille, FRA 183 78 10 Aurelien Abily FRA Left Back 22/07/1982 Le Mans, FRA 192 80 2550 Paolo Bardi FRA Left Back 18/08/1999 Frejus, FRA 181 75 33 Marco Belin FRA Left Back 06/01/1996 Talence, FRA 204 110 320 Raphael Caucheteux FRA Left Wing 09/05/1985 Montpellier, FRA 200 90 7632 Adrien Dipanda FRA Right Back 03/05/1988 Dijon, FRA 202 105 231 Slavisa Djukanovic SRB Goalkeeper 03/05/1979 Belgrade, SRB 190 97 78 Rares Dan Fortuneanu ROU Centre Back 19/12/1978 Cluj Napoca, ROU 190 94 77 Dorian Galliano FRA Left Wing 20/03/1997 Frejus, FRA 176 72 22 Sebastien Garain FRA Line Player 20/10/1987 Pointe a Pitre, FRA 194 104 88 Wissem Hmam FRA Left Back 21/04/1981 Menzel Temime, TUN 198 104 95 Lucas Hubert FRA Back 13/07/1998 Grasse, FRA 188 86 19 Miroslav Jurka CZE Right Wing 07/06/1987 Valasske Mezirici, CZE 189 82 2650 Artsem Karalek BLR Line Player 20/02/1996 Grodno, BLR 187 70 1217 Aleksa Kolakovic SRB Centre Back 10/08/1997 Podgorica, MNE 190 131 Nicolas Krakowski FRA Left Back 31/10/1987 Frejus, FRA 196 92 42 Geoffroy Krantz FRA Centre Back 03/12/1981 Gien, FRA 186 105 1491 Pierre Luhern FRA Goalkeeper 09/08/1991 Frejus, FRA 183 77 14 Alexander Lynggaard DEN Line Player 27/03/1990 Koge, DEN 198 102 1776 Valentin Malek FRA Right Wing 07/02/1999 Frejus, FRA 187 82 8 Jonathan Mapu FRA Line Player 10/03/1998 Frejus, FRA 181 95 612 Romain Mathias FRA Goalkeeper 13/09/1997 Paris, FRA 197 95 16 Mihai Catalin Popescu ROU Goalkeeper 15/03/1985 Gaesti, ROU 190 100 99 Romain Quatrevaux FRA Goalkeeper 29/12/1999 Frejus, FRA 188 76 11 Daniel Sarmiento Melian ESP Centre Back 25/08/1983 Las Palmas, ESP 188 85 407 Alexandru Simicu ROU Left Back 08/10/1988 Timisoara, ROU 202 96 2923 Jan Stehlik CZE Right Back 18/04/1985 Plzen, CZE 188 91 1027 Alexian Trottet FRA Left Wing 13/05/1997 Vernon, FRA 175 75 124 Arthur Vigneron FRA Right Wing 30/01/1995 Saint-Michel, FRA 182 78 5

Team roster

Nations represented in the squad: 7 (FRA, SRB, ROU, CZE, BLR, DEN, ESP)

Domestic leagueLidl Starligue (FRA)

Last 3 games 14.05. vs PSG Handball L29:32 19.04. @ Creteil W31:37 12.04. @ Saran W27:44 Next game 24.05. vs Cesson Rennes-Metropole

Standings (as of 18/05/2017) 1. PSG Handball 24 832:663 46 2. Nantes 23 767:662 41 3. Montpellier 24 780:656 36 4. Saint-Raphael 23 657:603 32

... 14. Selestat 24 570:704 5

26

Joel Da Silvacoach• after training Toulouse for four seasons, he signed for Saint-Raphael in the summer of 2014

• voted best coach in the French league in the 2015/16 season

• has never played handball at a high level and started coaching at the age of 14

• before joining Toulouse in 2009, he used to work in a gardening store

• has a lot of tattoos and a habit of warming the Saint-Raphael fans up

Mihai Popescugoalkeeper• one of two former Constanta players to have played the EHF Cup Finals in 2015

• the club is so happy about his performances that they made him sign a contract extension up until 2022

• aged 32, he would very much like to end his career in France

• forms one of the most experienced pairs in Europe with the 38-year-old Slavisa Djukanovic

Raphael Caucheteuxleft wing• at two meters, he’s one of the tallest wingers in the handball world

• stayed with Saint Raphael since signing in January 2007 from Montpellier - no one in the squad has played longer for the club

• one of the only three players who has scored more than a thousand goals in the French league

• for now, he’s the top scorer in the EHF cup with 76 goals

Alexandru Simiculeft back• one of the only three players in the Saint-Raphael squad to ever have played in EHF Cup Finals

• in fact, he actually played twice, once with HCM Constanta and another time with HSV Hamburg, a side with which he played the final

• aged 28, he has often been criticised for his physical toughness but has never mellowed

• was signed for Saint-Raphael in 2014 by Christian Gaudin, the former coach who discovered him while coaching the Romanian national team

Daniel Sarmientocentre back

• transferred from FC Barcelona last summer in order to replace Arnor Atlason

• was part of the FC Barcelona team which broke all records in the 2013/14 season, scoring 1,146 goals in only 30 games

• after playing seven seasons in Catalunya, this is his first experience abroad

• despite not speaking a word of French when he arrived, he is now fairly fluent and is able to give interviews in French

Alexander Lynggaardline player• Danish international player, who took part in his first international competition in Poland in 2016 at the EHF EURO

• famous for scoring the winning goal in a league game last season when he shot from the middle of the court in the last second

• after playing on his own last season, he was joined in the position by young Belarusian talent Artsem Karalek last November

• joined Saint-Raphael in 2013, at the same time as compatriot Morten Olsen, who left to Germany a couple of months later

Adrien Dipandaright back

• played in Montpellier, before moving to Ademar Leon and then to Saint-Raphael in 2012

• late bloomer, playing mostly in defence up until just three years ago

• his progress is now apparent, since he is regularly picked for in the national team

Miroslav Jurkaright wing• arrived in 2013 from Hlohovec in Slovakia, alongside his wife Helena Sterbova, also a handball player

• his integration was made easier by his compatriot Jan Stehlik, who used to translate everything for him during his first months in France

• his special trick is long distance inflight-goals coming often from the goalkeeper on fast breaks

• Czech Republic international player, he took part in the WCh 2015 in Qatar

OG: S 2016; WCh: G 2017

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

27

In order to reach the group phase of the Men’s EHF Cup, no team had higher hurdles to clear than Füchse Berlin. However, after they had beaten former EHF Cup Finals participants, Chambery Savoie from France and Gorenje Velenje from Slovenia in Rounds 2 and 3 respectively, something surprising happened: In December 2016, Berlin parted ways with their head coach Erlingur Richardsson.

The Icelandic had taken over the team in summer 2015, succeeding Dagur Sigurdsson who then only focussed on his role as German national team coach. Richardsson’s successor is now the experienced Velimir Petkovic, who coached several German clubs before and steered Frisch Auf Göppingen to the EHF Cup trophy in 2016 and safely steered the team to the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals 2017.

In this season the reigning IHF Super Globe holders can rely mainly on the firepower of a former VELUX EHF Champions League top scorer Hans Lindberg, who is with 74 goals only two efforts below the EHF Cup top scorer Raphael Caucheteux. But scoring responsibilities are not focused just on the Danish winger, even the stalwart goalkeeper Silvio Heinevetter has already contributed with one goal.

FÜCHSE BERLIN (GER)

Club Address:Füchse BerlinMarkgrafenstraße 3410117 BerlinGermany

Media contact:Stefan Güter+49 177 4054946gueter@fuechse-berlin.de

Online information:Website: www.fuechse-berlin.deFacebook: fuechseberlinTwitter: @FuechseBerlin

Playing hallMax-Schmeling-HalleFalkplatz 110437 BerlinGermanyCapacity: 8,521

Kit coloursLightPlayer shirt: silverPlayer short: silverGoalkeeper shirt: yellow

DarkPlayer shirt: redPlayer short: redGoalkeeper shirt: blue

Past achievementsVELUX EHF Champions LeagueVELUX EHF FINAL4 (1): fourth place 2011/12Last 16 (1): 2012/13Qualification (1): 2013/14

EHF CupWinners (1): 2014/15EHF Cup Finals (2): third place 2013/14, winners 2014/15Qualification Round 3 (1): 2015/16

OtherIHF Super Globe: winners 2015, 2016German cup: 1 title (2014)

Road to the semi-finals:

Quarter-final@ Grundfos Tatabanya W25:30 (11:17)vs Grundfos Tatabanya W28:22 (14:13)

Group Phase@ RD Riko Ribnica W20:25 (11:10)vs Saint-Raphael Var H. W33:31 (19:14)vs GOG W37:29 (17:12)@ GOG W26:31 (10:13)vs RD Riko Ribnica W38:30 (18:14)@ Saint-Raphael Var H. L27:21 (11:12) Qualification Round 3@ Rk Gorenje Velenje W24:29 (10:13)vs Rk Gorenje Velenje L29:32 (14:19)

Qualification Round 2@ Chambery Savoie H. W22:25 (7:11)vs Chambery Savoie H. W24:22 (14:14)

GROUP A Final Table:

1. Füchse Berlin 6 5 0 1 185:163 (22) 102. Saint-Raphael Var H. 6 4 0 2 179:164 (15) 83. GOG 6 3 0 3 187:190 (-3) 64. RD Riko Ribnica 6 0 0 6 154:188 (-34) 0

28

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Place of Birth Height Weight Goals*9 Cyrill Akakpo GER Right Wing 01/10/1997 Berlin, GER 186 88 31 Tim Bielzer GER Line Player 07/11/1997 Berlin, GER 195 104 95 Paul Drux GER Left Back 07/02/1995 Gummersbach, GER 192 92 224 Bjarki Mar Elisson ISL Left Wing 16/05/1990 Reykjavik, ISL 191 88 3323 Steffen Fäth GER Left Back 04/04/1990 Frankfurt, GER 194 90 3116 Mark Ferjan SLO Goalkeeper 30/06/1998 Ljubljana, SLO 183 89 5 Fynn Ole Fritz GER Left Back 03/05/1997 Berlin, GER 194 94 10 Jakov Gojun CRO Left Back 18/04/1986 Split, CRO 203 112 512 Silvio Heinevetter GER Goalkeeper 21/10/1984 Bad Langensalza, GER 194 92 244 Kresimir Kozina CRO Line Player 25/06/1990 Derventa, CRO 196 99 1832 Christoffer Kubrak GER Goalkeeper 03/10/1997 Berlin, GER 189 84 18 Hans Lindberg DEN Right Wing 01/08/1981 Höje Taastrup, DEN 188 88 7955 Drasko Nenadic SRB Left Back 15/02/1990 Belgrade, SRB 202 91 113 Petar Nenadic SRB Centre Back 28/06/1986 Belgrade, SRB 198 80 5717 Ignacio Plaza Jimenez ESP Line Player 10/01/1994 Ciudad Real, ESP 195 102 2122 Yannick-Marcos Pust GER Right Wing 17/10/1998 Berlin, GER 185 80 43 Christoph Reißky GER Right Back 11/08/1995 Freiberg, GER 187 80 214 Kuno Schauer GER Centre Back 07/11/1998 Berlin, GER 189 82 026 Frederik Simak GER Left Wing 24/01/1998 Gengenbach, GER 196 100 171 Petr Stochl CZE Goalkeeper 24/04/1976 Plzen, CZE 195 93 7 Kevin Struck GER Left Wing 31/12/1996 Berlin, GER 193 87 615 Kent Robin Tönnesen NOR Right Back 05/06/1991 Partille, SWE 194 90 256 Drago Vukovic CRO Centre Back 03/08/1983 Split, CRO 194 92 620 Konstantin Werner GER Left Wing 25/09/1997 Berlin, GER 182 82 3 Fabian Wiede GER Right Back 08/02/1994 Belzig, GER 192 89 2321 Mattias Zachrisson SWE Right Wing 22/08/1990 Huddinge, SWE 178 86 18* goals scored in the second qualification round included

Team roster

Nations represented in the squad: 10 (GER, ISL, SLO, CRO, DEN, SRB, ESP, CZE, NOR, SWE)

Domestic leagueBundesliga (GER)

Last 3 games 14.05. @ THW Kiel L32:28 26.04. vs Hannover-Burgdorf W34:27 19.04. @ MT Melsungen T28:28 Next game 24.05. vs SC Magdeburg

Standings (as of 18/05/2017) 1. Flensburg 29 904:710 52 2. Rhein-Neckar 28 840:698 51 3. THW Kiel 30 858:751 47 4. Füchse 29 844:755 44 ... 18. Coburg 2000 29 723:851 9

29

Velimir Petkoviccoach• born in former Yugoslavia, but with German citizenship now

• as player won the European Champions Cup in 1976 with Borac Banja Luka

• as coach of the same club he won the IHF Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991

• after his six-year stint with Wetzlar he was at the helm of Frisch Auf Göppingen for nearly ten years steering them to two EHF Cup titles and the premiere edition of the EHF Cup Finals in 2013

Silvio Heinevettergoalkeeper• goalkeeping stalwart of the German national team

• his former goalkeeper coach at SC Magdeburg was legendary Wieland Schmidt (Olympic champion 1980)

• famous for his unusual style of saving shots

• liaised with a German TV star Simone Thomalla

• extended his contract until 2018

Paul Druxleft back• born in Gummersbach, discovered by Füchse Berlin, when he was 16

• since then (until 2016) coached by Sigurdsson in the club – and since November 2014 also in the German national team

• All-star player at the Men’s 20 EHF EURO 2014 in Austria, where he led the Germans to the gold medal like at the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2012

• recovered from a long-term shoulder injury in summer 2016

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2007, 2015OG: B 2016

Bjarki Mar Elissonleft wing• discovered by his fellow country man and former Füchse coach Erlingur Richardsson

• was already playing two years in Germany (Eisenach), before he joining Füchse in 2015

• had his debut with the Icelandic national team in 2012 - but has to face the strong competition with Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson in the same position

• one of Füchse’s counter attack specialists

• known as the joker of the team

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015OG: B 2016

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015EURO: S 2012

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2011, 2012, IHF CWC 1991 (as coach), Champions Cup 1976 (as player)

Petar Nenadiccentre back• signed by Füchse from Plock in September 2014

• currently playing in his sixth different country after Serbia, Spain, Hungary, Denmark and Poland; top scorer of German Bundesliga in 2015/16

• awarded best player of the IHF Super Globe 2016

• married with the Serbian volleyball international Jelena Nikolic; his brother Drasko just signed a short-term contract with Füchse until the end of the season

• his start questionable due to ankle injury suffered in the last weekend’s bundesliga game at Kiel

Kresimir Kozinaline player• started his career with Croatian side Zamet, joined EHF Cup regular Nexe Nasice at the age of 21

• left to Austrian side Alpla Hard in 2013, became two-time domestic champion and scored 279 goals

• joined Flensburg-Handewitt in October 2015, but left the former CL winners at the end of the season

• now is mainly a defence specialist at Füchse, replacing Jesper Nielsen who went to PSG

• will have his last international match for Füchse in Göppingen, as he will join exactly Frisch Auf

Hans Lindbergright wing• joined Berlin after a long stint with HSV Hamburg

• was top scorer of the Champions League season 2012/13; top scorer of the Bundesliga in 2012/13 and WCh All-star team 2013 member

• took part in an EHF Cup final with HSV in 2014/15

• started his career at Viborg; his nickname in his younger days at Viborg was “majestæt”

• has played 238 times for the Danish national team since 2007

Fabian Wiederight back• transferred from Potsdam to Füchse’s youth team in Berlin at the age of 15; since then (in youth and senior competitions) won ten titles with Füchse

• every time he and club director Bob Hanning made it to a final of a competition, they have won it

• made his debut in the German national team at the age of 19; was ruled out for the WCh 2017 with a shoulder injury, but now is back on track

• started an apprenticeship at a bank in Berlin only two days after becoming EHF EURO champion in Poland in 2016 EC trophies: CL 2013

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

EC trophies: EHF Cup 2015EURO: S 2012

EURO: B 2016

30

Important regulationsExtra-time and penalty throws

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

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

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

• At the Technical Meeting the teams will be 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.

• Prior to the penalty throws, each team shall name five players eligible to play at the end of the match by handing the referees a list of numbers. These players shall then take one throw each, alternating with their opponents. Each team is free to determine the sequence in which throwers will take their throws.

• The goalkeepers may be freely selected from the match report and exchanged in accordance with the Rules of the Game. Goalkeepers may take throws and throwers may perform as goalkeepers.

• If the scores are equal after the first round of penalty throws, it shall be continued until a decision is reached. In the second round, the other team shall start. Again five players shall be named who are eligible to play (the players named before may be named once again).

• In the second round, a decision is reached when a goal difference arises after both teams have taken one throw each.

• Eligible players are players entered in the match report that have not been disqualified or suspended at the time of the final whistle.

• Serious infractions committed during penalty throws shall be sanctioned by disqualification. If a thrower is disqualified or suffers an injury, an eligible substitute player shall be additionally named.

• While the throws are being taken, only the player taking the throw, the current goalkeeper and the referees may enter the respective half of the playing court.

• If the number of eligible players falls below five, players may be named to take a second throw in the same round.

31

All-time EHF Cup Finals recordsAll-time ranking:1. Füchse Berlin GER 4 3 0 1 108:103 +5 6:22. Rhein-Neckar Löwen GER 2 2 0 0 54:46 +8 4:03. Pick Szeged HUN 2 2 0 0 53:50 +3 4:04. Frisch Auf Göppingen GER 4 2 0 2 109:107 +2 4:45. HBC Nantes FRA 4 2 0 2 103:104 -1 4:46. Montpellier Agglomeration HB FRA 2 1 0 1 64:61 +3 2:27. Fraikin BM. Granollers ESP 2 1 0 1 51:48 +3 2:28. HSV Hamburg GER 2 1 0 1 54:53 +1 2:29. Skjern Handbold DEN 2 1 0 1 50:49 +1 2:210. Team Tvis Holstebro DEN 2 1 0 1 48:53 -5 2:211. HCM Constanta ROU 2 0 0 2 60:65 -5 0:412. Chambery Savoie Handball FRA 2 0 0 2 46:53 -7 0:413. Rk Gorenje Velenje SLO 2 0 0 2 46:54 -8 0:4

Most goals in one game:Uwe Gensheimer 10 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26Iuliu Alexandru Csepreghi 10 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36Dragan Gajic 10 18.05.2014 Montpellier Agglomeration HB-Pick Szeged 28:29Kentin Mahe 10 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27David Resina Forns 10 14.05.2016 Fraikin BM. Granollers-HBC Nantes 26:27Ferran Sole Sala 10 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25Dragan Gajic 9 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB 32:36Marcel Schiller 9 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen 25:28Cedric Paty 9 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25Valero Rivera Folch 8 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26Iker Romero Fernandez 8 18.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Füchse Berlin 28:29Valero Rivera Folch 8 14.05.2016 Fraikin BM. Granollers-HBC Nantes 26:27Valero Rivera Folch 8 15.05.2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen-HBC Nantes 32:26

Most participations (including this year):3 Frisch Auf Göppingen3 Füchse Berlin2 HBC Nantes

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

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

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

Least goals in one match both teams:46 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:2646 17.05.2014 Füchse Berlin-Pick Szeged 22:2446 15.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Fraikin BM. Granollers 21:25

Biggest win:+6 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26+6 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 22:28+6 15.05.2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen-HBC Nantes 32:26

Most goals at half-time:18 Montpellier Agglomeration HB 17.05.2014 HCM Constanta-Montpellier Agglomeration HB (14:18)

32

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

Least goals at half-time:7 Frisch Auf Göppingen 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen (7:12)

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

Biggest gap at half-time:+5 Rhein-Neckar Löwen 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen (7:12)+5 Chambery Savoie Handball 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen (14:9)

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

Most penalty minutes:16’ Frisch Auf Göppingen 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 22:2816’ Rhein-Neckar Löwen 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26

Most penalty minutes both teams:28’ 19.05.2013 HBC Nantes-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 24:26

Least penalty minutes:2’ Rk Gorenje Velenje 17.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Skjern Handbold 22:272’ Chambery Savoie Handball 14.05.2016 Chambery Savoie Handball-Frisch Auf Göppingen 25:28

Least penalty minutes both teams:8’ 17.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Skjern Handbold 22:27

Most 7m throws:9 Rk Gorenje Velenje 16.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Füchse Berlin 24:279 HSV Hamburg 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27

Most 7m throws both teams:14 16.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Füchse Berlin 24:27

Least 7m throws:0 Team Tvis Holstebro 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:26

Least 7m throws both teams:3 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Most 7m throws scored:8 Rk Gorenje Velenje 16.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Füchse Berlin 24:278 HSV Hamburg 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27

Most 7m throws scored both teams:11 16.05.2015 Rk Gorenje Velenje-Füchse Berlin 24:27

Least 7m throws scored:0 Team Tvis Holstebro 18.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-HBC Nantes 20:260 Frisch Auf Göppingen 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Least 7m throws scored both teams:2 19.05.2013 Team Tvis Holstebro-Frisch Auf Göppingen 28:27

Disqualifications:Manuel Späth (Frisch Auf Göppingen) 18.05.2013 Frisch Auf Göppingen-Rhein-Neckar Löwen 22:28Alexandru Viorel Simicu (HSV Hamburg) 17.05.2015 Füchse Berlin-HSV Hamburg 30:27

LIQ

UI M

OLY

EH

F C

up F

inal

s 2

017

MEN

’S E

HF

CU

P T

EA

MS

Sai

nt-

Rap

hae

l Var

Han

db

all

FRA

RD

Rik

o R

ibn

ica

SLO

Co

cks

FIN

Hel

veti

a A

nai

tasu

na

ESP

Frai

kin

BM

. Gra

no

llers

ESP

S.L

. Ben

� ca

PO

R

Fute

bo

l Clu

be

do

Po

rto

PO

R

Fris

ch A

uf G

öp

pin

gen

GER

MT

Mel

sun

gen

GER

SC

Mag

deb

urg

GER

Füch

se B

erlin

GER

HC

Mid

tjyl

lan

dD

ENG

OG

DEN

Mac

cab

i CA

ST

RO

Tel

Avi

vIS

R

KIF

Ko

ldin

g K

ob

enh

avn

DEN

Gru

nd

fos

Tata

ban

ya K

CH

UN

Men

’s E

HF

Cu

p Fi

nal

s ve

nu

e

Gro

up P

hase

Qua

rter

-� n

als

Fina

l wee

kend

34

published version, 12.07.2016

Qualification Qualification FinalRound 1 Round 2 Tournament

30 teams 32 teams 32 teams 16 teams 8 teams 4 teams03/04.09.2016 08/09.10.2016 19/20.11.2016 R1: 11/12.02.2017 22/23.04.17 20/21.05.2017

first leg first leg first leg R2: 18/19.02.2017 first leg TournamentR3: 04/05.03.2017

10/11.09.2016 15/16.10.2016 26/27.11.2016 R4: 11/12.03.2017 29/30.04.17second leg second leg second leg R5:25/26.03.2017 second leg

R6:01/02.04.201719.07.2016 19.07.2016 18.10.2016 01.12.2016 04.04.2017 02.05.2017

1 Def. Champ. Frisch Auf Göppingen/GER2 ESP Abanca Ademar Leon3 FRA St. Raphael Var Handball4 GER MT Melsungen5 ESP Helvetia Anaitasuna6 DEN HC Midjylland7 SLO RD Riko Ribnica8 HUN Grundfos Tatabanya KC9 POL Azoty-Pulawy

10 GER SC Magdeburg11 ESP Frainkin BM Granollers12 DEN GOG13 2nd CL QT1 2nd CL QT114 2nd CL QT2 2nd CL QT215 3rd CL QT1 3rd CL QT116 3rd CL QT2 3rd CL QT217 4th CL QT1 4th CL QT118 4th CL QT2 4th CL QT219 SWE Alingsas HK20 SLO RD Koper 201321 SUI Wacker Thun22 HUN Balatonfüredi KSE23 POR SL Benfica24 ROU CSM Bucuresti25 BLR SKA Minsk26 CRO RK Nexe27 RUS St. Petersburg HC28 NOR OIF Arendal29 SVK HC Sporta Hlohovec30 CZE Talent M.A.T. Plzen31 POL Gornik Zabrze32 GER Füchse Berlin33 DEN KIF Kolding Kobenhavn34 FRA Chambery Savoie HB35 HUN Csurgoi KK36 FRA US Creteil Handball37 POR FC do Porto38 ROU CSU Poli. Timisoara39 CRO GRK Varazdin 193040 RUS Dinamo Astrakhan41 MKD HC Prilep42 CZE HC Dukla Praha43 ISL Haukar44 UKR ZTR Zaporozhye45 SRB HC Vojvodina46 GRE A.C.C. Filippos Verias47 ISR Maccabi S. Rishon Lezion48 NED OCI-Lions49 KOS KH Besa Famiglia50 EST Pölva Serviti51 TUR B.B. Ankara SK52 LUX HB Käerjeng53 MDA HC Olimpus-85 USEF54 MNE RK Budvanska Rivijera55 GBR London GD HC56 GEO B.S.B. Batumi57 SRB RK Metaloplastika Sabac58 GRE A.C. Diodmis Argous59 SUI Pfadi Winterthur60 CRO HC Zamet61 NOR Bodo HK62 AUT Alpla HC Hard63 NED KRAS Volendam

2016/2017 MEN'S EHF CUP Qualification

Round 3Group Phase

Quarterfinals

DRAWS:

16 W

inne

rs o

f Qua

lific

atio

n Ro

und

3

1st

and

2nd

pla

ced

team

s of e

ach

grou

p of

the

Gro

up P

hase

15 W

inne

rs o

f Qua

lific

atio

n Ro

und

1

4 W

inne

rs o

f Qua

rter

final

s

16 W

inne

rs o

f Qua

lific

atio

n Ro

und

2

NATION

35

Sea

son

20

16/1

7 p

layi

ng d

ates

Men

’s E

HF

Cup

20

16/1

7 p

layi

ng s

yste

m

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 1

Gro

up P

has

e�r

st le

g2

2/2

3.0

4.2

017

seco

nd le

g2

9/3

0.0

4.2

017

11/1

2.0

2.2

017

18

/19

.02

.20

17

04

/05

.03

.20

17

Qua

rter

-�n

als

�rst

leg

19

/20

.11

.20

16

seco

nd le

g2

6/2

7.11

.20

16

�rst

leg

- 03

/04

.09

.20

16

seco

nd le

g -

10

/11

.09

.20

16

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 2

�rst

leg

- 08

/09

.10

.20

16

seco

nd le

g -

15

/16

.10

.20

16

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 3

20

/21

.05

.20

17EH

F C

up F

inal

s11

/12

.03

.20

17

25

/26

.03

.20

17

01

/02

.04

.20

17

Ho

me

Mat

ches

3

Aw

ay M

atch

es

3

Sem

i-�na

ls

vs.

vs.

vs.

15

vs.

15

vs.

16

vs.

16

vs.

16

vs.

16

3rd

Pla

ce M

atch

vs.

Fina

l

vs.

vs.

21

vs.

vs.

vs.

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 1

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 2

Qua

li�ca

tio

n R

oun

d 3

Gro

up P

has

eQ

uart

er-�

nal

sEH

F C

up F

inal

s

16

w

inne

rs1

6w

inne

rs4

win

ners

8te

ams

15w

inne

rs

36

Rank Name & nation Club Goals

1 Raphael Caucheteux (FRA) Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) 76

2 Hans Lindberg (DEN) Füchse Berlin (GER) 74

3 Michael Damgaard (DEN) SC Magdeburg (GER) 58

4 Milos Vujovic (MNE) Grundfos Tatabanya KC (HUN) 56

5 Petar Nenadic (SRB) Füchse Berlin (GER) 54

6 Michael Allendorf (GER) MT Melsungen (GER) 51

7 Chen Pomeranz (ISR) Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv (ISR) 47

8 Nico Rönnberg (FIN) Cocks (FIN) 46

Marcel Schiller (GER) Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER) 46

10 Oswaldo Dos Santos Maestro (ESP) Helvetia Anaitasuna (ESP) 45

11 Pertusa Alvaro Cabanas (ESP) Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) 44

12 Teemu Tamminen (FIN) Cocks (FIN) 41

13 Daniel Sarmiento (ESP) Saint-Raphael Var Handball (FRA) 40

14 Tobias Möller Torpegaard (DEN) GOG (DEN) 39

15 Novak Boskovic (SRB) Maccabi CASTRO Tel Aviv (ISR) 38

Konstantin Igropulo (RUS) KIF Kolding Kobenhavn (DEN) 38

Antonio Rodrigues Areia (POR) Futebol Clube do Porto (POR) 38

18 Jan Grebenc (SLO) RD Riko Ribnica (SLO) 37

19 Carlos Chocarro Gorraiz (ESP) Helvetia Anaitasuna (ESP) 36

20 Daniel Pettersson (SWE) SC Magdeburg (GER) 35

Nemanja Zelenovic (SRB) SC Magdeburg (GER) 35

Top scorers after quarter-finals

Season Name & nation Club Goals

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

Previous seasons’ top scorers

(Bold text indicates players that are still active in the competition.)ONLY GOALS SCORED FROM THE THIRD QUALIFICATION ROUND ONWARDS ARE COUNTED IN THE TOPSCORER’S LIST.

37

Past winners

Previous Men’s Cup Winners’ Cup winners

2012 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)2011 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2010 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2009 Pevafersa Valladolid (ESP)2008 MKB Veszprem KC (HUN)2007 HSV Hamburg2006 Chekhovski Medvedi (RUS)2005 C. BM Ademar Leon (ESP)2004 Portland San Antonio (ESP)2003 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP)2002 A.D.C. Ciudad Real (ESP)2001 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)2000 Portland San Antonio (ESP)1999 Prosesa Ademar Leon (ESP)1998 Caja Cantabria Santander (ESP)1997 Elgorriaga Bidasoa (ESP)1996 TBV Lemgo (GER)1995 FC Barcelona (ESP)1994 FC Barcelona (ESP)

Previous Men’s EHF Cup winners

2012 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)2011 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)2010 TBV Lemgo (GER)2009 VfL Gummersbach (GER)2008 HSG Nordhorn (GER)2007 SC Magdeburg (GER)2006 TBV Lemgo (GER)2005 Tusem Essen (GER)2004 THW Kiel (GER)2003 FC Barcelona (ESP)2002 THW Kiel (GER)2001 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER)2000 Metkovic Jumbo (CRO)1999 Sportclub Magdeburg (GER)1998 THW Kiel (GER)1997 SG Flensburg Handewitt (GER)1996 BM Granollers (ESP)1995 BM Granollers (ESP)1994 Aliza Avidesa (ESP)

2013 Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER)

2014 Pick Szeged (HUN)

2015 Füchse Berlin (GER)

2016 Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)

LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals 2017

Media Guide

by

EHF Media & Communications, 01/05/2017

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