Men’s Handball Champions League Draw for 2015/16

The European handball elite prepares for the next edition of Europe’s top class handball competition

Several weeks after FC Barcelona celebrated the European Champion title in The Final Four in Cologne, the Velux Champions League of the starts another cycle asking: who will win champions league 2015/16? The European Handball Federation (EHF) draw for the groups of the 23th edition of the biggest European handball competition will take place this Friday in Vienna. GamingZion looks at the pots before the draw.

New format for the following season

Unlike in the past, EHF Velux Champions League changes the format for the upcoming season trying to integrate more European handball teams in the competition. Instead of the 24 teams that we were used to see in the group phase, the league is now expanding the number of participants to 28. The change is said to be in accord with EHF’s projections to attract a bigger audience for the Champions League from all over Europe.

In the past month EHF Executive Committee has made evaluation of all the teams that applied for a place in the competition. They ranked them according to a criteria system that looked at eight different fields including past performances, venue, spectator, TV, marketing and media issues. The result is the formation of two separate clusters consisting of two groups: A and B on the one side and C and D on the other.

• New format of the EHF Velux Champions League
• F.C. Barcelona are again the favorites
• THW Kiel and MKB Vesprem other main contenders

The groups A and B commonly attributed as the “groups of the rich” will be formed by some of the most regular participants in the history of the League. They will be composed of 8 teams each. Only the winners of these groups have a secured place in the Final Four tournament in Cologne next June.

The candidates for places in the groups A and B include 5 former winners of the EHF Champions League: FC Barcelona Lassa (ESP),THW Kiel (GER), SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER), RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO), Montpellier HB (FRA) as well as the Hungarian giant MKB-MVM Veszprem. The super-powerful HC Vardar Skopje and KS Vive Tauron Kielce (POL) are also among them.

The rest of the teams that will be settled in these groups are the French millionaires, Paris Saint Germain HB, Scandinavian KIF Kolding Kobenhavn (DEN) and IFK Kristianstad (SWE), the lions from Mannheim Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER), and the ambitious teams of HC PPD Zagreb (CRO), MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN), Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) and Besiktas Jimnastik Kulubu (TUR).

Gropus C and D will be composed of 6 teams each including Spanish runner up Naturhouse La Rioja, HC Metalurg (MKD) and Skjern Handbold (DEN) alongside with the national champions of Switzerland, Slovakia, Belorussia, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Portugal and Romania. The last participant will be known on 6 September when the qualification tournament with Elverum HH, Alpla HC Hard, Limburg Lions and RK Borac is supposed to finish.

The transformation of the format of the competition means expanding the League into a total of 20 markets across Europe. EHF TV will again provide live coverage of all the matches of the competition. Fans all over will have opportunity not only to see top class handball matches but also to compete with their own teams through the VELUX Handball Manager. New possibilities for internet betting in EU and other places in Europe are also about to be announced.

Chances, prognosis, favorites for the new season

The new format of the League was widely criticized by some but also approved by others. It will definitely increase the level of handball as a sport, it is said, but it will also increase the differences between the top class clubs and those from the so called “second class”.

However, the new format doesn’t change the odds of the online sportsbooks in EU, when the favorites are concerned. FC Barcelona, currently lead by Nikola Karabatic, Kiril Lazarov and Daniel Saric among others, is still considered to be the old-new top favorite for the title. If the rumor about the departure of Karabatic to PSG shows to be true, then their role as favorites will weaken, although not considerably if they manage to get back Mikkel Hansen on the left back position.

Beside Barcelona, MKB-MVM Veszprem and THW Kiel are the main contenders for the top of Europe. The team of Ortega showed in the past two years to be a strong collective with a great defense but also with extraordinary individuals such as Laszlo Nagy and Momir Ilic. They managed to reach the final last season, and whether they can go a step further is an open question.

For THW Kiel there is nothing new to be said. The power house from the North of Germany has everything that is needed for the Champion title. The leader abilities of Filip Jicha, the exhibition of creativity from the central backs Domagoj Duvnjak and Joan Canellas and the classy sharpshooters from the right side like Vujin and Weinhold, are guaranty for that. If we add to this that Niklas Landin will be the man between the posts in the next season, all we need to do is then just to wait for the show to begin.

A considerable amount of money will definitely be put on Polish Kielce, Vardar Skopje and PSG by whoever bet on sports in EU. They have everything that is needed for the throne: world class squad, great coaches and fervent supporters behind them. The transfer market might bring some changes in their squad this summer but it is not plausible to expect any transfers of their superstars, except maybe in the case of Mikel Hansen.