Trio of former champions combine in tough group A

The Polish side looks like a clear favourite for one of the two top spots in the group. After losing the EHF FINAL4 final in the last two seasons, Kielce will be of course extra motivated to finally step on the top of the podium again. Only two new players joined them in the summer: Croatian goalkeeper Sandro Mestric and Egyptian left back Hassan Kaddah.

Will that be enough to stop Kiel, Paris Saint-Germain, Aalborg Håndbold or OTP Bank-PICK Szeged progressing directly to the quarter-finals? These experienced Champions League contenders have all undergone important changes in the summer, starting with THW. The Zebras lost Sander Sagosen, but the Norwegian superstar will make an early comeback to the Wunderino Arena in December, when he visits with his new club, Kolstad.

Kolstad are the Champions League debutants in this group, and everyone is eager to see if they are able to deliver. In Sagosen, but also Magnus Rød, Torbjørn Bergerud and Gøran Johannessen, they count key Norwegian national team key players in their ranks. But Kolstad have not got much time on their hands, and they will have to be ready from the start if they want to qualify for the next phase.

Paris made it to Cologne again last June, for the sixth time, but failed once again to reach the EHF FINAL4 final. Only once in history did they achieve it, in 2018. Over the summer, Paris had both good and bad news: Nikola Karabatic’s comeback and Jacob Holm’s arrival were overshadowed by the departure of Dainis Kristopans. The former Champions League winner with Vardar was one of Paris’ best players last season, but decided to have a go at the Bundesliga, in Melsungen, this season.

If Nikola Karabatic’s return from injury could be key for Paris, so could be Mikkel Hansen’s for Aalborg. After a stunning start to the season, the Danish superstar stepped back after the EHF EURO break. And without him, the side in red struggled to deliver, failing to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2020. In contrast to their opponents, Aalborg will show a completely new face this season, with nine new players, including 2020 EHF Champions League winner Niklas Landin – another Kiel departure.

Szeged have had a tough time recently in the competition. The Hungarian side has not made it to the quarter-finals since 2019, and last season, they did not have a chance against Telekom Veszprém in the play-offs. As a result, Juan Carlos Pastor left the bench after 10 years while Krisztian Karpati took over. The Hungarian coach will have a huge task on his hand but is set to only stay one year, before IK Sävehof coach Mikael Appelgren takes over in 2024.

The two Balkan teams appearing in group A have completely different profiles. HC Eurofarm Pelister have not played the Champions League since 2005, when they were still called Pelister Bitola. They now have Champions League regulars such as former winner Khalifa Ghedbane or right wing Bogdan Radivojevic among their ranks, and will try to make it to the play-offs for the first time ever.

HC Zagreb, on the other hand, have plenty of Champions League experience under their belt. The Croatian side will be playing the competition for the 21st time in a row, the second longest record ever. But Zagreb have only managed to progress from the group phase twice in the last five seasons. Last season, their ticket slipped from their hands in the last round. They will certainly want to finally stop the curse in 2023/24.

Photos © Uros Hocevar/kolektiff; Titt Melhuus; René Schütze