The first weekend of June saw a celebration
worthy of what was the 10th edition of the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, Germany,
where the EHF Champions League season culminated in a thrilling three-day event
featuring an action-packed opening day including a live concert and
meet-and-greet with the players, the semi-finals, and the finals. The most
coveted trophy in men’s European club handball was won by Macedonian team HC
Vardar, who wrote an epic story of underdogs triumphing thanks to sheer will
and fighting spirit.
It is the second Champions League title for
Vardar in three years, after their victory in 2017 on their debut at the VELUX
EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. They were the first Macedonian team to win the trophy
and remain the only one to have done so.
Vardar defeated Telekom Veszprém HC 27:24
(16:11) in the final, leaving the Hungarian team with their fourth loss in four
attempts in the Champions League trophy match. The Macedonian side were in the
lead throughout the game, creating a clear half-time advantage before Veszprém
fought back for a close finish to the game.
Vardar’s presence in the final was hardly
expected – both during the season and in the first 45 minutes of the semi-final
on Saturday. Taking on the winners of the regular season group from which all
the semi-finalist teams came, record champions Barça Lassa, Vardar fell behind for
a score if 9:16 at half-time – the biggest deficit ever in a semi-final at the
EHF FINAL4.
But they also pulled off the most
significant turnaround, as they pushed through the second half and were
rewarded as the score line slowly decreased in the last 15 minutes. Vardar took
the lead against the favourites for the title with less than two minutes
remaining, and it was a goal from team captain Stojanche Stoilov that sealed
the 29:27 victory in the last seconds.
“The whole season we have fought like
lions. Therefore, everything was possible. We fight for us. We give the best
every time,” said Vardar’s Rogerio Moraes.
With the trophy win, coach Roberto Garcia
Parrondo became the second person ever to win the Champions League as both a
coach and a player. He claimed the title with Ciudad Real in 2008 and 2009 –
playing alongside his opposing coach in the final, Veszprém’s David Davis, and
coached by two-time IHF World Player of the Year Talant Dujshebaev. Alongside
Barça coach Xavi Pascual, also a former player, the group made up an
all-Spanish cohort of coaches at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2019 – a very impressive
statistic for the nation that also currently holds the European title.
For Veszprém it was a bitter defeat, as it
not only meant their fourth loss in the final in as many attempts, but saw two
iconic players end their career without adding a last trophy to their cabinet.
Hungary national player and two-time Champions League winner with his former
club Barcelona, Laszlo Nagy, finished his 22-year professional career and will
start a new role as sports director for Veszprém. His Serbian teammate Momir
Ilic, who also won the Champions League twice with his former club, THW Kiel,
and was top scorer of the highest-level European competition twice, in the
2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, will become assistant coach for Veszprém.
Prior to Sunday’s final, the teams defeated
in the semi-finals, Barça and Polish club PGE Vive Kielce, took the court for
the bronze-medal game. Kielce had been defeated by Veszprém 30:33 on Saturday
and hoped to reward their loyal fans with a bronze medal on the last day of the
season. It was not to be however – in the highest-scoring match in EHF FINAL4
history, Barça collected a 40:35 win and with it third place.
However, Kielce had one reason to
celebrate, as their right back Alex Dujshebaev took his season tally to 99
goals over the weekend and thereby became the first Spaniard ever to finish as
top scorer of the Champions League season. The other significant individual
award of the weekend went to Vardar’s Igor Karacic, who became the first
Croatian MVP of the EHF FINAL4.
Photo: EHF/Heimken