New CL trophy unveiled

All four EHF FINAL4 participants already had their hands on the new Champions League trophy: On the fringe of the opening gala in the Sports and Olympics Museum the new trophy was presented one day before the semi finals.

During the gala the trophy was finalized by the two Austrian artists Herbert and Stefan Gahr. A ball was bond to the rest of the trophy, a metallic arm. Afterwards the top players of all four EHF FINAL4 clubs laid their hand on the trophy.

“It looks good and feels good,” Vitaly Iwanow, captain of Medvedi Chekhov, said. David Barrufet, record player of FC Barceloa, was impressed: “Only one team will touch this trophy on Sunday. I hope it’s the Barcelona team.” Joe Javier Hombrados, goalkeeping colleague from Ciudad Real, shared this opinion: “We want to raise this piece of art on Sunday.” Marcus Ahlm, captain of THW Kiel, was a little bit more diplomatic: “All players want this trophy on Sunday, but only one team will get it.” Before the dinner all guests of the gala could take a photo of them and the new trophy.

All teams attended the gala dinner in the museum, and the players were talking a lot with each other, before they’ll become opponents for 60 minutes on the weekend. Jürgen Roters, Lord Mayor of Cologne, and Tor Lian, EHF President, opened the gala, both expected a “fantastic tournament this weekend”.

After the gala dinner the next premiere took place: EHF partner adidas presented their new Champions League handball „Stabil Champ“. Ball and trophy will follow the players until Sunday.