Youngsters with high ambitions

After a year of absence, Celje Pivovarna Laško is back in the VELUX EHF Champions League.

The most successful Slovenian club, Celje, missed last year’s VELUX EHF Champions League season. After securing the second place in the Slovenian Championship, they will be back in 2012/13. While most of the clubs in similar positions signed many new and experienced players, Celje kept going with their youngsters.

Only Alem Toskić and Mate Lekai (Olympic Games in London) missed the first gathering on Monday where Sebastian Skube was presented. The Slovenian national player comes from Koper to Celje. "I am very happy to move to Celje. Celje is a club with great tradition, results and reputation in Europe. They have a clear vision for the future and I am happy to be part of it," explains Skube who is, together with Hungarian player Lekai, the only newcomer for the upcoming season.

The Celje squad is based on young Slovenian players like Mačkovšek, Marguč, Poteko, Mlakar and others.

The clubs aim is not to make great results but for the players to gain some experience when facing the best players in the world. The results will come in a few years. The ambitions of the youngsters are high especially after the good results of the Slovenian national team at the Men’s 20 and 18 European Championship in Turkey and Austria, where Celje players played a significant role.

In the VELUX EHF Champions League they will face the best European clubs, Atletico Madrid, MKB Veszprem and THW Kiel. This makes the return to the elite club competition even more exciting.

"After the draw I could not be happier. It is a gift from God. The best teams will play in Zlatorog hall. Celje will see great spectacles," adds coach Vladan Matić.