Kielce celebrates heroes from Cologne

The fairy tale season of Vive Targi Kielce ended culminuated on Tuesday afternoon with a huge fan party on the main square of the Polish city. The newcomers of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, who beat the defending champions THW Kiel in the 3/4 place match last Sunday in the LANXESS arena, celebrated an enormously successful campaign together with several thousand fans.

Kielce, who were the only VELUX EHF Champions League team with a perfect 10-from-10 record in the Group Phase, also added both domestic trophies – the tenth league and tenth cup title in what they call the best season of their 48-year history.

The celebration tour of Bogdan Wenta’s team started with a mass in the Karczówka Monastery overseeing the city. Afterwards, the open top double-decker with the team drove through the streets of the town decorated in the club colours of yellow, white and azure, constantly greeted by locals.

At the final stop in the Rynek square thousands of fans waited for their heroes despite an unpleasant drizzle. On the podium all members of the squad were presented one by one with raucous cheers from the fans who erupted when the team paraded with their trophies again. Goalkeeper Sławomir Szmal confirmed he offered his Polish league gold, his jersey and a playing ball for a charity auction.

This was the third time in four days when handball team filled the main square with their fans as thousands took part in public viewings of their matches in Cologne over the last weekend.