Paris "humble, but determined" for return to Europe's elite 

PSG Handball, Paris' elite handball club, returns to the EHF Champions League this season for the first time in almost ten years.

Although there is a lot of hype surrounding the club with the new owners and the massive effort to build a star studded team, coach Philippe Gardent wants to bring everyone back to reality.

"We'll have to be really humble when we enter this competition. Yes, we have the capacity to do well, but we'll have to work for it,” said Gardent.

Having been in Chambéry for so many years, he knows exactly what he means. He used to defeat teams much better than his, the likes of Kielce, Rhein-Neckar Löwen and Barcelona.

“I've been in the outsider position before, so that might be a little help now that we're meant to be favourites.

“I know what the outsiders think and I will tell my players to give 100 per cent on the court, or they won't gain any victories,” explained the 49-year-old.

Gábor Császár, the centre back who signed this summer from MKB Veszprém KC, agrees.

"Being one of the favourites can be hard sometimes, but I think that a lot of the guys in the squad are used to being favourites. We'll try to live up to the expectations,” said Császár.

Top recruits

The Hungarian is just one of five new faces in the PSG squad signed this summer, including Daniel Narcisse, current World Handball Player of the Year, and Igor Vori, VELUX EHF Champions League winner with HSV Hamburg in June.

The other two recruits are also familiar faces in Europe’s elite competition, with Jakov Gojun arriving from from Madrid and Fahrudin Melic joining after his breakthrough season with Velenje.

"We wanted people with mental strength, people with experience. Even though some of them have already won everything, like Igor or Daniel, they still are hungry and are very involved in the project,” said Gardent.

When you add to those players, guys like Mikkel Hansen, Luc Abalo and former Rhein-Neckar Löwen line player Robert Gunnarsson, that makes for an impressive roster and one which will not be taken lightly by any opponent.

However, PSG's opponents in the Group Phase also boast impressive rosters. They will have to battle against Barcelona and Vardar Skopje, and both sides have impressively reinforced this summer.

“Vardar's expansion has not changed our ambitions, but it has made us more careful. Our ambition is to reach the top two in the group.

“I think Barcelona are still a little bit ahead of us with their history in European competition, but when you compare the teams position by position, we have nothing to be ashamed of,” claimed Gardent and Gabor Csaszar, once again, shares the same opinion

"The strongest team in the group seems to be Barcelona. We've had more recruits than them, so it might take a while for us to find our feet. Nevertheless, our ambition is to go all the way as quickly as possible,” concluded the ambitious playmaker.

Photo credits: handnews.fr / PSG Handball