Another world champion goes east

The official EHF transfer window was closed on Tuesday and the shopping spree of the 24 group phase participants of the VELUX EHF Champions League was quite small compared to previous years.

One of the biggest signings was made by Polish side Wisla Plock. Their Spanish coach Manoel Cadenas remembered one of the biggest and tallest talents he coached in Leon and signed Spanish world champion Angel Montoro.

The 2.05 metre tall right back was on loan from FC Barcelona at French side Fenix Toulouse before he went eastwards.

He went the same direction as Julen Aguinagalde, who now plays for Kielce, Plock’s arch rival in the Polish league and in Group B of the Champions League.

Montoro is one of four Spaniards who were “late arrivals” in the competition and he was the only one, who did not arrive from BM Aragon. Miguel Sanchez Migallon Naranjo and Manuel Rial Ricoy did not leave their home country and now play for Naturhouse La Rioja, while Angel Perez de Inestrosa made it to Ukraine to sign for Motor Zaporozhye.

Only two clubs who have already qualified for the Last 16, made winter transfers. MKB Veszprem, due to injuries, signed Uros Vilovski and Tamas Mocsai, and KIF Kolding snapped up young talent Kristian Larsen Stoklund.

The remaining eleven transfers were done by teams, still fighting for a berth in the knock-out stage of the competition, like both sides from Skopje as well as Motor, Minsk, Plock, Zagreb amd La Rioja.

German EHF Cup participant TSV Hannover-Burgdorf released two players to clubs in the elite competition, including Slovenian Borut Mackovsek, who just had arrived from Celje before the start of the season and has gone to Dinamo Minsk after half a season in Germany.

All late entries in the VELUX EHF Champions League:

Vardar Skopje: Miladin Kozlina (SLO, from Metalurg/MKD)
HC Motor Zaporozhye: Angel Perez de Inestrosa (ESP, from Aragon/ESP)
MKB-MMV Veszprem: Uros Vilovski (SRB, back from loan in Montpellier), Tamas Mocsai (HUN, from Hannover Burgdorf/GER)
Wisla Plock: Lukasz Calujek (POL/first registration), Angel Montoro Cabello (ESP/from FC Barcelona/ESP, was on loan at Fenix Toulouse/FRA)
KIF Kolding: Kristian Larsen Stoklund (DEN, first registration)
Dinamo Minsk: Borut Mackovsek (SLO/ from TSV Hannover Burgdorf/GER)
HC Metalurg: Luka Cindric (CRO, from HRK Karlovac/CRO)
Wacker Thun: Nikola Dokic (BIH, from RK Derventa/BIH)
HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb: Mario Vuglac (CRO, from RD Slovan/SLO)
Naturhouse La Rioja: Patrick Eilert Lykke (DEN, from GOG Handbold/DEN), Miguel Sanchez Migallon Naranjo (ESP), Manuel Rial Ricoy (ESP, both from Aragon/ESP)