Lackovic from Hamburg to Vardar

After six successful years, including winning the 2013 VELUX EHF Champions League, Blazenko Lackovic will leave HSV Hamburg at the end of this season. The 33-year-old Croatian left back has signed a three-year contract at Macedonian champions Vardar Skopje – the club, which eliminated Hamburg in the Last 16 of the current competition and which will face Lackovic’s former club SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the second leg of the quarter-finals on Saturday.

“On one hand it is a pity to leave HSV, the city of Hamburg and the German league after such a long time, but on the other hand I am really happy to join a highly ambitious club, which is on its way to the top of Europe.

"Skopje play in a very interesting league, facing top stars from all over Europe. Macedonian handball has become one of the best, so I am looking forward to joining Vardar and work with their ambitious coach Raul Gonzalez,” Lackovic was quoted on the HSV website.

In 2008 he had joined Hamburg, arriving from their local rivals Flensburg and has played 263 matches for HSV, scoring 728 goals to date.

Besides winning the VELUX EHF Champions League, his major successes with Hamburg were the German championship in 2011 and the German Cup trophy in 2010. Lackovic currently plays his in tenth season in Bundesliga, in Flensburg he was part of the successful team, which played the EHF Champions League Finals against THW Kiel in 2007.

More to come

“Blazenko was and is of remarkable value for our team, but it is absolutely normal in professional sports that clubs and players sometimes go separate ways and players grab new challenges,” HSV coach Martin Schwalb said, adding: “I have absolutely no doubt that he will give 100% until the very last second in the HSV jersey.”

Vardar manager Davor Stojanovski hopes for a signal of a bright future for his club: “We are very happy about this transfer. With his arrival in summer, Vardar confirms its ambition to create a strong and competitive team.”

Vardar had lost the first leg of the quarter-finals at Flensburg 22:24 on Monday – and can hope for the biggest success of Macedonian club handball in their first participation in the knock-out stages of the VELUX EHF Champions League.

Speaking to ehfCL.com, Russian born club president Sergej Samsonenko announced: “some more interesting news” ahead in the next few weeks.