National champions women - part 2: south-east Europe

The domestic leagues have come to an end and we now know the teams set to take part in the 2014/15 Women's EHF Champions League. In five parts, ehfCL.com shine the spotlight on each of the teams who qualified for the next edition of Europe's top flight and their race for the ticket in their respective national competitions. The second part is dedicated to teams from south-east Europe - Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and FYR Macedonia.

Serbia – ŽRK Radnički Kragujevac

A tightly-contested battle for the title of Serbian champions saw the deciding match played between ŽRK Radnički Kragujevac and ŽORK Jagodina in the penultimate round of the championship.

It was ŽRK Radnički Kragujevac who took a home victory 24:22, subsequently recording a routine victory against Kikinda 32:23, to put an end to a four-year reign of RK Zaječar.

It is the first Serbian Handball Super League title for ŽRK Radnički Kragujevac, who will look to secure qualification to the Women’s EHF Champions League, to add to the most successful season in the club’s history.

Montenegro – Budućnost

The Montenegrin handball powerhouse HC Budućnost enjoyed another season of great success, having won the domestic league for eighth consecutive time.

2013/14 was truly a magnificent season for the MVM EHF FINAL4 participants Budućnost, who won the regional league undefeated from the likes of WHC Vardar SCBT, as well as enjoying a domestic cup success to complete the famous treble.  

Budućnost saw little to no resistance to their title push, having won their last match against Danilovgrad 31:23, to finish their domestic campaign with a perfect record. 

Croatia – RK Lokomitiva Zagreb

It took ten years for RK Lokomotiva Zagreb to repeat their success from 2004, and win their third Croatian championship, dethroning the 20-time champion HC Podravka Vegeta.

The 25:20 last-round win against the former champion was no more than a formality for RK Lokomotiva Zagreb, having previously secured the title with an 11-goal victory against RK Trešnjevka.

The last-round win concluded a seven-match unbeaten run for RK Lokomotiva Zagreb, having won all but one of their league games.

FYR Macedonia – Vardar SCBT

The bronze medalist from the first MVM EHF FINAL4 had an easy task in the domestic championship, winning the second title in the club’s history with three matches to spare.

After securing an easy victory of 45:26 (21:16) against Zito Prilep, the Macedonian dream team defended the trophy and the rest of the championship turned out to be a formality for them.

Vardar dominated the whole championship and won 14 games in total, while only one match ended in a draw, 23:23 against second placed Metalurg.