Defending champions start with 19 players

Six weeks after the greatest achievement of the SG Flensburg-Handewitt history the defending champions of the VELUX EHF Champions League already started a preparation for next season.

"I am satisfied, all of them have done something over the break,“ the club’s official website quoted coach Ljubomir Vranjes after a morning workout session in a gym on Monday. The first handball training session followed in the late afternoon and running tests were scheduled for Tuesday.

Vranjes launched this warming-up phase with 19 players including the four newcomers Kevin Møller, Johan Jakobsson, Anders Zachariassen and Kasper Kisum and three youngsters from the club’s youth team Lukas Blohme, Michael Nicolaisen and Stefan Wilhelm.

The left-back star Lars Kaufmann, who is returning after a season-long injury break, hopes for a successful comeback.

"It is great to be able to train with my team. This break was really difficult to handle mentally. But I feel much better now than a half year ago," the German international said.

The upcoming season is bound to be as busy as never before. Besides two more bundesliga games than usual, Flensburg will also take part at the IHF Super Globe in Qatar in September.

Over the next weekend Vranjes will take his team to Ahus, Sweden where they will participate at the beach handball festival.