Kiel and PSG to lead Last 16 charge

The summer break is over and the eagerly awaited VELUX EHF Champions League 2014-15 season kicks off with a host of vastly entertaining fixtures, including a pair of Group A blockbusters in which quadruple former finalists HC PPD Zagreb are at home to treble winners THW Kiel while HC Metalurg entertain rising force Paris Saint-Germain Handball.

In the group’s other opener, Spanish contenders Naturhouse La Rioja clash with Belarus champions Meshkov Brest who came through a tough qualifying tournament on home court to clinch their first group stage berth since 2007.

Even at first glance it is easy to tell that Kiel and PSG are strong favourites to advance to the Round of 16 while the other four teams face a fierce dogfight with each other for the remaining two berths.

A dominant Kiel are aiming to reach their fourth successive final, having lost the last two after clinching their third title in Europe’s premier club competition in 2012.

Still boasting an impressive squad led by the Czech Republic’s 2010 world player of the year Filip Jicha, the German giants will expect to make a winning start at a youthful Zagreb side who recruited former Yugoslavia stalwart Veselin Vujovic as coach on Sunday after a patchy start in the regional SEHA league cost Boris Dvorsek his job.

Big-spending PSG will also aim to go at least a step further than last season when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. This time round, nothing less than the Final 4 in Cologne will do for an outfit boasting the likes of Mikkel Hansen, Luc Abalo, Marko Kopljar, Theirry Omeyer and a stack of other household names who’ve been assembled into an expensive unit expected to win the most coveted trophy in European club handball.

Comprising mainly home-grown players, the group’s remaining teams appear to have a fairly even chance of advancing into the business end of the competition.

While Metalurg and Zagreb have plenty of recent experience in the Champions League, La Rioja and Brest can plausibly claim that they are venturing into something of an uncharted territory. The Spaniards made their first group stage appearance last season while Brest have returned to the top tier after a lengthy absence, but neither side will be happy to merely make up the numbers in their section.

HC PPD Zagreb (CRO) v THW Kiel (GER)
In Zagreb, in 19.30 local time, live on ehftv.com

Having made his debut against Serbian champions Vojvodina Novi Sad (29:24) in the regional SEHA league on Wednesday, Zagreb’s new coach Veselin Vujovic faces the first real test of his credentials when his youthful team take on one of the pillars of Europe’s club handball.

With two draws and as many defeats in their four meetings with Kiel, the Croatian champions will be looking for their first win against one of the competition’s favourites but once again it will be a mountain to climb for a team aiming to rekindle past glory.

Zagreb reached the final four times during the club’s glorious 1990s but such giddy heights seem out of reach amid stiff competition these days, when reaching the last 16 will be seen as a trophy in its own right by a club lacking the financial muscle of their wealthier rivals.

Still, a spectacular opener is on the cards as the home fans will in all likelihood throng the Zagreb Arena hoping that a capacity crowd can lift the home team to what would be a huge upset.

The home team will rely on the shooting prowess of their left back Stipe Mandalinic to pull the strings in attack and the experience of Josip Valcic to marshal the defence, while Kiel have a plethora of tried and tested campaigners to choose from at both ends of the court.
    

HC Metalurg (MKD) vs PSG Handball (FRA)
Sunday, 28 September, 19.00 hrs local time, MATCH OF THE WEEK live on ehftv.com

Both sides will head into the new season with several new arrivals but the difference in the depth of their rosters could not be much starker, with PSG featuring as one of the competition favourites while Metalurg face an uphill battle to emulate last season’s success of reaching the last eight.

However, the visitors would be ill-advised to take victory for granted as Macedonian fans are known for creating an intimidating home court atmosphere with the ability to unsettle even the strongest and most experienced rivals.

Metalurg are heading into their fifth successive Champions League campaign and will be buoyed by a rapid progress at the top level, having reached the quarter-finals twice in a row. They advanced into the Round of 16 in their second season following a group stage exit in their maiden appearance.

Coached by trophy-laden Croatian Lino Cervar, who won a haul of medals with his country’s national team, Metalurg represents a compact unit and a tough nut to crack on home court.

In a bid to win the first Champions League title in the club’s history, PSG have added Thierry Omeyer and William Accambray from French league rivals Montpellier as well as Xavier Barachet from Saint Raphael to their already impressive roster.

Hence the visit to Skopje will be a good barometer of how quickly the newcomers have blended into a machine expected to fire on all cylinders in their quest to repay massive investments made by the club’s owners.

Click here to read the pre-match blog of the ehfTV commentator Tom O Brannagain.

Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP) vs HC Meshkov Brest (BLR)
Sunday, 28 September, 19.00 hrs local time, live on ehftv.com

La Rioja reached the 2010 EHF Cup Finals and then suffered a gradual decline in the competition, having been eliminated in the semi-finals the following season before they made a group stage exit in the 2012-2013 season.

Last term, they qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time but failed to make an immediate impact after they missed out on a last 16 berth by the skin of their teeth.

The Spaniards finished level on eight points with Aalborg Handball and RK Gorenje Velenje in their section but were dumped out on an inferior head-to-head record against both rivals.

In a bid to make progress this term, La Rioja signed Juanin Garcia, the Spanish league’s all-time leading scorer, as well as fellow winger Albert Rocas and the duo should certainly boost their firepower up front.

If they are to stand any realistic chance of progressing to the knockout stages, both sides will view this game as a must-win opportunity in a most demanding group with preciously little room for error.

Brest delighted their fans by coming through the qualifiers with impressive wins over Targos Bevo HC (36:23) and Tatran Presov (26:24) but competing at the top level will be a big ask for the Belarus title holders, whose golden era in Europe amounted to four successive group stage from 2004 onwards.