Karabatic, Gensheimer and Nagy top 'dream team' list

Right before the start of the 2015/16 season of the VELUX EHF Champions League all coaches were asked to pick their personal dream team.

“Who is your favourite player in each playing position this VELUX EHF Champions League season?” asked ehfcl.com, and the results were excellent as nearly all coaches took part.

During the selection process, coaches were asked to pick players who were not in their own roster.

It is no surprise that again, Nikola Karabatic tops the ranking after been awarded World Handball Player of the Year 2014 and MVP of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2015. 20 coaches nominated the two-time Olympic, three- time World, EHF EURO and EHF Champions League champion for their respective dream teams - either in the left back position (11 nominations) or in the centre back position (9).

Next in line was a cool 15 nominations for Laszlo Nagy (MVM Veszprem) in the right back position and Uwe Gensheimer (Rhein Neckar Löwen) in left wing.

Number one in the left back position is Danish PSG shooter Mikkel Hansen (12), and Julen Aguinagalde (Kielce/line player) and Victor Tomas (FC Barcelona/right wing) got nominated ten times each.

The closest race for the coaches’ dream team was among the goalkeepers, but Danijel Saric (FC Barcelona) with 8 nominations was just ahead of his former team mate Arpad Sterbik (now Vardar) with 6, the Dane Niklas Landin (Kiel) came away with 5 and Thierry Omeyer (Paris) had 3.

So the dream tream is composed by players from five clubs, only the defending champions Barcelona and main contenders PSG are represented twice.

Spain is the only country which appears twice in the dream team (Tomas, Aguinagalde).

The coaches’ dream team for the 2015/16 VELUX EHF Champions League season:

Goalkeeper: Danijel Saric (FC Barcelona Lassa)

Left wing: Uwe Gensheimer (Rhein Neckar Löwen)

Left back: Mikkel Hansen (PSG Paris)

Centre back: Nikola Karabatic (PSG Paris)

Right back: Laszlo Nagy (MVM Veszprem)

Right wing: Victor Tomas (FC Barcelona Lassa)

Line player: Julen Aguinagalde (Vive Tauron Kielce)

In a follow-up article on ehfCL.com the coaches will award their colleagues as best coaches and the arenas with the best atmosphere.

Here are the nominations of all participating coaches for their respective dream teams in the order of the positions:

goalkeeper - left wing - left back - centre back - line player - right back - right wing:

Carlos Antonio Ortega - Veszprém Handball Club (HUN)
Saric - Sigurdsson - Nikola Karabatic - Canellas - Wiencek - Weinhold - Cupic

Noka Serdarusic - Paris Saint-Germain Handball (FRA)  
No Goalkeeper - Gensheimer - Jicha - Schmid - Rene Toft Hansen - Lazarov - Cupic

Veselin Vujovic  - Handball Club Prvo Plinarsko Drustvo Zagreb (CRO)  
Sterbik - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic - Duvnjak - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Abalo

Ljubomir Vranjes  - SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)  
Saric - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic - Canellas - Sorhaindo - Nagy - Tomas

Mufit Arin - Besiktas Mogaz HT (TUR)  
Özmusul - Sigurdsson - Ilic - Sarmiento - Ozbahar - Glandorf - Svan

Branko Tamse - RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko (SLO)  
Landin  -  Gensheimer  - Mikkel Hansen  -  Nikola Karabatic -  Sorhaindo  - Nagy - Melic

Talant Dujshebaev  - KS Vive Targi Kielce (POL)
Saric - Gensheimer - Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Gulyas

Henrik Kronborg - KIF Kolding Kopenhagen (DEN)  
Sterbik - Guigou -  Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Sorhaindo  - Nagy, Tomas

Juan Carlos Pastor - MOL-Pick Szeged (HUN) -
No goalkeeper - Gensheimer - Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Tomas

Raul Gutierrez Gonzalez - HC Vardar (MKD) -
Saric - Källman - Nikola Karabatic - Canellas - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Abalo

Xavi Pascual - FC Barcelona Lassa (ESP) - (three nominations per position)
Landin/Sterbik/Omeyer - Gensheimer/Dibirov/Eggert - Mikkel Hansen, Ilic/Nikola Karabatic -  Schmid/Morgensen/Simonet - Aguinalgade/Sulic/Nilsson - Glandorf/Weinhold/ Lijewski - Abalo/ Groetzki/Ekberg

Nikolaj Jacobsen - Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER) 
Landin - Sigurdsson - Mikkel Hansen -  Nikola Karabatic - Aguinagalde - Glandorf - Tomas

Patrice Canayer - Montpellier Handball (FRA)  
Saric - Guigou - Mikkel Hansen - Diego Simonet - Aguinagalde - Lazarov - Tomas

Ola Lindgren - IFK Kristianstad (SWE)
Saric - Gensheimer - Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Nöddesbo - Nagy - Gajic

Nikola Markovic - HC Vojvodina (SRB)
Sterbik - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic - Duvnjak - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Abalo

Sergej Bebeshko - HC Meshkov Brest (BLR)  
Saric - Sigurdsson - Nikola Karabatic - Palmarsson - Sulic - Nagy - Tomas

Jesus Javier Gonzalez Fernandez - Naturhouse La Rioja (ESP)
Mikler - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic - Chema Rodriguez - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Gajic

Rastivlav Trtik  - TATRAN Presov (SVK)
Saric - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic - Raul Entrerios - Sorhaindo -  Vujin - Abalo

Ricardo Costa - FC Porto (POR)
Sterbik - Sigurdsson - Jicha - Nikola Karabatic - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Tomas

Vladimir Maximov - Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS)
Omeyer - Sigurdsson - Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Pettersson - Noddesbo - Ekberg

Markus Baur - Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI)
Omeyer - Gensheimer - Nikola Karabatic-  Andi Schmid - Sulic - Nagy - Tomas

Ole Norgaard  - Skjern Handbold (DEN)
Landin - Sigurdsson - Mikkel Hansen - Nikola Karabatic - Aguinagalde - Nagy - Svan

Lars Walther - HCM Baia Mare (ROU)  
No goalkeeper - Gensheimer - Ilic - Mikkel Hansen - Sypczak - Nagy - Abalo

Lino Cervar - HC Metalurg Skopje (MKD)
Sterbik - Gensheimer  - Nikola Karabatic - Palmarsson - Sulic - Lazarov - Cupic

Nikolai Stepanec - HC MOTOR Zaporozhye (UKR)
Landin - Gensheimer - Mikkel Hansen - Petterson - Rene Toft Hansen - Barachet - Tomas