Four aces for Germany

For the first time ever, four teams from the same country won the respective groups in the Men’s EHF Cup: Germany. While host and defending champions Frisch Auf Göppingen already booked their ticket to the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals, MT Melsungen and the former EHF Cup winners SC Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin will be in the same pot at the quarter-final draw on Thursday. As no all-German duels can occur in the next knock-out stage, an all-German LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals still can happen.

And for the first time ever, since this competition is merged from the “old” EHF Cup and the former Cup Winners’ Cup, the defending champions qualified for the LIQUI MOLY EHF Cup Finals and have the fate in their hands. Funny enough, Göppingen were the last winner of the “old” format” in 2012 - and that time had defended their 2011 trophy.

Here are some more Facts and Figures on the EHF Cup 2016/17 Group Phase:

0 teams, which started in the second qualification round, are still in the competition.

0 champions managed to defend their title in the new format, implemented in the 2012/13 season. After their successes in 2013 and 2014, Löwen and Szeged continued in the Champions League, while 2015 champions Berlin failed in the 2015/16 qualification. Göppingen are the first side to make it to the EHF Cup Finals.

0 Scandinavian have qualified for the quarter-finals - for the second time after the 2013/14 season.

1 group phase debutant have made it to the quarter-finals: Tatabanya.

1 former EHF Champions League winner - as every year so far - is still in the race for the EHF Cup trophy in the quarter-finals: SC Magdeburg. The same club had been quarter-finalist in 2013 and 2016, besides it were later-on finalists Montpellier (2014) and Hamburg (2015).

1 team - Magdeburg again - had twice failed against the later-on EHF Cup champions from Bundesliga in the quarter-finals: 2013 against Löwen, 2016 against Göppingen.

1 of 48 group matches ended with a draw, the 23:23 of Kolding vs Magdeburg.

1 German team at least had been part of the EHF Cup Finals so far. This series definitely continues.

1 host of the EHF Cup Finals took the trophy so far: Berlin in 2015. The same team failed in the semis 2014 on home ground, as Nantes failed twice in the finals against Löwen (2013) and Göppingen (2016).

2 former EHF Cup winners are part of the quarter-finals: Magdeburg (old version in 1999, 2001 and 2007) and Berlin (new version/2015). Göppingen have won both versions (2011, 2012, 2016).

2 - which means all - countries, who represent the 2013-2016 winners of the “new” EHF are still in the race for the trophy: (Germany/2013, 2015, 2016) and Hungary (2014/Pick Szeged).

2 teams - Magdeburg and Saint-Raphael had been quarter-finalists last season too - both failed on their way to Nantes.

2 times, three of four semi-finalists of the old version of the EHF Cup had been from Germany, in 2006 and 2011.

3 teams - the group phase debutants Ribnica, Cocks and Tel Aviv - finished this stage without any point on their account.

4 nations are represented by the six quarter-finalists: Germany (3), France, Hungary, Spain (each 1). Last season it had been Germany, France (each 2), Spain and Denmark.

5 of 48 group matches ended with 45 or less goals.

5 times (which means every time including the current season) the hosts of the EHF Cup Finals qualified directly for the final tournament by skipping the quarter-finals: Nantes in 2013 and 2016, Berlin in 2014 and 2015 and now Göppingen.

5 times thus, the weakest second ranked team was eliminated from the quarter-finals, for the fourth time in five years, it was Spanish team: again Granollers, like in 2014 like Las Rioja and Leon before.  

6 of 48 group matches ended with a distance of ten or more goals.

7 nations so far had been represented by the teams, which had qualified for the EHF Cup Finals since 2013: Germany (6 teams), France (4), Denmark (2), Romania (1), Hungary (1), Slovenia (1), Spain (1). Two more nations – Sweden and Portugal – had also been represented by the quarter-finalists.

9 group matches were attended by more than 3,000 fans.

11 EHF Cup matches in a row (including the last season) have been won by Göppingen.

12 points from six group matches - the optimum - were taken by Göppingen. The defending champions were the second ever team with this outcome in the group phase after Montpellier in the 2013/14 season. Besides, Magdeburg finished the current group phase unbeaten by eleven points.

14 of 48 group matches ended with 60 or more goals scored.

14 times between the implementation in the 1993/94 season until the competition was merged in 2012, German teams won the old format of the EHF Cup. Three more times (Löwen in 2013, Berlin in 2015, Göppingen in 2016), German teams won the new format.

18 away wins were among the 48 group matches.

18 goals were the biggest margin in a group match, when Magdeburg beat Tel Aviv 42:24.

29 times in 48 group matches, the home team was victorious in the end.

44 goals, scored in the matches Tel Aviv vs Tatabanya (20:24) and Cocks vs Benfica (21:23), were the lowest group phase score.

+54 is the best goal difference in the group phase, by Magdeburg.

60 goals were scored by the Dane Hans Lindberg (Füchse Berlin) to be the top scorer of the competition so far.

68 goals were scored in the matches Berlin vs Ribnica (38:30) and Saint-Raphael vs GOG (32:36) to be the highest group phase score.

140 goals were conceded in the group phase by Melsungen to have the best defence.

200 goals were scored by Magdeburg to have the best attack of the group phase.

5,926 fans were the highest attendance in the group phase, when Berlin hosted Ribnica.

15,726 attended Berlin’s three home matches, an average of 5,242 spectators.

Top 5 of the group phase:

High-score matches:

68 goals: Berlin vs Ribnica (38:30)
68 goals: Saint-Raphael vs GOG (32:36)
67 goals: Ribnica vs GOG (31:36)
67 goals: Kolding vs Tel Aviv (36:31)
66 goals: Magdeburg vs Tel Aviv (42:24), Berlin vs GOG (37:29), Granollers vs Midtjylland (34:32)

Low-score matches:

44 goals: Tel Aviv vs Tatabanya (20:24)
44 goals: Cocks vs Benfica (21:23)
45 goals: Anaitasuna vs Melsungen (23:22)
45 goals: Porto vs Granollers (23:22)
45 goals: Ribnica vs Berlin (20:25)

Biggest margins:

+18 goals: Magdeburg vs Tel Aviv (42:24)
+16 goals: Tel Aviv vs Magdeburg (22:38)
+14 goals: Melsungen vs Cocks (33:19)
+12 goals: Magdeburg vs Kolding (36:24)
+11 goals: Granollers vs Porto (33:22)

Spectators:

5926: Berlin vs Ribnica
4902: Berlin vs GOG
4898: Berlin vs Saint-Raphael
4800: Göppingen vs Porto
4351: magdeburg vs Kolding

Best attack:

200 goals: Magdeburg
187 goals: GOG
185 goals: Berlin
181 goals: Göppingen
179 goals: Saint-Raphael

Best defence:

140 goals conceded: Melsungen
146 goals conceded: Magdeburg
155 goals conceded: Göppingen
163 goals conceded: Berlin
164 goals conceded: Saint-Raphael

Best goal difference:

+54: Magdeburg
+28: Melsungen
+26: Göppingen
+22: Berlin
+15: Saint-Raphael