10,868 goals, FINAL4 debutants, and three Spanish coaches
Here are the most important Facts and Figures ahead of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017 draw in Cologne. The draw for this pinnacle event will be staged in Cologne on Tuesday, 12:00 hrs local time, live streamed on ehfTV.com, the ehfTV YouTube channel and the ehfCL Facebook page.
0 players have been part of all eight editions of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 from 2010 to 2017.
0 clubs have defended their trophy at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 since the format was introduced in the 2009/10 season, and this trend will continue, as defending champions Vive Tauron Kielce were eliminated by Montpellier in the Last 16.
0 German clubs are participating the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017, this is a first for the format.
1 club is a VELUX EHF FINAL4 debutant: Vardar Skopje.
1 player who won the trophy last year can do so again this year: Vardar’s Croatian wing Ivan Cupic, won the 2016 title with Vive Tauron Kielce.
1 pair of brothers are fighting together for the trophy in Cololgne: Nikola and Luka Karabatic (both playing for PSG).
1 former EHF Champions League winner made it to Cologne this season: FC Barcelona Lassa, who have won the competition eight times. All other FINAL4 participants this year have never won the competition before.
1 man has won the EHF Champions League as a player (in 1994 with Santander) and as a coach (in 2006, 2008 and 2009 with Ciudad Real): Talant Dujshebaev. Vardar assistant coach David Davis may follow in his footsteps, as he was Champions League winner as a player of Ciudad Real in 2009.
1 team turned a defeat in the quarter-final first leg around in the second leg: FC Barcelona did so against Kiel.
2 winners of group A (Barcelona) and B (Vardar), who had skipped the Last16, have made it to Cologne.
2 of the four VELUX EHF FINAL4 2017 participants were part of the event in 2016: PSG and Veszprem.
2 teams won both legs of the 2016/17 quarter-finals: Vardar and Veszprem.
3 of the teams in the FINAL4 2017 have Spanish born head coaches: Barcelona (Xavi Pascual), Vardar (Raul Gonzalez)and Veszprem (Javier Sabate)
3 times, including the current season, have the defending champions been eliminated in the Last16: Hamburg (2014), Flensburg (2015) and Kielce (2017).
4 straight times have Veszprem made it to Cologne since 2014.
5 straight times, with four different clubs, Icelandic record international Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson was part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4. After missing the trophy with Löwen (2011), Kobenhavn (2012) and Kiel (2013 and 2014), he finally took the title in 2015 with FC Barcelona. This season, he only made it to the Last 16 with Löwen.
6 former or current IHF World Handball Players of the Year will be on court in Cologne: Nikola Karabatic (PSG, 2007, 2014, 2016), Thierry Omeyer (PSG, 2009), Daniel Narcisse (PSG, 2012), Mikkel Hansen (PSG, 2011), Filip Jicha (Barcelona, 2010), Arpad Sterbik (Vardar, 2005).
9 players scored ten or more goals in a single VELUX EHF FINAL4 match since 2010.
10 was the biggest winning margin in the 2016/17 quarter-finals: Vardar defeated Flensburg 61:51.
13 different clubs have been part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 since its introduction in 2010: Barcelona, Kiel (6 times each) Veszprem (4 times), Ciudad Real/Madrid, Kielce (3 times each), Hamburg and PSG (2 times each), Vardar, Füchse Berlin, Löwen, Flensburg, Kobenhavn, Chekhovskie (1 time each).
14 times have Barcelona participated in an EHF Champions League Semi-final, this is more times than Veszprem (6) and PSG (2), Vardar (1).
19 matches this season since the start of the group phase ended in a draw, including the 30:30 draw between PSG and Szeged in the quarter-finals.
41 was the lowest number of goals scored in a quarter-final leg this season, when Barcelona beat Kiel 23:18. The lowest overall score of the season were 35 goals: in the group match featuring Metalurg and Elverum (18:17).
54 goals per game were scored on average of the 2016/17 quarter-finals.
67 times since the start of the group phase were the away team was victorious, including three times in the quarter-finals.
79 is PSG’s impressive goal difference after 18 matches.
106 goals were scored by Uwe Gensheimer (PSG) so far this season: he is the current top scorer for the competition.
111 times since the start of the group phase were the home team victorious, four times in the quarter-finals.
245 goals in total were scored at the 2016 edition of the VELUX EHF FINAL4: this was the highest scoring FINAL4 ever. It is closely followed by 2014 (244 goals), and 2013’s (243) FINAL4. The lowest overall score in a FINAL4 event was 191 goals in 2012.
428 goals were scored in the eight quarter-final matches.
10,205 fans attended the Kiel vs Barcelona match: this was the highest attendance at a quarter-final match.
10,868 goals were scored since the start of the group phase in the 2016/17 VELUX EHF Champions League season.
12,250 spectators in the Zagreb vs Veszprem match was the highest attendance in the 2016/17 VELUX EHF Champions League season so far.
17,288 fans attended both leg s of the Barcelona vs Kiel quarter-finals.
20,000 will attend the four matches of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in the sold-out LANXESS Arena in Cologne.
Top rankings of the season:
Highest scoring matches:
74 goals: Vardar vs Kielce (40:34, group phase)
72 goals: Celje vs Brest (36:36, group phase)
71 goals: La Rioja Chekvovski Medvedi (34:37, group phase)
70 goals: Zaporozhye vs Montpellier (34:36, group phase)
69 goals: Bjerringbro vs Schaffhausen (37:32, group phase)
Lowest scoring matches:
35 goals: Metalurg vs Elverum (18:17, group phase)
40 goals: Veszprem vs Kiel (21:19, group phase)
41 goals: Barcelona vs Kiel (23:18, quarter-final)
42 goals: Flensburg vs Plock (22:20, group phase)
42 goals: Brest vs Zagreb (21:21, group phase)
Biggest goal difference in matches:
18 goals: Paris vs Kiel (42:24, group phase)
15 goals: Barcelona vs Bjerringbro (34:19, group phase)
14 goals: Nantes vs Besiktas (33:19, group phase)
13 goals: Barcelona vs Schaffhausen (38:25, group phase)
13 goals: UMinho vs Zaporozhye (22:35, group phase)
Top scorers:
106 goals: Uwe Gensheimer (PSG)
88 goals: Zsolt Balogh (Szeged)
88 goals: Mikkel Hansen (PSG)
88 goals: Momir Ilic (Veszprem)
84 goals: Gabor Czaszar (Schaffhausen)
Top scorers still in the competition:
106 goals: Uwe Gensheimer (PSG)
88 goals: Mikkel Hansen (PSG)
88 goals: Momir Ilic (Veszprem)
76 goals: Kiril Lazrov (Barcelona)
75 goals: Nedim Remili (PSG)
Highest attendance:
12,250: Zagreb vs Veszprem (L16)
11.500: Zagreb vs Celje (GP)
10,712: Löwen vs. Kiel (L16)
10.285: Kiel vs Flensburg (GP)
10.285: Kiel vs Veszprem (GP)
10.285: Kiel vs Bjerringbro (GP)
10.285: Kiel vs PSG (GP)
10,205: Kiel vs Barcelona (QF)
10.204: Bjerringbro vs PSG (GP)
Season statistics VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants:
FC Barcelona Lassa (ESP)
Points: 27:5 (13 wins, 1 draw, 2 defeats) in 16 matches
Goals: 462:400
Goal difference: +62
Vardar Skopje (MKD)
Points: 24:8 (12 wins, 0 draws, 4 defeats) in 16 matches
Goals: 473:429
Goal difference: +44
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Points: 30:6 (14 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats) in 18 matches.
Goals: 572:493
Goal difference: +79
Telekom Veszprem
Points: 26:10 (12 wins, 2 draws, 4 defeats) in 18 matches
Goals: 489:454
Goal difference: +35
TEXT:
Björn Pazen/kc