Chambéry aim for return to finals
Two seasons ago, Chambéry made it all the way to the EHF Cup Finals in Nantes. However, they lost twice against eventual winners Göppingen and Granollers.
A few months later, their next EHF Cup adventure ended in the qualification, where the French side failed against Füchse Berlin.
Now, the team of Croatian-born coach Ivica Obrvan are eager to make it to the final destination again.
“Our group is pretty balanced and hard but I think that we should be able to qualify for later stages. Thus, our expectations and wishes are to qualify for the EHF Cup Finals,” says Obrvan, former RK Zagreb and Macedonian national team coach.
Chambéry plays Pulawy, Thun and Granollers in Group D.
Obrvan’s squad underwent some changes as top talent Melvyn Richardson, son of Jackson Richardson, moved to Montpellier and several experienced players, including Edin Basic and Grégoire Detrez, have joined Chartres.
On the other hand, Chambéry signed two Tunisian stars, Amine Bannour and Mosbah Sanai, and former Spanish international Niko Mindegia.
In contrast to last season, Chambéry were lucky in qualification as they defeated Hungarian side Tatabanya by just one goal on aggregate.
“We are always eager to qualify for European competitions as this is really important for our club considering prestige and affirmation. The French league is extremely strong and qualifying for EHF Cup is a big success for us,” Obrvan says.
For him, there is a wide range of teams that can make it to the EHF Cup Finals in Magdeburg.
“German clubs are always among the top favourites in the EHF Cup but the rest of the teams are also very strong and I am sure the rest of competition can surprise,” the coach says.
Chambéry Savoie Mont Blanc Handball (FRA)
Qualification for the EHF Cup Group Phase 2017/18: Round 2: 29:24, 31:27 against Rishon Lezion (ISR), Round 3: 24:25, 23:21 against Tatabanya (HUN)
Newcomers: Niko Mindegia (Copenhague), Amine Bannour (Club Africain), Mosbah Sanaï (El Jaish), Baptiste Malfondet (Chambéry youth team)
Left the club: Edin Basic, Grégoire Detrez, Rémy Feutrier (all Chartres), Marko Panic (Pulawy), Damir Bicanic (Zagreb), Melvyn Richardson (Montpellier), Danilo Brestovac (Differdange)
Coach: Ivica Obrvan (since 2014)
Team captain: Quentin Minel
Opponents in the group matches: Granollers, Pulawy, Thun in Group D
EHF Champions League records:
Last 16: 2003/04, 2006/07, 2010/11
Main Round: 2008/09
Group Phase: 2001/02, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13
Other European Cup records:
EHF Cup:
Semi-finalists: 2015/16 (ranked fourth at EHF Cup Finals)
Quarter-finalists: 2007/08
Group Phase: 2013/14
Last 16: 1998/99
Last 32: 1999/00
Round 3: 2000/01
EHF Cup Winners’ Cup:
Quarter-finalists: 2002/03
Last 16: 2005/06
French champions: 2001 (11x runners-up)
French cup winners: 2002 (3x finalists)
Trophée des Champions: 2013
TEXT:
Björn Pazen / ew