Buducnost and Györ renew old rivalry

Eight teams from seven countries are ready to continue the fight for the Women’s EHF Champions League title, with Hungary the only nation to boast two sides still in the competition: Györ and FTC.

In the quarter-finals, the defending champions and their domestic rivals will play against Buducnost and Rostov, respectively, while Midtjylland host Vardar and Metz visit CSM for the first-leg matches on Friday and Saturday.

• Midtjylland and Vardar meet in the quarter-finals for the second straight season
• CSM enter the quarter-finals with a new head coach, Per Johansson – just as they did in 2016/17
• Together, Buducnost and Györ have won five of the six most recent EHF Champions League titles
• Either Rostov or FTC will reach the FINAL4 for the first time ever  

QUARTER-FINAL, FIRST LEG
FC Midtjylland (DEN) vs HC Vardar (MKD)
Friday 6 April, 19:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

Last season, Midtjylland and Vardar faced each other in the quarter-final – and it was the Macedonian side who went through after they won both legs of a tight fight (28:26, 26:24). Now, FCM hope for another strong resistance, but Vardar appear to be a team of quite a different calibre.

Vardar won 11 of their 12 games played in the group matches and main round, while Midtjylland squeezed into the quarter-final at the very last moment.

As usual, FCM will heavily rely on experienced Norwegian international Veronica Kristiansen, who is the third top scorer of the competition with 76 goals.

Though Vardar will need to keep a close eye on her, the Macedonian heavyweights themselves count a number of prolific scorers in the squad. Notably, the Skopje-based side also boast the best scoring record in the Champions League, having tallied a total of 301 goals.

In the first leg in Ikast, Vardar are determined to win and lay the ground for progression to the FINAL4. That scenario looks quite likely, especially considering Midtjylland will play just 48 hours after an exhausting Danish league match against Odense, which they lost 21:27.  

FCM’s coach Kristian Kristensen believes in his team, but looks at things realistically: “We should be glad that we have reached the Champions League Quarter-final for the second year in a row. It's a big achievement, and now we are looking for a sensation.”

CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Metz Handball (FRA)
Friday 6 April, 20:30 local time, live on ehfTV.com

While CSM won the EHF Champions League 2015/16 and finished third the following year, Metz are yet to reach the FINAL4. However, that does not automatically make Bucuresti the favourites against the rapidly progressing French side.

CSM have appeared shaky in recent months. Following some unconvincing results and a third-place finish in Group 1, the club’s management decided to replace head coach Helle Thomsen with Per Johansson. Under the returning tactician, the Romanian side have already won a trophy: the Romanian Cup – but they view the European matches as far more important.

“If we don't qualify for the FINAL4, we’ll basically ruin the whole season. We will give everything to beat Metz, who are a very good team with a solid and aggressive defence. They play very good handball, especially on the home court, so it would be perfect to win by as many goals as possible in Bucharest,” left back Cristina Neagu told gsp.ro.

The French champions have enjoyed a nearly perfect regular season in their domestic league, claiming 21 wins and one draw in 22 matches. However, on Tuesday they were eliminated from the French Cup, when they lost to Brest on penalty throws following the 19:19 draw at the end of regular time. Now, Metz aim to recover and record the best possible result in Bucharest.

Buducnost (MNE) vs Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN)
Saturday 7 April, 19:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

Given the recent history of both clubs, this quarter-final looks set to be a thriller – at least on paper. Starting from the 2011/12 season, Buducnost and Györ have been dominant in the Women’s EHF Champions League, claiming five titles between them in six years.

Overall, the rivals have met 15 times in the continent’s top flight, with the Hungarian powerhouse winning 10 matches, including the most recent duel in the previous season’s semi-final (26:20).

Györ have a strong chance to improve this head-to-head record. Buducnost have undergone many changes during the past year, so reaching the quarter-finals is quite a flattering result for the young team.

Though the rebuilding team face a more experienced squad, Buducnost will keep on fighting. In the first leg, they will rely on their talent and passion to obtain a positive result in Podgorica.

However, Györ’s team boasts more quality. Even the absence of the injured Nora Mørk, Anja Althaus and Eduarda Amorim did not prevent the title holders from claiming top place in main round Group 1. While Amorim and Althaus have recovered, Zsuzsanna Tomori was recently sidelined for a few months due to injury, which is certainly disturbing for coach Ambros Martin.  

That said, Györ beat Erd HC to win the final of the Hungarian Cup at the beginning of April, and have turned their focus to the game in Montenegro with confidence.

FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) vs Rostov-Don (RUS)
Saturday 7 April, 17:00 local time, live on ehfTV.com

Reaching the FINAL4 would be a milestone achievement for both FTC and Rostov-Don, as neither of these sides have made it to that stage of the Champions League before. Both FTC and Rostov are determined to break new ground, and the quarter-final clashes between them are expected to be very exciting.

The teams have met only twice before, in the main round of the 2015/16 season, when the Russian side won by two goals at home before they split the points in Hungary.

In the current season, FTC finished the main round with the second most effective attack in the competition (282 goals, joint with Bucuresti), while Rostov boast the second-best defence – 232 goals conceded, just one more than Györ. FTC have been particularly strong on the home court, where they won five of six matches and only narrowly lost to Vardar.

Rostov’s players are aware of how challenging the match in Dabas will be: “It’s hard to play at FTC. It’s a nightmare, their fans are so frantic, and you feel big pressure,” right wing Anna Vyakhireva told the club’s official website.

However, the Russian team are determined to progress to the FINAL4. “We are in fantastic shape, and we are ready to fight until the end,” said head coach Frederic Bougeant.

Bougeant certainly has a reason to claim that his team are in form. In 2018, Rostov are undefeated in all competitions, with 18 wins and two draws in 20 matches, and they are committed to continuing this excellent run against FTC.