Louise Burgaard (DEN) – FC Midtjylland

• Made her first appearances in the Danish league at 17 with KIF Vejenjoined
• Joined FCM from Viborg in 2015, also played for Team Tvis Holstebro (summer 2013)
• Debuted in Danish national team at 19, later became a regular in the squad
• Won her first senior domestic titles with Viborg – Danish cup and Danish championship 2013/14

Alexandra Lacrabere (FRA) – HC Vardar

• Vardar is the 10th club in her career
• Best player of French championship in 2011/12, also top scorer that season (125 goals) and next season (129)
• Besides in France, spent one season in Russia with Zvezda Zvenigord and one in Spain with Akaba Bera Bera
• Helped the French national team win the world title in Germany in December 2017

Nerea Pena (ESP) – FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• Spanish international signed from Itxako in 2012, has been key player for coach Gabor Elek ever since
• Injury-prone sharp shooter, who has been through difficult times injuring the same knee twice but when fit she is the focal point of FTC’s attacks
• Finished as runner-up in the CL with Itxako in 2011; voted to the All-star Team of EHF EURO 2010

Anna Vyakhireva (RUS) – Rostov-Don

• Joined Rostov from Astrakhanochka in 2016; won the Russian league with both Astrakhanochka in 2016 and Rostov in 2017
• Comes from a handball family: father Viktor is a well-known coach and older sister Polina (Kuznetsova) plays for Vardar and for the Russia national team
• 2016 Olympic gold medallist and MVP of the tournament
• One of the most talented and promising players in Russian handball

Ana Gros (SLO) – Metz Handball

• After playing for Györ, Krim and THC, she landed in Metz in the winter of 2014
• Reached CL final with Györ in 2011/12, and made it to the quarter-finals with Metz in 2016/17 and 2017/18
• Was approached by various big clubs before the 2017/18 season but decided to stay in Metz
• Played her best CL in 2016/17 when she scored 84 goals

Iuliia Managarova (RUS) – Rostov-Don

• Moved to Rostov in 2013 and quickly became one of the fan favourites
• Quiet and humble off the court, but a natural leader in the game with a powerful shot and great scoring abilities
• Key member of the Ukraine national team before changing citizenship with the hope of playing for Russia
• Has been domestic champion in three countries: Ukraine (Smart Krivy Rog), Romania (Oltchim) and Russia (Rostov-Don)

Viktoria Lukacs (HUN) – FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• Budapest-born talented player, raised by local team Spartacus
• Only 22 years old but already in her seventh European season with FTC
• Since her debut in the team in 2011 she spent just one season away (2013/14 on loan in Siofok)
• Had a breakthrough season in 2016/17 with 42 goals, a personal best

Dijana Ujkic (MNE) – Buducnost

• Member of highly talented Montenegrin 1996 generation
• Had to sit out the entire 2015/16 season due to an ACL injury
• Replaced Jovanka Radicevic and Radmila Petrovic upon her comeback at EHF EURO 2016

Ayaka Ikehara (JPN) – NFH - Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub

• Joined Nykøbing last summer, becoming first Japanese international in Danish league and CL
• Scored 27 times in her debut CL season before NFH were eliminated in the main round
• Replaced Louise Kristensen, who had left for new league club Aarhus United
• A fast and technically-skilled wing with a great variety of shots

Lydia Jakubisova (SVK) – Thüringer HC

• No. 1 on her position after Anne Hubinger’s severe knee injury in October
• Suffered three tough knee ligament injuries in her career
• Has been playing for German clubs since 2007 (Sulzbach, Trier, Oldenburg) and joined Thüringer HC in 2011
• First played internationally with Slovan Duslo Sala in her home country Slovakia
• Was Slovakian international until 2015

Zsuzsanna Tomori (HUN) – Györi Audi ETO KC

• Was CL top scorer in 2012/13 with 95 goals
• Joined Györ for the second time in her career in 2015 from arch rivals FTC
• Previous Hungarian clubs include Dunaferr and Vasas
• Biggest success before winning the CL with Györ was winning the Cup Winners’ Cup with FTC
• Has suffered from serious injuries several times during her career, and is currently out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery

Kseniya Makeeva (RUS) – Rostov-Don

• 2017/18 is her third season with Rostov-Don
• Began her career at Dinamo Volgograd, where she won the Russian championship six times
• Spent the 2014/15 season with Romanian club HCM Baia Mare
• Plays for the Russian national team but missed the golden 2016 Olympics due to injury

Anna Lagerquist (SWE) – NFH - Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub

• Joined Nykøbing last summer from Swedish league club Lugi HF on a two-year contract
• Born in Lund and previously played only for Lugi in her career
• Spotted by Nykøbing due to her brilliant performances in the Swedish national team at the home EHF EURO 2016
• Relatively light player but strong in defence, and also developing her attacking play considerably

Camille Ayglon (FRA) – CSM Bucuresti

• Arrived in Bucharest in 2015, after her former club Nimes declared bankruptcy
• Won the World Championship 2017, bronze at the EHF EURO 2016 and silver at the 2016 Olympic Games
• Married to Guillaume Saurina, who has enjoyed a successful VELUX EHF Champions League season with HBC Nantes
• Will move back to France next summer, as she is contracted with Nantes for the next two seasons
• Considered the ‘big sister’ in the France national team, as she is the oldest player in the squad and has worn the jersey for more than 10 years

Mathilde Bjerregaard (DEN) – FC Midtjylland

• Her position in attack is left wing, but she plays almost entirely in defence
• Despite being a defensive specialist, has managed to score two goals in the Women’s EHF Champions League this season
• Joined FC Midtjylland in the summer of 2017 from nearby league rivals Silkeborg-Voel KFUM
• A physically strong and uncompromising central defender and has proved a skillful replacement for Swedish international Sabina Jacobsen, who left for CSM Bucuresti before this season
• Alongside playing handball, she is studying to become an occupational therapist

Dorottya Faluvegi (HUN) – FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• Junior handball player of the year in Hungary in 2016
• The talented Budapest-born right wing is playing her fourth season for FTC after making her way through the youth ranks of the club
• Made her first appearance for FTC in 2014 at the age of 16, and debuted for the Hungary national team in 2016
• 2017/18 is the best scoring record in her Women’s EHF Champions League career
• Shares playing time with another talented Hungarian, Viktoria Lukacs, this season

Tjasa Stanko (SLO) – RK Krim Mercator

• Technically very skilled Slovenian, who left Zagorje at the end of last season after surprisingly winning the national championship
• One of the best Slovenian players at last year's WCh in Germany
• Mainly playing as a left back following the departure of Jelena Despotovic but does well as a centre back, too

Helene Fauske (NOR) – FC Midtjylland

• Joined FCM this summer from Norwegian league side Stabæk on a three-year contract
• Played 53 youth international games for Norway and is considered one of the greatest talents in Norwegian women’s handball
• Was Stabæk’s top scorer in the league in the 2016/17 season
• A versatile back court player, but also already a strong defender and a good reader of the game

Tatjana Brnovic (MNE) – Buducnost

• 2017/18 is the debut CL season for the talented line player
• After impressing during her two-year spell at Danilovgrad, the teenager was brought to Buducnost with big expectations after the likes of Dragana Cvijic left the team
• Already displaying glimpses of her ability in the CL, she was named Rookie of the Main Round
• Will be the first-choice line player for Buducnost after injured Ema Ramusovic has been ruled out for the rest of the season

Orlane Kanor (FRA) – Metz Handball

• At 20, Kanor is playing only her second EHF Champions League season
• It was a surprise when she was named in the France national team for the World Championship in December, where she won the gold medal
• Her twin sister, Laura, also plays for Metz, but as left wing with the junior team
• The Kanor sisters and Melissa Nocandy, another Metz youngster, come from the same village in Guadeloupe and arrived in France at the same time. Now, they share the same flat and spend their days together

Ambros Martin (ESP) – Györi Audi ETO KC

• Born in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, joined Györ in 2012
• Previously coached top Spanish side Estrella Itxako for seven years, winning the EHF Cup in 2009
• Also eliminating Györ in the semi-final on the way to the CL final in 2010/11 during that spell
• In his first season Györ won their first of meanwhile three CL trophies
• Steered the national team of Romania to the 5th place at the EHF EURO 2016 in Sweden

Irina Dibirova (RUS) – HC Vardar

• Legendary Russian handball player with numerous trophies
• Ended her career as an active player in 2010
• Became Vardar’s fourth coach in 2016/17 and steered the team to the CL final
• Her husband is Timur Dibirov, who is playing for Vardar’s men's team

Emmanuel Mayonnade (FRA) – Metz Handball

• At 34, he is one of the youngest coaches in the CL
• Started coaching when he was 23 in Mios, and only left the club nine years later when they went bankrupt
• Appreciated by his players for his understanding and closeness
• Won two Challenge Cup titles with Mios, and four trophies with Metz since joining the club in 2015

Frédéric Bougeant (FRA) – Rostov-Don

• The Frenchman was appointed in December 2016 following Jan Leslie’s departure. Will leave Rostov after the 2017/18 season
• Born in Havre, he started his coaching career at the local club, Le Havre, when e was just 25
• Runner-up in the French league with Le Havre and CJF Fleury Loiret a combined total of seven times
• Also coached the Senegal women’s national team in 2016

Dragan Adzic (MNE) – Buducnost

• Retired from playing due to injury in 1998
• Spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Buducnost before becoming head coach of both the club and the Montenegro national team in 2010
• Won the CL in May 2012 and the EHF EURO 2012 seven months later
• Met his wife Timea when she came to the club as an interpreter for former coach Gyula Zsiga of Hungary