Kielce surrounded by lots of questions

This season Kielce write a real multi-layered story. A lot of questions were posed in the summer, and even more will be asked when the VELUX EHF Champions League finally begins.

How serious are the reported financial problems? How to make up for the loss of Uros Zorman and Dean Bombac? How much time will the team need to get in sync with six new players? How will hot-headed handball icons Talant Dujshebaev and Uros Zorman get along? What can team captain Michal Jurecki do in his final season before leaving to Flensburg?

Here are some answers, but most questions will only be answered during the season.

Three questions before the season:

- What is the current situation of the club?

It is stable. “The club has some financial problems, controlled enough not to endanger participation in all the contests in the 2018/2019 season and noticeable enough to start worrying about the development in upcoming years,” the club’s board of directors said in an official statement.

The club received a lot of support from their fans and partners, and even acquired new sponsors. Players’ salaries got reduced by 25 percent, and only Dean Bombac didn’t accept the new terms and left the club. The others claim that the situation is not going to influence their engagement. “I’m very happy that our team showed that we still want to play for Kielce, for the region and for the people who live here,” right back Krzysztof Lijewski says.

- How will the team cope with the loss of centre backs Zorman and Bombac?

Losing two such great players could mean a disaster for the club, especially as one departure was unexpected. However, Kielce are able to fill the gap with an extremely talented and still young playmaker, Luka Cindrić, who has won the Champions League in 2017 already. “He has got a motor engine in his legs,” says Lijewski with a laugh. “He is fast and able to end the most complicated court situations on his own.”

Cindric has already done well in preseason matches, and coach Dujshebaev isn’t surprised: “In Vardar he worked with Raul Gonzales, the guy I cooperated with for many years. We both understand handball in a very common way, so Luka will not have any problems to catch my game philosophy in Kielce.”

- How will the coaching duo of Talant Dujshebaev and Uros Zorman cooperate?

It is a huge change for Zorman, who gets another place in the team’s hierarchy. “Now he is our coach, not a teammate,” says team captain Michal Jurecki, “When we drink a coffee somewhere in town, we are friends, but on the court our relation isn’t the same.”

How will hot-tempered Zorman cooperate with the even more hot-tempered Dujshebaev? “Talant is the boss. This is how it was and how it will be,” Zorman says. And Dujshebaev: “Of course, everything we do is my responsibility. But in practise, for me there is no assistant coach, there is a coach. He knows everything I need from him, he helps me a lot.”

Under the spot-light: Luka Cindrić

He came to replace Uros Zorman, but his role has become even more important after another playmaker, Dean Bombac, also left the club. Cindrić’s start at the club has been promising. “I have played with amazing playmakers in my career: Duvnjak, Gille, Schmid, Zorman, Tkaczyk, they all were great. But none of them had such dynamite in their legs as Cindrić,” says Lijiewski.

Self-esteem

The goals haven’t changed in recent years: the club still wants to defend all the domestic titles and be a part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 tournament in Cologne. Looking a bit closer, Kielce just always want to win the next game.

Fun fact

Three injured players will make their return soon: left back Uladzislau Kulesh injured his wrist at Minsk in April, line player Bartłomiej Bis raptured ligaments in his knee ligaments in March, and Mariusz Jurkiewicz injured his left hand during gardening.

What the numbers say

Kielce are three-time VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants, with a trophy won in 2016. Only once after reaching Cologne, they also qualified in the next season; that was the year when they lifted the trophy. Also, only once after going out in the Last 16, the failed to reach the FINAL4 in the following year; that was last season.

PGE Vive Kielce (POL)

Qualification for VELUX EHF Champions League 2018/19 season: Polish champions

Newcomers: Luka Cindrić (HC Vardar), Vladimir Cupara (Abanca Ademar Leon), Angel Fernandez Perez (Naturhause La Rioja), Arciom Karalok (Saint-Raphael Var Handball), Uladzislau Kulesh (SKA Minsk), Arkadiusz Moryto (Zagłębie Lubin)

Left the club: Uros Zorman (PGE VIVE Kielce, assistant coach), Tomasz Strząbała (MMTS Kwidzyn, coach), Mateusz Kus (Motor Zaporozhye), Sławomir Szmal (retired), Karol Bielecki (retired), Manuel Strlek (Telekom Veszprém), Darko Djukić (HC Meshkov Brest)

Coach: Talant Dujshebaev (since 2014)

Team captain: Michał Jurecki

VELUX EHF Champions League records:

Participations (including 2018/19 season): 16
Winners (1): 2015/16
Semi-final (2): 2012/13, 2014/15
Quarter-final (1): 2017/18
Last 16 (6): 1993/94, 1994/95, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2016/17
Last 32 (2): 1996/97, 1998/99
Group phase (3): 1999/00, 2003/04, 2010/11

Other EC records:

EHF Cup:
Quarter-final: 1997/98, 2005/06; Last 16: 2007/08; Round 2: 2001/02

Cup Winners’ Cup:
Quarter-final: 1995/96; Last 16: 2004/05; Round 4: 2000/01

Challenge Cup:
Round 4: 2002/03

Polish league:
15 titles (1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Polish cup:
15 titles (1985, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)