09.12.2009, 11:20
75 CL players at the WCh

A huge number of European top players are taking part in the XIX Women's World Championship in China. Many of them have a chance to win medals.

75 CL players at the WCh in China

The Women’s Champions League has taken a break, but all the stars are still playing – at the 19th World Championship in China. 75 players of 12 of the 24 participatingteams are currently on loan at CL participants, mostly from the top clubs.

The Romanian team, one of the favourites for a medal in China, consists mostly of Oltchim Valcea players. Eleven of the 16 nominated players are member of the Romanian champion. Valcea has another record, as it’s the CL club with the most participating players (12). And Romania is – together with Olympics champion Norway - the team with the most players of CL clubs: 13 of the 16 team members play in the current Champions League, followed by Russia with twelve players.

Even as the Denmark is the only country in the CL with three participating teams, only four Danish CL players are in the team roster of their home country. In total Viborg (6), FCK (5, including World Handball Player of the Year, Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth) and Aalborg (4) have 15 players in China.

Apart from Viborg, four other CL teams sent six players to the WCH: Zvezda, Leipzig, Hypo and Györ, Larvik, Dinamo Wolgograd, Metz and Byasen have each five.

Some top players such as Grit Jurack (Germany, pregnant) or Neli Elisei (Romania, injured) are missing, similarly to Gorica Acimovic (Viborg, Austria) and four Brazilian players of Hypo who are training at their clubs.

Having a brief look at the favourites of the tournament, you can be sure that some CL players will raise the trophy on the 20th of December, as as usual Norway (Olympics Champion), Russia (World Champion), Hungary, Romania and Spain belong to the title candidates.

TEXT: Björn Pazen