30.05.2014, 12:32
A premiere including a debutant and a triple winner

MATCH PREVIEW: Ortega and Veszprem can make special history against Kiel, while THW arrived humble but determined at Cologne.

A premiere including a debutant and a triple winner

For the first time in the EHF Champions League history a German and a Hungarian club meet in the semi-final. Although MKB-MVM Veszprem are debutants at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne and THW Kiel are triple winners of the competition, the chances are predicted to be 50:50 by both sides before the opener of the 2014 event in Cologne.

VELUX EHF FINAL4:
Semi-final: THW Kiel (GER) - MKB-MVM Veszprem (HUN)
Saturday, 31 May, 15:15 hrs. local time, live on ehfTV

The teams have never met before in this stage of this competition, but the coaches had their individual duels with the opposing sides: In 2002, when Veszprem made it to the EHF Champions League final for the one and only time by now, they were defeated by SC Magdeburg, coached at that time by Alfred Gislason - since 2009 coach of Kiel (and the only coach ever to win the trophy with two different sides.

When Kiel played their first ever Champions League final in 2000, they were defeated by FC Barcelona - including Carlos Ortega, now coach in Veszprem. And more history: In their three previous participations at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, Kiel never lost against any opponent coached by a Spanish coach - and Ortega is Spaniard.

In the EHF Champions League history both sides faced nine times by now, with five Kiel wins and four Veszprem victories. In the last four duels Kiel finished victorious three times - including two highly thrilling matches in the 2012/13 quarter-finals, when Veszprem was close to Cologne, but failed again, like in the three years before.

32:31 and 29:28 were the final results in two matches on eye level. On home ground Kiel were already down by six goals to turn the match around finally.

“We have proved that we can play on their level. This time we are on neutral ground, so I believe we have the chance to win, but it will be highly close again,” says Veszprem’s top star Laszlo Nagy. He is one of three players in the Veszprem squad, who already lifted the trophy at Cologne, winning the title with FC Barcelona together with Christian Ugalde in 2011. Momir Ilic has been the winner in 2010 and 2012 with THW Kiel.

“It will be something very special to face the old teammates,” says the shooter, who is the best scorer of all players involved in Cologne, having 91 goals on his tally and being four goals below leader Renato Vugrinec (Metalurg Skopje).

So Ilic can become the first Serbian Champions League overall top scorer since Nenad Perunicic (SC Magdeburg) in 2002.

On the other side Ilic’s national team mate Marko Vujin is a key for THW success, not only in Champions League, where he netted in already 78 times, but also in German Bundesliga, where he right became top scorer of the season with 248 goals - and German champion again.

If Vujin would become Champions League top scorer he would continue in line with Hans Lindberg (HSV Hamburg), who had been both Bundesliga and Champions League top scorer in 2013.

THW dreamed of returning to Cologne for the fourth time, but was not sure if they would be able to manage it: “We are in a full transition after stars like Omeyer, Ilic, Narcisse and Ahlm left after the previous season, so it was not expected to go that far,” says coach Gislason, who continues the series that at least one Icelandic born coach is part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 since the start in 2010.

Only two of his current players had been part of the winning squads at all three titles in 2007, 2010 and 2012: Dominik Klein and Christian Zeitz. The match against Veszprem will be the last but one game for Zeitz in the THW jersey after eleven years - before transferring to Veszprem. “There will be no influence on him, he is absolutely professional to give all until the final second he plays for Kiel,” Gislason is sure.

Both sides had nearly the same way from the start to Cologne: Both won their groups with each one defeat in this stage - THW at Kielce, Veszprem at Zaporozhye. While Kiel won all their four knock-out matches against Zaporozhye (Last16) and Metalurg Skopje (quarter-finals), Veszprem were defeated in their first Last 16 match at Plock, but then recorded three straight wins including the quarter-final against PSG.

Veszprem and Ortega can make double history at Cologne: The coach, six times winner of the trophy as a player of Barcelona, can be the second ever person in handball after Talant Dushebajev (Santander/Ciudad Real) to win the trophy as a coach and a player.

And after Györ (coached by Ambros Martin) won the Women’s EHF Champions League and Szeged (coached by Juan Carlos Pastor) won the EHF Cup, Veszprem can become the third Hungarian side coached by a Spaniard within only four weeks to win a EHF competition in a final tournament.

TEXT: Björn Pazen / br