04.02.2015, 06:00
Europe’s elite shine in Doha, part 2

FEATURE: ehfCL.com presents a list of the ten VELUX EHF Champions League stars that set the 2015 World Championship alight, concluding with positions five to one

Europe’s elite shine in Doha, part 2

Now that the 2015 World Championship in Qatar is over, focus for many of the participating players - including eight who won gold with France - shifts to the final stages of the VELUX EHF Champions League group phase, which will begin on 11 February.

We take a look at the ten players that impressed most in Doha and will be in fine form for their clubs. After positions ten to six were presented on Tuesday, the top five are now in focus, highlighting that the championship was clearly influenced by goalkeepers.

Besides Spaniard Gonzalo Perez de Vargas (FC Barcelona) on position nine and Zagreb’s Filip Ivic (Croatia) narrowly missing the top ten, three goalkeepers are among the top four Champions League players at Doha.

5. Dragan Gajic (Montpellier MAHB/Slovenia)

Scoring 71 goals in nine matches, including reaching double-figures on three occasions, the Montpellier and Slovenian right wing finished on top of the scorers list in Doha.

All-Star Team member Gajic was a goal-machine with deadly counter attacks and showed no nerves at the penalty line. Slovenia’s performances reflected Gajic’s overall brilliant form and the same was true on his bad days against Spain and Germany. Despite missing parts of the preparation, Gajic was fit and ready for the event and he was rarely off the court.

4. Slawomir Szmal (Vive Tauron Kielce/Poland)

Although he was not among the top 20 in saving percentage, goalkeeper Szmal was one the biggest factors in Poland’s bronze medal success. Like in 2007 and 2009, when Poland made it to the world championship semi-finals, the veteran was incredible between the posts.

It was not the number of shots he saved, but in all crucial times of the games, such as the win against Sweden or the quarter-final against Croatia, Szmal was there when Poland needed him most. His only poor day was the semi-final against Qatar, but in the bronze match against Spain he was back at full throttle, saving the decisive shots.

3. Nikola Karabatic (FC Barcelona/France)

Like at the Men’s EHF EURO 2014, when he was awarded Most Valuable Player, Karabatic led the French team to gold as the most complete of all players.

Aggressive and mobile in defence, creative and efficient in attack, it was a perfect performance with no drop in level throughout the entire tournament. The Barcelona back court star was the clear leader of France. In the semi-final and the final Karabatic was simply unstoppable.

2. Danijel Saric (FC Barcelona/Qatar)

He was the “latest arrival” in the Qatar team and the only player in the team not signed by a Qatari club, but Danijel Saric was the cornerstone of the host’s silver medal achievement. Building the brilliant goalkeeping partnership with former Löwen keeper Goran Stojanovic, Saric was extra-ordinary.

Similar to Slawomir Szmal, it was not the number of saves (75 in total), but the timing of his saves that defined his championship.

When Qatar were close to elimination against Austria and the quarter-finals against Germany, the Barcelona star simply shut up shop. In the final Saric even saved more shots than Thierry Omeyer and against Poland he started quietly but soon stood tall when the match was decided.

1. Thierry Omeyer (Paris Saint-Germain Handball/France)

Never before in the history of the World Championships has a goalkeeper been awarded Most Valuable Player. In Qatar, Thierry Omeyer made history.

The PSG star also set a record with teammate Jerome Fernandez by becoming world champion for the fourth time. Despite a number of extra-terrestrial in matches in the past decade, the semi-final against Spain was perhaps the match of his life.

With a 58 per cent save rate against Spain, he was virtually impossible to beat at times. “I love the big matches,” said Omeyer, who after some unremarkable performances in the opening matches, showed his true class in the knockout stages. Omeyer was the only goalkeeper in Doha to reach triple-figures with 105 shots saved.

Photos: Qatar Handball 2015

TEXT: Björn Pazen / cor