22.08.2015, 07:30
Rematched with well-known foes

VELUX EHF Champions League club countdown: 25 days to go - Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER)

Rematched with well-known foes

Rhein-Neckar Löwen lost two pillars of the squad over the summer and their success this season will rely heavily on whether their work in the transfer market has sufficiently covered these losses.

The Mannheim based club reacted to the departure of world class goalkeeper Niklas Landin for German champions and three-time EHF Champions League winner THW Kiel, with the capture of Serbian international Darko Stanic and Swede Mikael Apelgren from last season’s EHF Cup participant Melsungen.

However, Landin is not the only Scandinavian loss for the “lions”, as Norwegian line player Bjarte Myrhol signed for Danish VELUX Champions League participant Skjern. He was replaced by German international Henrik Pekeler - and as he is currently injured. Löwen also signed Spaniard Rafael Baena.

After finishing second in Germany once again, this time two points below Kiel, and getting eliminated at the Last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition last season, now Löwen will face some established and big-name opponents in Group B: defending champions Barcelona, Kielce, Vardar, Kolding, Szeged, Kristianstad and Montpellier.

“The only unknown team for us are Kristianstad, as we faced the rest of those teams before. We will not have any easy match in the group phase, as Barcelona and Kielce belong to the favourites of the Champions League, and Skopje are also a candidate for making it to the VELUX EHF FINAL4,” says team captain Uwe Gensheimer, who adds: “In the past, we had did not have easy encounters with Kolding, Montpellier and Szeged.”

Two opponents are in the focus of manager Lars Lamade and the team – two teams who eliminated Löwen in the previous seasons.

Barcelona, who snuck past Löwen by only one goal in the 2013/14 quarter-finals, and Szeged, who ended their campaign last term.

“Barcelona are the strongest of all teams, and we failed against Szeged, which says all about the strengths of the Hungarians. We know Montpellier, Kielce and Kolding from past seasons,” says Lamade, for whom in general the group is highly tough: “Due to our small squad we definitely do not belong to the favourites in this group of attractive opponents. But we are eager to proceed to the Last 16.”

”I am really looking forward to the next Champions League season. The new format brings high-class matches all over, but we want to survive the group phase, though we have to see how we can stand the burden of Champions League and Bundesliga in the same period,” adds Gensheimer.

For manager Lamade the Champions League has gained value due to the new format: “There’s nothing better to start the season against the defending champions FC Barcelona - and we are proud to be part of this competition again. The team has deserved to be among the best of the best.”

Rhein-Neckar Löwen (GER)
Qualification for the 2015/2016 VELUX EHF Champions League season: runners-up in Germany

Newcomers:  Darko Stanic (Al Kuwait SC), Mikael Appelgren (MT Melsungen) Hendrik Pekeler (TBV Lemgo) Rafael Baena (BM Puente Genil Angel Ximénez)

Left the club:  Niklas Landin (THW Kiel), Bastian Rutschmann (Frisch Auf Göppingen), Bjarte Myrhol (Skjern Handball), Roko Peribonio, David Schmidt (beide TSG Ludwigshafen-Friesenheim)

Coach: Nikolaj Jacobsen (since July 2014)

Opponents in the group phase: Barcelona, Kielce, Vardar, Kolding, Szeged, Montpellier, Kristianstad in Group B

VELUX EHF Champions League records:
Participations (including 2015/2016 season): 7
Semi-Final (2): 2008/09, 2010/11 (FINAL4)
Quarter-final (2): 2009/10, 2013/2014
Last 16 (1): 2014/2015
Qualification (1): 2011/12

Other achievements:
Cup Winners’ Cup: Finalist 2007/08
EHF Cup: Winner 2012/13, semi-final 2011/12, quarter-final 2006/07

German league:  Runners-up 2014, 2015
German cup: Finalist 2006, 2007, 2010

TEXT: Björn Pazen / cor