22.12.2020, 11:00
31 Champions League stars featured in EHF EURO final

FACTS AND FIGURES: Which teams had how many players competing for the trophy at the EHF EURO 2020 in Denmark?

When Norway beat France 22:20 on Sunday to win their record-extending eighth Women’s EHF EURO title, a lot of DELO EHF Champions League stars were involved.

Only five players of finalists Norway and France are not playing for an EHF Champions League club team. In total, 17 members of the Norwegian team 14 of the French are playing in Europe’s top-flight club competition.

The best represented club in EHF EURO final were Györ

The best represented club in Sunday’s final in Kolding were Györi Audi ETO KC. The title holders had four players in both teams: Stine Oftedal, Kari Brattset Dale, Silje Solberg and Veronika Kristiansen for Norway, and Amandine Leynaud, Laura Glauser (who was not in the line-up for the final), Beatrice Edwige and Estelle Nze Minko.

Vipers Kristiansand had more players in the Norwegian team (seven), but none in the French.

Other EHF Champions League teams that had players competing in the EHF EURO final were Team Esbjerg (DEN/5 Norwegian players), Brest Bretagne Handball (FRA/5 French), SG BBM Bietigheim (GER/1 Norwegian), Metz Handball (FRA/2 French), Rostov-Don (RUS), CSM Bucuresti (ROU) and CSKA (RUS/ all 1 French).

Metz is also the home club of Camila Micijevic, the only EHF Champions League player of bronze medallists Croatia, who beat hosts Denmark 25:19 in the 3/4 placement match.

Including Denmark, with nine EHF Champions League stars, a total of 41 players from Europe’s premium club competition were involved in the semi-final.

Six of the nine All-star Team players play in the Champions League

Six of the nine players in the EHF EURO 2020 All-star Team and the tournament top scorer play in the EHF Champions League.

Györ have MVP Estelle Nze Minko and centre back Stine Oftedal. Nora Mørk, the former Györ and CSM player who is now with Vipers, was not only the All-star Team right back but also the top scorer, with 52 goals, for a second time after 2016.

French side Brest were represented by their Danish goalkeeper Sandra Toft, with two more All-star team players from EHF Champions League clubs: Montenegro left wing Jovanka Radicevic (Buducnost) and Russia left back Vladlena Bobrovnikova (Rostov).

Norway left wing Camilla Herrem (Sola), Croatia line player Anna Debelic (Astrakhan) and best defender Line Haugsted (Viborg) are currently not playing in the EHF Champions League.

Most EHF Champions League stars that shone during the EHF EURO 2020 will return to the courts on 9/10 January when the group phase resumes.

TEXT: EHF / Björn Pazen