Debutants with sky-high ambitions

In recent years, newcomers had their share of glory in the DELO EHF Champions League, with CSM Bucuresti winning the title in 2015/16 and CSKA securing a DELO EHF FINAL4 berth last season.

This season, the 43rd team to enter the European premium competition is setting the bar high as Kastamonu Belediyesi Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü become the first Turkish side to appear in the Champions League group phase.

Already an experienced side with a Turkish core led by iconic playmaker Serpil Iskenderoglu, Kastamonu ushered in four Montenegrin players from Buducnost BEMAX, including the second-best scorer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Jovanka Radicevic.

The ambitions are high, but will it be enough?

Main facts

• Kastamonu are the first Turkish side to play in the group phase, after they lost in qualification twice in recent years
• the Turkish champions were  runners-up in the Challenge Cup in 2016 and reached the semi-finals of the EHF Cup in 2018
• four Montenegrin players – Jovanka Radicevic, Majda Mehmedovic, Milena Raicevic and Marina Rajcic – have been brought in to strengthen the squad
• Romanian coach Costica Buceschi, who led CS Minaur Baia Mare to the EHF Finals last season, has replaced Helle Thomsen at Kastamonu

Most important question: How will the Montenegrin-Turkish connection work?

Kastamonu are a surprise addition to the DELO EHF Champions League, but their ambitions have already been high in past seasons.

They failed to advance from the qualification tournament for the Champions League in 2017/18 but went on to reach the EHF Cup semi-finals that season. And they were runners-up in the Challenge Cup two years earlier. They also challenged for a quarter-final berth in the inaugural EHF European League season a few months ago.

There have been changes in the team, with coach Helle Thomsen being replaced by Romanian manager Costica Buceschi, but the main take this summer has been the addition of four experienced Montenegrin players from Buducnost BEMAX.

Jovanka Radicevic, Majda Mehmedovic, Marina Rajcic and Milena Raicevic need no introduction. Radicevic and Mehmedovic are a formidable wing pair, while Raicevic can be a dual-threat playmaker. After 14 years at Buducnost this will be Raicevic’s first season outside of Podgorica. It will be crucial for Kastamonu how she returns to the court after a long injury and maternity leave.

There are four Montenegrin and eight Turkish players in the roster and their connection will be of the decisive factor for Kastamonu’s success in their first Champions League season.

Under the spotlight: Jovanka Radicevic

The experienced right wing will be gearing up for her fourth experience outside of Montenegro, after donning the shirt of Györi Audi ETO KC, HC Vardar and CSM Bucuresti, before returning for a two-year stint at Buducnost BEMAX.

The 34-year-old Montenegrin stalwart is the active player with the largest number of goals scored in the DELO EHF Champions League (892) and could become only the second player to hit the 1,000-goal milestone. She netted 80, 97 and 94 times in the past three Champions League seasons.

How they rate themselves

Newcomers with ambition. Team captain Serpil Iskenderoglu has been registered to play European handball since 1997, with TMO SC Ankara, but scored her first goals in the Challenge Cup for Anadolu University in the 2003/04 season. Six years after signing for Kastamonu, her dream to play in the EHF Champions League is finally coming true – at age 39.

“We will be the first team to represent Turkey in the Champions League. Being the first gives us great excitement and pride. Being aware of our responsibility, we want to live and achieve this pride on behalf of Kastamonu and the Turkish people. We know that tough matches are waiting for us. We aim to achieve good results by showing our team character in every match,” said Iskenderoglu, a playmaker with a penchant for creativity.

Kastamonu might be newcomers in the competition, but they will surely rely on the experience of Iskenderoglu, Radicevic, Mehmedovic, Raicevic, Rajcic or right back Nina Zulic to try and proceed to the knock-out phase of the competition.

What the numbers say

43 – Kastamonu are the 43rd team to play in the EHF Champions League, the only debutants in the 2021/22 season. The four Montenegrin players joining this season are coming from Buducnost, the team with the most games played in the competition – 274.

Did you know?

Kastamonu might be the first Turkish team in the women’s edition of the Champions League, there is a team from Turkey that played five straight seasons in the men’s group phase: Besiktas (2014-18).

Arrivals and departures

Arrivals: Jovanka Radicevic (Buducnost BEMAX), Majda Mehmedovic (Buducnost BEMAX), Milena Raicevic (Buducnost BEMAX), Marina Rajcic (Buducnost BEMAX), Cansu Akalın (Muratpaşa Belediyesi SK), Yağmur Toprak (Muratpaşa Belediyesi SK), Costica Buceschi (coach, CS Minaur Baia Mare).

Departures: Amanda Kurtovic (HC Dunarea Braila), Beyza İrem Türkoğlu (Team Esbjerg), Alena Ikhneva (Konyaaltı Belediyesi SK), Amra Pandzic (CS Minaur Baia Mare), Ana Kojic (Mosonmagyarovar), Ekaterina Vetkova (unknown), Julia Eriksson (unknown).

Past achievements

EHF Champions League:
Participations (including 2021/22 season): 3
Qualification (2): 2017/18, 2019/20

Other:
EHF European League: Group Phase: 2020/21
EHF Cup: Semi-finals: 2017/18, Quarter-finals: 2019/20
Challenge Cup: Runners-up: 2015/16

Turkish league: 4 titles (2017, 2019-21)
Turkish Cup: 1 title (2021)