Who shall stop Barça on the way to the next trophy?

8. Industria Kielce (POL)

If you lose your most influential player, it is always hard to continue on the same level. As German goalkeeper Andreas Wolff returned to Kiel after five exceptional years at Kielce, the EHF Champions League winners in 2016 have lost their key player in a crucial position. Besides, line player Nicolas Tournat returned to Nantes, while Theo Monar arrived as his successor from HBC. Icelandic playmaker Haukur Thrastarson found a new club in Bucharest. But a Spanish veteran can be the key transfer, mainly for defence: Jorge Maqueda arrived at Kielce, also from Nantes. Facing high hurdles already in the group phase, Kielce are not the major favourites anymore – but everyone knows that coach Talant Dujshebaev has magic hands, and his two sons Alex and Dani and line player Artsem Karalek still belong to the best of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.

7. Füchse Berlin (GER)

Having the current IHF World Player of the Year, who was the top scorer of the last World and European championships and the last Olympic Games, where he was also awarded MVP – what more can you wish for in your squad? Mathias Gidsel is the X-factor of Füchse Berlin and was the key player for the return to the EHF Champions League after an 11-year absence. In the German Bundesliga, Berlin ranked at the top for several months, but were finally passed by Magdeburg. Besides Gidsel, other international top stars such as Lasse Andersson, Dejan Milosavljev, Jerry Tollbring or Hákun West av Teigum will have their debut in the premium club competition with the Foxes, who also count on many young German talents. They replaced club legend Hans Lindberg with 2016 European champion Tobias Reichmann – and did not have many squad changes. Berlin’s only question is if their squad is wide and balanced enough to withstand a long and hard season in the Bundesliga and the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. In their debut season 2011/12, they made it to Cologne – and with a bit of luck and if the key players do not get injured, this is possible again 12 years later.

6. OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN)

Will the new Swedish power help Szeged get to their first ever TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4? PICK Szeged have not only changed the coach duo to the Swedish Michael Apelgren and three-time EHF Champions League winner Jonas Kallman, but also signed Swedish goalkeeper Tobis Thulin, who had an extremely strong season last year at GOG and during the Olympic Games. Besides, Szeged signed Icelander Janus Smarason, who proved his strength at SC Magdeburg last season. In general, their squad has already been at the top last season, but a shaky start in the group phase was the reason why they ended their journey in the play-offs again, like in the previous one, against their local rivals Veszprém. Having opponents such as Barça, Kielce, Magdeburg and Aalborg in the group phase, it seems to be a steep road towards Cologne.

5. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

They had to bid farewell to Nikola Karabatic without reaching the final destination Cologne last season – eliminated by later-on champions Barça in the quarter-finals. Still, the mission of the club and coach Raul Gonzalez is incomplete, waiting for their first-ever EHF Champions League title. Six times Paris made it to Cologne, but only in 2017 they made it to the final. Signing Egyptian goal machine Omar Yahia from Veszprém could be a crucial step towards this objective. His skills are enormous and he gained the international experience you need to be on top. Besides, PSG can count on the EHF Champions League 2023/24 top scorer Kamil Syprzak and the highly-experienced goalkeeper duo Andreas Palicka and Jannick Green. The last few years have proved that PSG were quite shaky in their performance level, but with a squad like this, Cologne is the goal. And there, anything can happen.

4. SC Magdeburg (GER)

It was an almost perfect 2023/24 season for SC Magdeburg – club world champions, German champions, German cup winners – but then they failed on their way to defend the EHF Champions League trophy in Cologne, losing the intense semi-final against Aalborg. In general, their squad did not change much, but Magdeburg needed to do some late replacements, hit hard by injuries of key players at the Olympic Games. One player to also watch in the EHF Champions League is Manuel Zehnder, last season’s top scorer in the German Bundesliga. But, in general, Magdeburg have a hunger for more success, as proved by their series of 12 group phase victories in the previous season. They can make it to Cologne for their three-peat, but only when their key players remain without injuries.

3. Aalborg Handbold (DEN)

Several Olympic champions, the second-best scorer of the Olympic Games, a new coach who has already won the EHF Champions League and a highly creative new arrival – despite the departure of their legend Mikkel Hansen (end of career), the 2022 and 2024 finalists of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League seem even stronger than in the past season. Young guns Mads Hoxer and Thomas Arnoldsen already proved their class at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 in June, while Slovenian Aleks Vlah made an incredible step forward, as proved in Paris and Lille. New German coach Maik Machulla was an assistant to Ljubomir Vranjes when Flensburg won the trophy in 2014 and steered his former club to two Bundesliga trophies. But the icing on the cake can be the Portuguese Miguel Martins, who arrived from Szeged and will have a great input into the Scandinavian style of playing. And having the veteran Niklas Landin in the goal is something like life insurance for the Danish champions. 

2. Veszprém HC (HUN)

Has the time come to finally say “hello, trophy” for the Hungarian record champions? Four times – including three at Cologne - Veszprém were EHF Champions League finalists, and seven times since 2014 they made it to the LANXESS arena, but their name is still missing from the winners’ list. To make their dream come true, they signed Xavi Pascual as their new coach – and the Spaniard has three EHF Champions League titles. With his experience and the knowledge to stand the heat at Lake Balaton, Veszprém are one of the main contenders in the upcoming season. But they know that the edge of the knife is very sharp, as in the last two years Veszprém failed twice in the quarter-finals, against the two eventual finalists Kielce and Aalborg. Signing three-time EHF Champions League winner Luka Cindric as the new playmaker and successor of Kentin Mahé means that they also have experience in the central position. Veszprém definitely have the squad to go all the way, it is more about the ability to keep calm when it counts – and maybe Pascual is the key to it.

1. Barça (ESP)

Who shall stop the almost unchanged defending champions on their way back to Cologne? Coach Carlos Ortega can count on the same core squad as in the 2023/24 season, which beat Aalborg in an EHF Champions League final for the second time after 2022 to win the 11th trophy in the top-flight competition. Definitely, there is no club in the world of handball with such an exceptional goalkeeper duo – Olympic champion Emil Nielsen and Olympic bronze medallist Gonzalo Perez de Vargas. For the Spaniard – a five-time EHF Champions League winner – the season will be extra special, as in 2025 he will move to Kiel.

Despite losing three home matches in the previous season, Barça are a stronghold in Palau Blaugrana – and no other team played more matches in Cologne than the all-time ranking number one of the EHF Champions League. Though their group seems much harder to play than group A, Barça are the favourites to make it straight to the quarter-finals.

Photos © Barça (main), Anze Malovrh / kolektiff (Füchse Berlin in-text), OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (PSG in-text), Axel Heimken / kolektiff (SC Magdebug in-text)