EHF Champions League

Global stars set to shine in the EHF Champions League Women

EHF / Adrian Costeiu

09 September 2022, 13:20

Handball is becoming more and more of a global sport, with its popularity soaring in other parts of the world. In 2013, Brazil produced a superb performance to secure the gold medal at the IHF Women’s World Championships and other non-European countries are getting stronger and stronger.

This season, players from four continents – Europe, Africa, Asia and South America – are represented in the EHF Champions League Women, with 11 non-European players spread over eight sides in the Europe's premier competition.

We took a deep look through the squads and selected five players who can make an impact this time around, as the strong pool of talent can truly make the difference, which has happened in previous seasons when players like Eduarda Amorim or Mayssa Pessoa helped their sides secure the trophy.

Eun Hee Ryu (Györi Audi ETO KC, Republic of Korea)

Handball in the Republic of Korea has a very strong tradition, with the Asian side always delivering top performances at the Olympic Games or the World Championship. The idea behind their strategy is to get young players invested in the sport from the earliest age possible, as highlighted by the gold medal sealed at the 2022 IHF Women's Youth World Championship in North Macedonia this August.

Eun Hee Ryu has been one of those stalwarts, as she made her debut in the senior national team at a major tournament in 2009, when she was only 19 years old. With a stronger frame and a powerful shot, her profile is different from the traditional Korean back that exclusively relies on speed.

The Korean back joined Györ after a one-year stint in France, at Paris 92, and had a strong first season in Europe's season, scoring 58 goals and slotting into the defence seamlessly. Aged 32, she is in the prime of her career. Eun Hee Ryu's efficiency in one of the toughest positions to fill – a left-handed right back – helps the Hungarian powerhouse club.

Bruna de Paula (Metz Handball, Brazil)

Bruna de Paula is one of the players who just grew in the golden era of the Brazilian women’s national team. In 2016, when she was only 20 years old, French team Fleury Loiret signed her. With her superb potential already evident, Fleury pulled off a coup back then. The diminutive centre back has been one of the top players in the French league in recent seasons.

The logical next step came in 2020, when she signed for Nantes Atlantique Handball, and the move paid immediate dividends for the player and the club. Named as the MVP of the EHF Finals Women in that season, the Brazilian centre back was the top scorer of the EHF European League Women and helped Nantes to secure their first European title.

A move to Metz Handball in the next season helped de Paula play for the first time in the EHF Champions League Women, but as she came to terms with the new competition, her production dwindled a bit. Still, with 52 goals, she was one of Metz’s top scorers, as the team qualified for the EHF FINAL4 and finished third.

With two centre backs leaving this summer in Meline Nocandy and Grace Zaadi Deuna, the Brazilian back, who has incredible speed and a powerful shot, will earn more time on the court and will become the focal point of Emmanuel Mayonnade’s team this season.

Barbara Arenhart (Krim Mercator Ljubljana, Brazil)

Arenhart, who started playing handball more than 20 years ago, was an integral part of Brazil’s squad that won the gold medal at the 2013 IHF Women’s World Championship in Serbia. Her experience in Europe is vast, first signing for Spanish side Balonmano Parc Sagunto in 2007.

Hypo Niederösterreich's Brazilian project was her first taste of the EHF Champions League Women, but after that, Arenhart moved to other six clubs – Byåsen Handball Elite, HCM Baia Mare, Nykøbing Falster Håndbold, Váci NKSE, Buducnost and Krim Mercator Ljubljana.

Arenhart was also the All-Star goalkeeper at the 2013 IHF Women's World Championship. She won the Women's Cup Winners' Cup in 2013 with Hypo, and her experience gives Krim one of the best goalkeeping pairs in Europe's premier competition – alongside Jovana Risovic.

The Brazilian shot-stopper is also one of the best goalkeepers at converting empty-net shots, having scored eight goals in the past two seasons, including six for Krim in the previous season.

Azenaide Carlos (Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK, Angola)

The 32-year-old right back has already played for three European teams in her career – BM Bera Bera, HC Podravka Vegeta and CS Rapid Bucuresti – before signing for her current club this summer. A strong right back, with a powerful shot, but very intelligent and dazzling with speed and creativity, she can make the difference on the court.

Last season, Carlos helped CS Rapid Bucuresti win the Romanian league title in a surprising turn of events. She became the second top scorer of the team, with 113 goals, including a monster 17-goal performance in the last round of the competition, a 35:27 win against SCM Ramnicu Valcea, which helped her team win the title.

She has already featured in the EHF Champions League Women for two seasons, scoring 43 goals for Podravka in the 2020/21 season, and her experience was a crucial reason why Kastamonu signed her. The Turkish club are still looking for their first victory in the EHF Champions League Women.