The EHF European Cup Men action throws off on Saturday September 14, when Viljandi HC from Estonia and CSM Bucuresti from Romania meet at 13:00 CEST. CSM Bucuresti are one of the three teams competing in round 1 to have won the competition before. In 2018/19, the Romanian side lifted the then-named Challenge Cup trophy. Diomidis Argous from Greece won in the 2011/12 season and Norwegian club HK Drammen won the City Cup in 1996.
- 20 teams from 14 countries enter round 1 — Italy is represented by three clubs, more than any other nation
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Türkiye, Lithuania and Greece are represented by two clubs each
- RK Sloboda reached the Last 16 in last season’s competition, where they lost to MRK Krka
- Raimond Sassari, Diomidis Argous and RK Porec have the advantage of playing both legs on home soil over one weekend, from September 20 to 22, when the remaining teams meet for their second-leg fixtures
Austrian development machine aims to meet the runners-up in round 2
HC Fivers WAT Margareten have a rich history of developing young players in their squad. Austria international Lukas Hutecek, who plays for the Bundesliga side TBV Lemgo Lippe, took his first steps on international ground in the EHF European League 2020/21 season. Nikola Bylik and Ivan Martinovic also both enjoyed the club’s development before joining the German league. Ivan’s brother, Marin, is in the current squad. Goalkeeper Leon Bergmann is another promising prospect and was called up to the national team in March.
Margareten exited the competition last season after a dramatic penalty shootout against HCB Karvina in round 2. Now, if they manage to make it past HC Amber in round 1, the runners-up from last season, Olympiacos SFP, wait in round 2.
