Respect Your Talent alumni shine at TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4

But this final weekend of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League also proved that talent will always shine on the court, no matter the age of the player. That was particularly true for two finalists, Aalborg’s Thomas Arnoldsen and Barça’s Petar Cikusa, both of whom are graduates of the EHF's Respect Your Talent (RYT) programme.

Arnoldsen was in the starting seven for the Danish team both for the semi-final against SC Magdeburg and the final against Barça. At 22 years-old, he did not seem too fussed about playing the final weekend of the EHF Champions League for the first time.

Scoring five on the Saturday, he was also a key player for Aalborg in the final, netting six times out of nine shots. While some players would be disappointed with such a defeat in the final, Arnoldsen thought it would be better to look positively to the future.

“I think that, with our talented players, Aalborg will be back at this level of competition pretty soon and that we will have another chance to win the trophy. It’s great that the coach and the club are giving young players such as myself the opportunity to develop at such a high level,” said the centre-back after the final.

Fellow RYT star Petar Cikusa enjoyed as much responsibility over the weekend but left Cologne with the trophy in his suitcase. Aged only 18, the centre back shone all season long in his first year in the EHF Champions League, and there was no reason why the EHF FINAL4 weekend would have been different.

And it was not. Coach Carlos Ortega was not afraid to let Petar Cikusa take control of the game in the final, after letting him on the court for over 30 minutes in the semi-final. Cikusa used the opportunity to score four against THW Kiel before adding another goal to his personal tally during the final.

“It’s fantastic for me to win the EHF Champions League, this season has been a dream come true. I especially want to thank the club and the coach for giving me the opportunity to show what I can do,” said Cikusa after the game.

Petar Cikusa is not the only Blaugrana player to travel back to Barcelona with a gold medal around his neck. His brother Djordje, who did not play at the EHF FINAL4, as well as line player Javier Rodriguez Moreno were also part of the RYT programme in the past.

Launched by the EHF in 2019, the Respect Your Talent programme promotes the holistic development - both on and off the handball court - of some of the sport's best young players, selected from the EHF's Younger Age Category tournaments. The programme addresses topics such as dual career, anti-doping, mental fitness, media and sports law, with elite players of the past acting as ambassadors.

Photos © Axel Heimken / kolektiff