DVSC are back with high hopes

Main facts

• DVSC reached the group phase of the EHF Cup in 2019/20, but it was cancelled after six rounds due to the Covid-19 pandemic
• after a two-year hiatus, the team from Hungary’s second biggest city returned to the international stage as they finished third in the domestic league
• left back Gréta Kácsor, a junior world and European champion and twice named the best young handballer in Hungary, joined the squad
• the German goalkeeper Ann Cathrin Giegerich had surgery in March for a cruciate ligament injury. She hopes to return to the court in January

Most important question: Are they really back?

In 2019/2020 Debrecen finally reached the group stage of the second-tier European competition after many failed attempts, however the season got cancelled due to the pandemic. They competed in group A alongside Thüringer HC, Kastamonu Belediyesi and DHK Banik Most, and were third when the season ended prematurely, based on their poorer goal difference compared to Kastamonu.

Since then, this is the first time to celebrate a group phase berth. Zoltán Szilágyi, the head coach who took over in 2021, is confident.

“The fact that we finished third in the last Hungarian championship is a serious step forward for our team. The next goal is to achieve a good result in the European League as well,” Szilágyi says.

“We do not know who will be in our group yet, but we definitely want to get to the quarter-finals in spite of the schedule being very busy in January and February, we will play many matches.”

How they rate themselves

The squad has a lot of young and talented players and most of them played their part in the latest successes of Hungary’s underage national teams. They are balanced by experienced veterans such as the team captain Dóra Hornyák. The left back understands the tests ahead and has plenty of knowledge to share with the others as she spent seven years in total at Györi Audi ETO KC and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, winning the EHF Champions League twice with Györ.

“European cup participation has always been very important in the history of DVSC. Our club won the EHF Cup twice, everyone at the club is proud of these successes. We want to participate in the EHF European League according to our club traditions. We know that difficult matches await us, but we are really looking forward to the challenge,” Hornyák says.

Under the spotlight: Gréta Kácsor

At the age of just 22 the left back has plenty of international experience as she debuted in the EHF Cup in 2018, not to mention the triumphs of the Hungarian junior national teams where she was one of the main reasons for their victories at the 2018 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, W19 EHF EURO 2019, and the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017. DVSC Schaeffler is her second club after Vác where she started her professional career.

Since 2020, when she played for the first time in the Hungarian jersey, she has been part of the squad in every major international competition.

What the numbers say

History and the fans are with them. The glory days date back in the late 1980s. In 1986, DVSC finished as runners-up in the Women’s IHF Cup then won their second Hungarian title in the following season. In the following years, they stayed unbeaten in the Hungarian cup. Then, in the first edition of the EHF Cup in 1994/95, they finished second while in 1995/96 and 1996/97 they took the title.

Did you know?

Head coach Zoltán Szilágyi and the team’s second coach Kitti Kudor have the same role for the junior national team. The task is not easy: they replaced Golovin Vladimir who is now the head coach of the national team and with whom the juniors won everything.

Arrivals and departures:

Arrivals: Catherine Gabriel (Paris 1902), Konszuéla Hámori (Praktiker-Vác), Jovana Jovovics (Moyra-Budaörs Handball), Gréta Kácsor (Praktiker-Vác), Alexandra Töpfner (Alba Fehérvár KC)

Departures: Anna Kovács (retired), Deonise Fachinello (retired), Karina Jezhykava (retired), Kyra Csapó (Érd), Rebeka Arany (DKKA), Luca Poczetnyik (DKKA, on loan), Lilly Török (Siófok KC, on loan)

Past achievements

EHF Cup
Winners (2): 1995/96, 1996/97

Hungarian League
Winners (2): 1955, 1987

Hungarian Cup
Winners (5): 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991