THIS IS ME
Behind every star of the EHF Champions League is a person.
A human being with their own story to tell.
Told exclusively in their own words through EHFCL Weekly, heroes of the EHF Champions League tell their own unique stories in our This is me series.
Whether it's fate or family, the best players in the world reveal how they rose to handball stardom. How they fell in love with the sport. How they overcame adversity. How they became the person who they are and how handball has shaped their lives on and off the court.
This is them. And these are their stories.
KIRIL LAZAROV
An EHF Champions League legend. A man worshipped by fans across Europe and adored by every Macedonian handball fan ever to have walked the earth. But who is King Kiril? What inspired him to play handball and who helped him achieve his dreams? Lazarov personally reveals how he was introduced to handball and explains how he hopes to use his career experience to bring success to the Macedonian national team.
SANDRA TOFT
As a goalkeeper she laughs in the face of danger every single day, bravely standing in the firing line as ball after ball after ball heads her way. Yet back in 2009 she faced a real danger of a completely different kind - and absolutely nobody was laughing. Sandra how a car crash left the star fearing for her life and her handball career, and how she fought her way to the top of the game.
JOAN CANELLAS
A two-time EHF EURO champion. A world champion and an EHF Champions League winner. Joan Canellas has seen it all and won it all on the court. Yet his career could have been oh so different. He could have been a chemist and he could have been working on a vaccine for Covid. Instead his heart chose handball and the rest is history. The legendary Spain international reflects on his career choices and sheds a light on what it takes to be one of the handball greats.
IVAN CUPIC
Is there a player more recognised in handball than Vardar's legendary right wing? How many players do you know who have won the EHF Champions League three times after losing a finger? Exactly. Ivan opens up in his own words how his relationship with Ivano Balic fuelled his desire to make it all the way to the top. He talks openly about his accident and his hopes of one day leading Croatia to glory.
JOVANKA RADICEVIC
A sportswoman. A fighter. A fearless competitor. And an inspiration. The embodiment of strength and courage. A true lioness at heart. And, when all is said and done, a life-long handball fan, who devoted everything to her love for the sport and her country. The Montenegrin star tells us an intimate story of her life and career.
HOLGER GLANDORF
A man with a strong desire to keep himself to himself. A man who holds a strong sense of home. Of belonging. He's a man who knows where he comes from. He was never born for the spotlight. But he's also a man who wrote himself into handball folklore. Who steered Flensburg to EHF Champions League glory. The man who scored more goals from open play than any other player in German Bundesliga history reflects on his time on court and the peace off it.
FILIP JICHA
He came from a small Czech village to become one if not the biggest name in handball in the world. Filip explains how he rose to stardom after falling in love with handball as a child. From the early days of his career in Qatar and Switzerland to his success with Kiel and Barcelona, he recalls the moments that shaped him as a player and reveals the names of those people close to him who helped him reach his goal of winning the EHF Champions League both as a player and a coach.
EDUARDA AMORIM TALESKA
A left back so influential she became a star for not just country but for her club too. Győr has been a happy home for the past decade but her journey from South America to the heart of the European handball scene has been full of twists and turns. It's seen her lift not one but five DELO EHF Champions League trophies and has gone on to become one of the most recognisable faces in Brazilian handball.
HEIDI LOKE
Heidi Løke is more than just a handball player. She's a mother. A mother that lives for her children but also for handball. After returning to play in the EHF Champions League six days after she gave birth to her first child, many people in the game raised their eyebrows. They felt a mother should be with her newly-born baby and not playing handball. But what do they know?
DAINIS KRISTOPANS
He's the man known as the tallest player to have ever won the EHF Champions League. And he's totally fine with that. But there's more to Dainis than just his height. As one of Latvia's biggest ever handball stars, Dainis explains what it was like growing up being 'that tall guy' in the playground at school and how he went to use his size to become one of the sport's most iconic figures.
ROGERIO MORAES
Rogerio Moraes has become a household name in ever since he set foot on Europe's courts after arriving from his home in Brazil. Yet his life could have been all very different. So very, very different if it wasn't for the support of his mother and grandmother. Rogerio explains how those close to him steered him away from a life of crime before he went on to win the EHF Champions League twice.
DARYA DIMITRIEVA
She's captain of CSKA and the Russian national team, but did you know when she was 14 the head of her handball school in Togliatti told her she had no future in the game. So she moved to Volgograd. That - together with the support of her father - led to a series of events that helped shape her career and her life. Now one of Russia's biggest stars, Darya has her eyes on the DELO EHF Champions League title. Here, in her own words, she tells her story of how family, a water polo player and her dad made her the person she is today. If you read one thing this week, make it this.
ANITA GÖRBICZ
The Queen of Handball. Two decades. Five EHF Champions League medals. Last weekend the curtain came down on the careers of one of the most decorated handball players of all-time. An icon whose drive, passion and love knew no bounds. Prior to the DELO EHF FINAL4, Anita told us the story of her life on the court and what's in store now that she has worn the green of Győr for the last time.
LUKA CINDRIC
A man influenced by one handball's all-time greats, Ivano Balic, Luka Cindric is writing his own story in the sport. It might have been a very different path for Luka. He could have played professional football. However, on the advise of his mother and father, he chose handball. And we're eternally grateful. With such a close bond to his parents, Luka reveals just how hard he felt the death of his mother and the joy he experienced when he became a father for the first time. There's much more behind Luka Cindric than meets the eye - and that's why this week's piece is definitely worth your attention.
MIKKEL HANSEN
Mikkel Hansen's trophy shelf is almost full. Almost. World championships, EHF EURO titles, Olympic gold, national leagues. You name it, Mikkel Hansen has them all. Except one. You know the one. Whisper it quietly. The big one. The one that must not be named. The one that Hansen and his mates in Paris will be doing everything in their powers to bring to the French capital. When you've won everything there is to win in handball - but not this one - how does it feel? Here, Mikkel tells us. So give it a read.
ROCK FELIHO
Rock Feliho has been on one hell of a ride. His words, not ours. After arriving in France at the age of six with his parents and six siblings, Rock went on to be become one of the most well-known and much-loved handball players to have played in the EHF Champions League. Having announced his retirement, Rock reflects on his time on the court; who inspired him as a youngster and what he's learned in a memorable career.
