Pacy and efficient wings make the cut for EHF Excellence Awards

The players selected in the final ballot were shortlisted through several criteria. First, the performances in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, where a team of the round was named at the end of each week, with the top three players from each position who received the most nominations by the end of the quarter-finals making the list.

For the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship the members of the All-star Team were all nominated, while additional players who performed in the EHF European League (one per position), as well as EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers and national team matches (maximum three per position), got themselves on the shortlist.

Players, coaches and selected media as well as fans are eligible to participate with each group’s votes accounting for 25 per cent of the overall result for every position. You can vote for your favourite via the Home of Handball app.

Right wing

Niclas Ekberg – Sweden / THW Kiel

• the only wing in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League to have been nominated five times in the team of the round, in rounds 3, 7 and 11 of the group phase and in the second legs of the play-offs and the quarter-finals
• scored 65 goals from 93 shots for THW Kiel in this season’s European premium competition to be his side’s second-best scorer with one goal less than Harald Reinkind
• selected in the All-Star team at the IHF Men’s World Championship, where he scored 34 goals for Sweden, which finished on the fourth place in the final standings

Blaz Janc - Slovenia / Barça

• a key cog in Barça’s team which went undefeated in the Champions League, scoring 44 goals on his team’s journey to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4
• scored 24 goals for Slovenia in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, helping his side seal a ticket for Germany, despite playing only four games in group 7 where Slovenia faced Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo
• named in the team of the round for rounds 3 and 4 in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, when Slovenia beat Montenegro twice to seal their place at the EHF EURO 2024

Hans Lindberg – Denmark / Füchse Berlin

• scored 47 goals in the EHF European League Men this season for Füchse Berlin, winning his third European trophy, after the Champions League in 2013 and the EHF Cup in 2018
• part of the Denmark team that won the 2023 World Championship, sealing his third world title with the Scandinavian side and scoring six goals in the competition
• at 41 years old, he became the all-time Bundesliga scorer this season, with 2,907 goals, beating the previous record set by Korea’s Kyung-Shin Yoon, who had 2,905 goals

Arkadiusz Moryto – Poland / Barlinek Industria Kielce

• an integral part of Kielce’s path to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 as the third best scorer in the European premium competition this season, with 92 goals, the most scored by a right wing
• made the team of the round in rounds 12 and 13 of the group phase, when he scored six goals against Aalborg and HBC Nantes
• was also a key part of Poland’s team which made it to the EHF EURO 2024, being selected in the team of the rounds 1 and 2 in the Qualifiers

Bogdan Radivojevic – Serbia / OTP Bank-Pick Szeged

• one of the most consistent players for Szeged, Radivojevic scored 42 goals this season for the Hungarian side
• was the top scorer for Serbia in three of the six games they played in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers and the top scorer for his side in the competition, with 29 goals
• was also a part of the Serbian team which finished 11th at the 2023 World Championship, scoring 25 goals

Ferran Sole – Spain / Paris Saint-Germain Handball

• one of the most consistent right wings in the EHF Champions League this season, scoring 64 goals and PSG’s fourth best scorer in the competition
• made the team of the round of the European premium competition in the first round of the quarter-finals, when he scored six times against THW Kiel
• part of the Spanish team which sealed the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship, scoring 30 goals for ‘Los Hispanos’ in nine matches

Hákun West Av Teigum – Faroe Islands / Skanderborg-Aarhus

• in his first-ever season in European competition, the Faroese right wing scored 68 goals for Skanderborg-Aarhus, who were eliminated in the Last 16 phase by eventual runners-up Fraikin BM. Granollers
• made the team of the round in rounds 5 and 6 in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, where he truly shone, helping the Faroe Islands men’s national team secure their first-ever berth for the EHF EURO
• scored 39 goals for the Faroe Islands in the EHF EURO Qualifiers – his team’s top scorer and topping the charts in three matches, including 10 goals against Austria and 11 against Romania

Expert’s view: From experienced stalwarts like Niclas Ekberg and Hans Lindberg to future stars like Hákun West Av Teigum, the right wing position in the EHF Excellence Awards is stacked with players who really shone on the court over the last season. Picking a favourite will be hard, especially as all of the nominees have something going for them. The importance of the position is growing bigger and bigger, with the speed of the game being improved on a season-by-season basis.

Left wing

Sebastian Barthold – Norway / Aalborg Håndbold

• one of the most consistent players in the EHF Champions League, Barthold was Aalborg’s best scorer this season, with 67 goals
• made the team of the round in the European premium competition in rounds 4 and 11 of the group phase, when he scored 10 goals and eight goals respectively against Szeged
• was the top scorer in the two games he played in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers for Norway, putting 16 goals past Slovakia and Finland

Timur Dibirov – Russia / HC PPD Zagreb

• Dibirov is one of the three players to have made the Team of the Week three times, in rounds 3, 6 and 9 in the group phase
• the 39-year-old left wing was the best scorer on his position in the competition, with 79 goals, despite not making it out of the group phase
• Dibirov had three games scoring in double digits, putting 10 goals past his opponents against FC Porto (twice) and PSG

Angel Fernandez – Spain / Limoges Handball

• won his sixth medal with the Spain men’s national team in early 2023, sealing bronze at the World Championship
• earned his nomination for the EHF Excellence Awards after being the All-star left wing of the competition, scoring 30 goals out of 33 shots, for an outstanding 91 per cent scoring efficiency
• scored 78 goals in the French league for Limoges this season, without featuring in any European competition

Lukas Mertens – Germany / SC Magdeburg

• scored 43 goals this season in the Champions League, helping his side clinch a place in the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4
• Mertens was also named in the team of the week in round 8, when Magdeburg drew with FC Porto, scoring six goals from six shots
• scored 27 goals at the 2023 World Championship for Germany, helping his side finish fifth before hosting the EHF EURO 2024

Lovro Mihic – Croatia / Orlen Wisla Plock

• one of the most consistent left wings in the European premium competition, scoring 69 goals for Orlen Wisla Plock in 17 games played in this season
• one of the three players that made the team of the round three times, in round 14 of the group phase and in both legs of the quarter-final, where he was simply outstanding against SC Magdeburg
• played at the 2023 World Championship for Croatia, scoring seven goals in five games

Valero Rivera – Spain / HBC Nantes

• the second-best scorer in the EHF Champions League for left wings, with 77 goals scored in 16 matches for HBC Nantes, and his team’s top scorer this season
• one of the three players that made the team of the round three times, in round 2 and 12 of the group phase and in the first leg of the play-offs against Orlen Wisla Plock
• scored 152 goals for Nantes in the French league, the eighth top scorer in the competition

Milos Vujovic – Montenegro / Füchse Berlin

• Vujovic was the top scorer for Füchse in this season’s EHF European League Men, with 76 goals in only 14 games
• the All-star left wing of the EHF EURO 2022 won his first ever trophy this season, sealing the EHF European League Men title with Füchse
• the left wing was also Montenegro’s top scorer at the 2023 World Championship, with 34 goals scored only in six games, averaging nearly six goals per game

Expert’s view: Left wings had an excellent season in handball this season, therefore it will be very difficult to choose from the seven players who have been nominated at the EHF Excellence Awards. Some shone at the World Championship, others played their part in their team’s successes, so the votes will likely be split, with all of the seven having something going their way.