In the previous season, Hungarian fans could not have been disappointed: both of our great teams were among the top four. After a long wait, the Nipplegate team reached the quarter-finals for the first time and were able to play in front of 22,000 fans in a real home environment in June, at the MVM Dome, while the Rapa players were regular participants in the final four. The Hajdu Bihar district team played in the Europa League last season, but did not reach the quarter-finals due to their exit in the group stage.
This time again, there are 16 teams on the main BL table, in two groups. In group A Five-time CL winner Gyor, Debrecen led by Zoltán Szilágyi, Buducsnoszt with Noémi Háfra, Swedish champion Sävehof, Danish Odense, Romanian champion CSM Bucuresti, German Bietigheim, which employs two Hungarian national teams, and French Brest Bretagne.
In group A.B In addition to Frady, there is Danish Herning Ekast, a participant in the Final Four in Esbjerg, 21-time French champion Metz, Slovenian Ljubljana, Rapid Bucuresti, who competes with Corsus Dorina, and Polish newcomer Zagelbi, the winner of the title. The last three competitions, Vipers Kristiansand Norway.
All three Hungarian teams have updated their tyres
In Gyor, there was a lot of player movement in the summer: Seven remain, including national team winger Dorotea Faluje, while three, including the 26-year-old Brazilian star, have arrived. Bruna de Paula From Metz. In addition, a new specialist has moved its headquarters to Gyor: Ulrich Kirkley A Danish specialist was appointed to head the team.
There was also a change of coach at Vradi: Gabor Elek left after 15 years, and the specialist who is now working in Esztergom was replaced by the 45-year-old Danish specialist Martin Albertsen.
It was announced that three more had arrived at the club, one of them a former regular member of the railway workers, Rica Bordas. Four people left the team, the most famous being Zita Szucsánszki, who had been an FTC player for 16 years.
To Loki The 27-year-old Dutch national team player arrived, Tamara HagertyIn addition to four other players, eight of them joined the new team.
To find the index Timea ToothHe, who played 152 times for the national handball team, said he expects a good performance and decisive participation from all three Hungarian starters – which, however, indicates a different outcome given the balance of power.
Debrecen have already said that their target is sixth in the group, and I think they have a realistic chance of achieving that. For them, the most important thing is to set smaller goals for themselves and move forward to achieve them. Regarding Ferencvaros and Gyor, there is no doubt that they can expect to qualify for the group stage, but perhaps it is too early in the case of the capital to add to that the fact that they will also be in the quarter-finals. . Of course, ETO is different, the Gyor team is formed in light of this every year, and this year was no different. So, it’s basically a paper model of who will be there at the end of the series.
Fourth and fifth place at the Olympics, two-time World Cup medalist and one-time European bronze medalist, the former top shooter does not want to predict the outcome before the start of the World Cup. According to him, it is not possible to say in advance which clubs have a safe place among the four, and which ones have the best chance of winning the cup.
The group matches end in February, and six teams qualify, of which the first two teams automatically qualify for the quarter-finals. The other eight teams have to fight for free places in a home-and-away duel.
At the end of April and beginning of May, it will be decided who can play in the Champions League Trophy at the MVM Dome in Budapest at the beginning of June.
Program of the Hungarian teams in the first round:
- Saturday: Ferencvárosi TC–Metz 4:00 pm, DVSC Schaeffler–Sävehof 6:00 pm
- Sunday: Brest Brittany – Giouri Odi Eto’o KC at 16:00
Rank is fixed – domain composition varies widely
In 1961, the winner was announced for the first time in the field’s most prestigious Cup Series. Until 1993, the competition was called the European Champions Cup (BEK), in which Hungarian clubs played an increasingly prominent role.
In 1982, Vasas became the first Hungarian team to win the prestigious sporting cup,
The Angyalfölds team came close to final success several times. out of them Ferencvaros And BP Spartacus He also left his mark running Baconian chemist from Veszprém She also reached the semi-finals. Since 1993, the name of the series has been changed to the Champions League, from Vasas
Donaver took over: in 1999, the Hungarian club was once again at the top of the continent.
In the last 15 years, on the Hungarian side The main role belongs to Juri: In addition to their five victories (2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019), they also reached four finals.
Meanwhile, the Premier League underwent further changes: starting from the 2013–14 season, the round-robin final was no longer played, but a quadruple final was held that ended the season. It was possible to enter the main draw first from the qualifiers, then from the 2020-2021 season with a free ticket.
It is interesting how much the composition of the women’s BL field has changed over the decades. The first series, which was actually shown under this name, was directed in 1993-1994, and
32 teams from 31 countries participated.
Only the Austrians finished second, thanks to the dominant team of the era, Hypo Niederösterreich, which reached the finals ten times from 1987 to 1996, winning six of them. Ten years later, By the fall of 2003, 21 countries “Its representative remained,” and several prominent countries have already entered this field with two entries at the beginning In the field of 28 people. Among them are the Hungarians (Dunaferr, FTC).
With another ten-year jump By fall 2013 We can arrive, then priority 12 champion Next to the four locations of the main board Eight other countries The actors advanced, in total 17 other bands Participate in the qualifiers. Therefore, the number of participants appears to have stabilized in size: 20 countries and 29 teams.
However, the number of interested parties has now decreased to 21, and these teams represent 12 countries.
In the group stage For nine clubs His place was certain With seven free cards She got a role, while five people backed out of it. Finally on the main board this season 10 countries His team got a seat, Two more He was listed among the failed free card holders.
In terms of nationalities, this field will almost halve by 2023,
But about a quarter of the initially interested teams no longer exist. The European Championship gold and bronze medalist, and like Toth, also a two-time World Cup medalist, explains what could have happened on the field, and why the prestigious International Cup Series is no longer a call to action, even at national team level, even for countries that It is considered crucial At Eszter Siti’s We were interested.
Often there is no connection between the performance of the national team and club teams: the best players always go to clubs where marketing also plays an important role, and in addition to strong performances in the league, they can count on a secure financial background. . Hungary Hungarian handball is a strong and good place financially. Among other things, the core of the ETO is made up of foreigners, so it is not clear whether the Hungarian national team is in a better position than in the last international world competition.
The national team manager added 133 times: This trend was not different during his reign. At the time, Denmark was so powerful in so many aspects that it was a gathering place of the best, but now Romania seems to be the more attractive destination. In other words, higher degrees allow us to conclude that while Hungarian participation and participation in women’s discipline is constant.
Regarding the final BL chances, the 45-year-old, four-time Hungarian and two-time Slovenian champion said: The year is long, and there are always surprise participants.
“This is what Debrecen can be this year, as it can also use the fact that it is a newcomer to gain an advantage. The opponents do not know him, he can enter the field freely without any burden. In the case of the two teams dominating the tournament, the situation is already different: they certainly have chance of reaching the quarter-finals. However, even in their case, it can be risky to make predictions too early, for example, starting with the unexpected defeat of the Giors on Wednesday, and the failed championship match against Mosunmagyarovar. Also, there are eight or Ten other teams in this BL field, any of which will eventually get there, and none of them will be a particular surprise.It will always depend on what happens to them in the league on their way there, as well as the physical and mental state of the players returning after the international break.
Another interesting fact is that the 2022 European Championship winner, who has been dominating the women’s category since the beginning of the 2000s
All Norwegians are represented by one club – the defending champion VIPERS – although only the GyŘries have five corps.
Among the 16 participants in the continental championship last year To the Netherlands (6.), For Spain (9.), For Croatia (10.), For Switzerland (14.), To Serbia (15.) And For North Macedonia (16.) He has no representative on the BL main board.
On the other hand, Denmark (2nd) and Hungary (11th) got three, France (4th) and Romania (12th) two each, and one place each for the previously mentioned Norway (1st) and Montenegro (3.). Sweden (5.), Germany (7.), Slovenia (8.) and Poland (13.).
Dumping match on TV
For the first time in the history of the sport, the Women’s BL has three Hungarian participants, so, together with the two permanent Hungarian clubs in the men’s series (OTP Bank – Becszeged, Telekom Veszprém), Hungarian fans can support five teams. During the season. Sport TV, which broadcasts the matches of this series, highlighted this in a statement: All this also means that a record number of
A total of 68 group matches of Hungarian interest from the two series will be broadcast over the coming months.
They added: Spring derbies from the direct elimination stage, and hopefully from the quarter-finals, can also be added to this.
(Cover photo: Zuzana Tomori (b) and Dragana Šević. Photo: Tibor Elis/MTI)
