Peruničić predicts who is hot and who is not

Two early leaders took the pole position in the race for the top scorer of the VELUX EHF Champions League after Round 1. Nenad Maksić from Partizan Beograd and Carlos Ruesga Pasarín from Reale Ademar León netted 11 goals each, but only if they keep this pace in the upcoming schedule of the Group Phase, they both will have a fair chance to challenge the all-time record.

For more than ten years Montenegrian Nenad Peruničić has been the record holder. In the 2001/02 edition the sharpshooter, previously nicknamed 'El Conquistador', led his German side SC Magdeburg to the trophy after scoring 122 goals in the single EHF Champions League season.

It was the second time that Peruničić topped the goal scorers' ranking. In the 1994/95 season he had already scored 82 goals overall, giving true meaning to his surname which derives from Perun - Ancient Slavic God of Thunder. 

Despite a change in format of the top European club competition so that now all VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants in total play four more matches than Peruničić in his record breaking season, his record was seriously threatened only twice – in 2009/10 season THW Kiel's sniper Filip Jícha missed the record mark only by three goals and one year later Uwe Gensheimer from Rhein-Neckar Löwen finished just four shots short.

“It was my job was to score goals. I didn’t think about the numbers, but of course years down the road, I am glad that the record still exists. In this model of EHF Champions League there are a few games more, so the chance to raise the bar should be even higher,“ said Peruničić to ehfCL.com.

“If someone asked me about who I would want to succeed me as the record holder so my answer would be Petar Đorđić, a son of my old friend, Zoran,“ added the former left back, who captured the most precious booty in the European club handball twice in his career – for the first time in 1994/95 season with Spanish outfit Elgorriaga Bidasoa Irún.

For Group A of the current season Peruničić predicts a dominance of German teams. “HSV aren't as good as in previous years, but the quality of the Bundesliga puts these teams in the first pot. Flensburg-Handewitt might have problems following the injury to Đorđić, who is becoming a great leader of the team. Medvedi are always somewhere near the top, but Russia hasn't been a top handball nation for the past few years and that says a lot about the quality of the team which consists mainly of national team players,“ he said.

“French champions Montpellier aren't a team that can dominate. Ademar Leon is faced with financial problems. The Spaniards have made big changes and signed some young players, so their limits are still unknown. Partizan has an experienced team with a lot of players over 30, and that could be good for them. In this group, everything is possible.“

Group B offered the first Match of the Week on ehfTV and the reigning champions from Kiel managed to get both points from Atlético Madrid. The three-time trophy winners from the Spanish capital are not on  Peruničić's list of the hottest teams of the group. "The two favourites to win the group are Kiel and Veszprém. The Hungarians - mixed with the new Spanish forces - are a really good team and they can go far. Atlético Madrid is much weaker than last season,“ the former THW player said, who also wore the uniforms of FC Barcelona or Pick Szeged in his active years.

Peruničić expects Group C will not be decided on the home court and therefore Skopje's success in Chambéry should have an added value. “I wouldn’t say that this is the weakest group, but the most balanced. All the teams have their own strengths. It is difficult to say who will fight for first place or Last 16. The decisive thing will be who will take some points in away matches,“ he stated.

“Barcelona and Berlin should fight for the top spot in the Group D. The Spanish champions are weaker than last year. They lost two right backs after the departure of two players – Nagy and Igropulo. Also, Barca lost Juanin García on the left wing, which surprised me. They made a good signing with Sterbik, but the starting line-up still isn't as good as it was,“ Peruničić assumed.

"Zagreb has lost most of their key players, especially Balić who was a great leader on the court. They will probably win some matches in their home arena beause of the energy of their new young team, but they aren’t capable of repeating last season when they reached the top eight. Kadetten, Dinamo and Pick Szeged will all fight a place in the Last 16,“ concluded the current general director of Crvena Zvezda Beograd, where he also played in the past.