Five reinforcements for new AEK goals

Second time in their history, AEK Athens will play VELUX EHF Champions League Qualification. In order to try to reach the Group Phase of the European top flight, Greek champions reinforced the team with five new players, also retaining all the players who won Greek title and national cup last season.

National team goalkeeper Konstantinos Tsilimparis is back in Greece, after seven years he spent playing in Spain, Germany, Italy and last season in Cyprus, where he won the double crown with the European University Cyprus.

After nine years in German Bundesliga from 2005 do 2103 in MT Melsungen, felt back Grigorios Sanikis (106 caps for the Greek national handball team) is also part on new team of AEK.

"I am very pleased that I came to AEK, in a very worthy group of players and well-organised club. Our goal is to get a second consecutive double in Greece and try to qualify for the Champions League Group Phase. Despite a tough draw, we will do everything possible to achieve it, although of course it’s too early to say something because the team is new and needs a lot of hard work”, Grigorios Sanikis said to website handball.gr.

Also, left back Panagiotis Nikolaidis came from A.C. Doukas.

Two foreign additions

AEK were the only Greek team winning two domestic titles in the past season having only Greek players on their roster.

For the next season, AEK will have two foreign players, Serbian left back Petar Žujović, coming from Partizan Beograd, who already played in Greece with A.C. Doukas and Panellinios AC Athens, and line player Mladen Rakčević, Montenegrin national team player, who unexpectedly terminated his contract with Metalurg Skopje.

"I'm very happy to be in AEK, the club got a new management, who wants to gradually build a good European club. Alexandros Alvanos,  Dimitris Kaffatos, Grigorios Sanikis, Panagiotis Nikolaidis, they all returned from Germany. It all seems as a very serious project, we will also play in the  Champions League qualification. After what happened in Metalurg, I really think I chose the right club. I hope to justify the confidence of people in the club and try together to build a better, strong and European AEK,” Mladen Rakčević said to ehfCL.com.

“This is a new challenge for me, something that definitely gives me an extra incentive to do better and try to achieve with AEK results similar to those I had with Metalurg,” former Lovćen, Vardar, Kolubara and Metalurg player added.

Rakčević will meet Minsk again

AEK will play the qualification tournament in Prešov, Slovakia and will face Dinamo Minsk in the semi-final. If Greek champions win that game, they will meet the winner of the second pairing TATRAN Prešov and Besiktas JK in the final game to reach VELUX EHF Champions League Group Phase.

“We know that the game with Dinamo Minsk is very difficult, but we will try to win that game and be a step closer to VELUX Champions League Group phase,” conluded Rakčević, who eliminated Minsk in the previous season's Last 16 with his former club as he scored 11 goals in two matches.