Profiles of the VELUX EHF Champions League All-Star team nomineesArticle
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NEWS REPORT: Details of all 45 players and 5 coaches nominated for the All-Star team
Profiles of the VELUX EHF Champions League All-Star team nominees
45 players and 5 coaches to choose from, who will you vote to be on the VELUX EHF Champions League All-Star team 2014/15?
Fans can now vote for the best players of each position as well as best defender, best young player and best coach to fill the coveted places in this season's All-Star team.
Players from 17 nations and 19 clubs from the current season are up for election and you can vote here.
The vote will be open until Sunday 24 May 2015. The fans’ choice for the All-star team will be announced during the VELUX EHF FINAL4 event in Cologne on 30/31 May 2015.
Goalkeepers:
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Filip Ivic (CRO) - HC PPD Zagreb
• home-grown goalkeeper from Zagreb’s school
• won European gold and was fourth in the world as the captain of Croatian junior national team
• in the 2013/14 season he was given a chance in Zagreb’s first team
• used the opportunity to open gates of senior handball in style with some outstanding performances
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Roland Mikler (HUN) - MKB-MVM Veszprem
• 2005 All-star goalkeeper of the junior world championship
• Hungarian national team goalkeeper
• The 1.94 metre tall player is quick, compact and excellent at directing the defence
• as a teenager Mikler already reached the semi-final of the EHF Cup over a decade ago, with Dunaferr in 2003
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Thierry Omeyer (FRA) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• crowned best goalkeeper in history by the IHF
• played for one of the most prestigious clubs in the world, Kiel, and achieved more than any other goalkeeper
• returned to Montpellier for the 2013/14 season, reached the EHF Cup Final and decided to move on to PSG in the summer of 2014
• awarded the best goalkeeper and the MVP at the WCh 2015 in Qatar
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Arpad Sterbik (ESP) - HC Vardar
• one of the best goalkeepers who holds there different citizenship Hungarian, Serbian and Spanish
• after ten seasons spent in Spain moved from Barcelona in 2014 and signed a four-year contract with Macedonian runners-up
• dozens of international awards including the 2005 IHF World Handball Player of the Year
• voted as the best goalkeeper of the Spanish league five times
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Danijel Saric (BIH) - FC Barcelona
• known for his incredible quality in goal and for the joy he brings to the team
• Bosnian-Qatari goalkeeper won the CL in 2011 with Barcelona
• best goalkeeper of the ASOBAL league in 2011 and 2012, and the best player overall in 2011
• joined Barca in 2009, after spells with Spanish clubs San Antonio, Leon, Alcobendas and Cantabria, but began his career in Serbia with Crvena Zvezda and RK Sintelon
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Left wings:
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Timur Dibirov (RUS) - HC Vardar
• in 2013 he joined Vardar as just the second club in his career
• the first was Chekhovskie Medvedi, with whom he reached the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in 2010
• Vardar's top scorer in Europe with 75 goals
• fast break specialist and solid in defence
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Uwe Gensheimer (GER) - Rhein-Neckar Löwen
• born in Mannheim, he is the club's local hero
• playing for “his” club since 2003
• his talent discovered early as he became Junior European champion in 2006, one year later awarded MVP at the Junior WCh
• in 2011 and 2012 German player of the year
• top scorer of 2010/11 CL season
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Samuel Honrubia (FRA) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• joined PSG at the start of the 2012/13 season after having played in Montpellier for more than a decade
• immediately showed what he is capable of and why is he is regarded as one of the best left wings in Europe
• very efficient at scoring from fast breaks and at one-on-one situations on limited space
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Juanin Garcia (ESP) - Naturhouse La Rioja
• all-time record scorer of the Spanish ASOBAL league and still one of the most talented wing players in Europe
• joined Barcelona at the start of the 2005/06 season and was part of the Spanish powerhouse squad that won the EHF Champions League in 2011
• joined Rioja before the 2014/15 season
• his speed on the counterattack, his athletic game and his ability to shoot in so many different ways are fundamental aspects of his style
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Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson (ISL) - FC Barcelona
• before his arrival to Barcelona spent just one season away from the Bundesliga since first arriving - in 2011/12 he played for AG Kobenhavn
• former Tusem Essen, VfL Gummersbach and Rhein-Neckar Löwen player
• a key player with his enormous experience from top level handball and his equally large talent
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Left backs:
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Momir Ilic (SRB) . MKB-MVM Veszprem
• top scorer and only player passing 100 goals (103) in the 2013/14 CL season and is current top scorer with 86 goals
• joined THW Kiel in 2009 from VfL Gummersbach and won seven titles during his four years with the club, including two CL titles
• led Serbia to their first medal as an independent nation at EHF EURO 2012
• MVP of the EHF EURO 2012
• 2013/14 All-Star team left back
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William Accambray (FRA) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• His mum was a professional volleyball player and his dad was the best discus thrower in his time
• He was formed as the same handball school as Xavier Barachet, the two are childhood friends
• He arrived at PSG last summer after playing for nine seasons in Montpellier
• Accambray was crowned last season as "the man with the heaviest shot in the french league"
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Karol Bielecki (POL) - Vive Tauron Kielce
• Poland's biggest handball icon
• after losing sight in his left eye in an accident in 2010, the 33-year-old has made a remarkable comeback to his current form
• Kielce’s best scorer in the current season with 65 goals
• known for his ability to score from long-range shots
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Bo Dybdal Spellerberg (DEN) - KIF Kolding Kobenhavn
• KIF Kolding player for 11 years, since he joined the club from FIF Copenhagen in 2003
• reached 500 games for the team before the 2014/15 season, won the Danish title five times
• during his entire time in the club, he has been a key player to the team
• elegant and hard-shooting playmaker as well as left back
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Nikola Karabatic (FRA) - FC Barcelona
• 2007 and 2014 World Handball Player of the Year
• one of Barcelona transfer coups with Kiril Lazarov before the 2013/14 season
• won everything there is to win, as he has triumphed at Olympic Games, WChs and EHF EUROs with the French national team and twice the CL (with Montpellier and Kiel)
• one of the most complete handball players with strengths in attack and defence
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Line players:
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Kamil Syprzak (POL) - Orlen Wisla Plock
• with his height of 206 cm nicknamed the Polish Tower by the domestic media
• even though he plays on the line, sometimes he surprises his opponents with a jump throw from the distance
• from the beginning connected with Płock, debuted in the Polish first league in the age of 17
• since 2011 part of the national team
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Renato Sulic (CRO) - MKB-MVM Veszprem
• at his second stint of the robust Croatian in Veszprém, but in the 2004/05 season he did not have a chance to wear their jersey as he was injured in a car incident before his first match
• came back to Veszprém after several years in Zagreb and Celje
• share his time on the court with the defensive specialist Timuzsin Schuh and Andreas Nilsson.
• club's second highest scorer in the CL with 47 goals to date
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Tolga Özbahar (TUR) - Besiktas MOGAZ HT
• came to Beşiktaş in 2010 and is recognised as one of Turkey’s best players in his position with over 60 international matches and awarded the best line player in the Turkish league several times
• in the 2012/13 season, when Besiktas reached the EHF Cup Group Phase, he was the second best scorer
• lead the way for the club in their debut season in the CL with 43 goals
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Julen Aguinagalde (ESP) - Vive Tauron Kielce
• one of the world’s top line players
• All-Star team line player of the 2013 WCh in Spain and the EHF EURO 2014 in Denmark
• nominated for World Handball Player of the Year 2012
• joined Kielce from Atlético Mardid in 2013 for his first foreign league experience
• three VELUX EHF FINAL4 participations in 2010-2012
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Patrick Wiencek (GER) - THW Kiel
• plays his third season for THW Kiel
• had played for Bergischer HC and Tusem Essen
before he transferred to VfL Gummersbach, where he became Cup Winners’ Cup winner in 2011
• was awarded “German rookie of the year” and called up to the men’s national team in 2011
• in Kiel he is successor to the legendary Marcus Ahlm.
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Centre backs:
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Igor Karacic (CRO) - HC Vardar
• voted into the 2012/13 SEHA League All-Star team
• regarded as a fast and tough player who is brilliant when it comes to ‘one-on-one’ situations
• scored 62 goals on the way to the last 16 in the 2010/11 CL season with Bosna Sarajevo and has already beaten that this season with 63 goals
• born in Mostar, he plays for the Croatian national team, while his brother Ivan plays for Bosnia-Herzegovina
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Dean Bombac (SLO) - MOL-Pick Szeged
• influential attacking player with 61 goals so far in the CL
• Started handball at eight years old, making first team debut for his boyhood club RK Cimos Koper in 2007
• Played for RK Cimos Koper in the EHF Champions League Quarter Final in 2011/12, scoring 46 goals
• Won the EHF Challenge Cup, one Slovenian league title (both in 2011), as well as three domestic cups during his six seasons with RK Cimos Koper EC Trophies: Challenge Cup 2011
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Joan Cañellas (ESP) - THW Kiel
• scored 50 goals in eight matches on the way to the top goal scorer title at EHF EURO 2014
• fits perfectly with Domagoj Duvnjak, with whom he played in Hamburg in the 2013/14 season
• with Barcelona and Ciudad Real Spanish champion and cup winner
• twice (2011, 2012) CL finalist with Ciudad Real and Atletico Madrid – the club with which he also won the IHF Super Globe twice (2010, 2012)
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Mikkel Hansen (DEN) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• 2011 IHF World Handball Player of the Year
• reached the VELUX EHF FINAL4 with AG Kobenhavn in 2012
• son of former Danish international Flemming Hansen
• having grown into a top class player at GOG, played for Barcelona for two seasons before joining AG in 2011
• arrived in PSG before the 2012/13 season and is their top scorer so far this CL season with 80 goals
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Thomas Mogensen (DEN) - SG Flensburg-Handewitt
• highly experienced playmaker with more than 1,000 goals for his club and long list of silverware
• since 2007 playing for Flensburg – his first stop outside his home country Denmark
• before played for Viborg and Svendborg, becoming Danish champion and cup winner twice
• to focus only on SG, he quit his career in the Danish national team after EHF EURO 2014
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Right backs:
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Kiril Lazarov (MKD) - FC Barcelona
• powerful back court shooter from FYR Macedonia
• most successful scorer at a single EHF EURO event (2012 Serbia, 61 goals) and also at WCh level (2009 Croatia, 92 goals)
• top scorer of the CL twice (2005/06 and 2007/08)
• maintaining his scoring reputation with 85 goals for Barcelona so far this CL season
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Zsolt Balogh (HUN) - MOL-Pick Szeged
• joined Pick Szeged from Braun Gyöngyös in 2012
• by 2014 overtook Gábor Ancsin in the Pick roster at his poition
• not as tall as one would expect from a backcourt player but has outstanding dribbling skills and a sharp eye for passing
• new coach Pastor gave him more time and he grabbed his chance with both hands
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Marko Vujin (SRB) - THW Kiel
• in 2012 the Serbian shooter arrived to fill the gap after the departure of Kim Andersson to KIF
• top scorer of the 2013/14 Bundesliga (248 goals)
• won seven consecutive national championships with Veszprém and Kiel
• in the national team he is one of the stalwarts who were key to silver at the EHF EURO 2012
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Alexander Petersson (ISL) - Rhein-Neckar Löwen
• born in Latvia, took over Icelandic citizenship and became an Olympic silver medallist in 2008 and EHF EURO bronze medallist in 2010
• moved to Germany in 2003, playing for Düsseldorf, Großwallstadt, Flensburg-Handewitt, and Füchse, before transferring to RNL in 2012
• more a playmaker on the right back position but is also strong in man-to-man-attack
• member of the 2011 WCh All Star Team and the most experienced player at Löwen
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Kim Andersson (SWE) - KIF Kolding Kobenhavn
• nominated for the World Handball Player of the Year 2012, finishing joint-third place behind winner Daniel Narcisse
• 2012 was a brilliant year with Olympic silver with Sweden and winning the CL with THW Kiel for a third time
• his first two seasons with KIF disrupted with a shoulder injury
• despite obvious issues with shooting, still managed to contribute with 48 goals in the CL
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Right wings:
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Dragan Gajic (SLO) - Montpellier Agglomeration HB
• arrived in 2011 and turned to be a key player for Montpellier
• had his best season so far in the 2013/14, finishing as the best scorer of the EHF Cup (72 goals) and of the French league
• also helped his Slovenian teammates to settle in Montpellier, and that gave him quite a lot of work, since there were five of them in the club
• 2015 WCh top scorer (71 goals)
• All-Star team right wing of the 2015 WCh
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Zlatko Horvat (CRO) - HC PPD Zagreb
• captain and speedy wing is a counter-attack specialist, but he is an important part of defence as well
• had his debut in the national team in 2006 and since then he has won four medals
• played in Zagreb from the beginning of his career and has already 13 campaigns in the CL under his belt
• in the 2010/11 season he was the third best scorer with 94 goals
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Valentin Ghionea (ROU) - Orlen Wisla Plock
• Romanian Handballer of the Year in 2008 and two-time top scorer in Romania (2005, 2007)
• joined Wisła Płock in 2012 and during his first season, he showed his great goalscoring ability
• in the 2013/14 season he scored 226 goals in 43 appearances including 48 goals in the CL
• with his speed he is an important part of Manolo Cadenas’s philosophy of the game
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Victor Tomas (ESP) - FC Barcelona
• following the victories in 2005 and 2011, the Barcelona-born Tomas hopes to lift his third CL trophy at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne
• joined Barcelona’s youth team in 1998 and has not played for any other club
• his biggest assets are his great pace and his impressive flexibility that make him a strong player in attack but also in defence
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Patrick Groetzki (GER) - Rhein-Neckar Löwen
• born in Pforzheim only a few kilometres away from Mannheim
• Löwen was his first senior club and is the first choice right wing for both club and country
• MVP and silver medallist of the Men’s 20 EHF EURO in 2008 and junior world champion in 2009
• 40 goals in the CL this season
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Defenders:
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Piotr Grabarczyk (POL) - Vive Tauron Kielce
• with his 14 years at the club Grabarczyk knows the club like the back of his hand
• has won six Polish Champions and nine Polish Cups to date
• he is a pillar of the defence, always doing the leg work in the centre block
• will move abroad next season for the first time, joining 2013 CL winners HSV Hamburg
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Rene Toft Hansen (DEN) - THW Kiel
• even better in defence than on the line in attack, but after Marcus Ahlm’s departure in 2013, the learning period in attack is over for him
• EHF EURO 2012 All-Star Team member
• in the CL since 2007 with former clubs KIF Kolding and AG København
• his brother Henrik is playing for Hamburg, another brother Allan for Mors-Thy and sister Majbritt for Skive – all four are line players
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Lars Jörgensen (DEN) - KIF Kolding Kobenhavn
• even at the age of 36 he is still being considered among the best defenders in the world
• his experience and ability to read the game, together with his physical strength and his uncompromising approach have made him essential to KIF Kolding København since he joined the club in 2012
• enormous international experience from the national team, his time in the former Spanish top club Portland San Antonio, and his years with AG København, with whom he reached the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in 2012
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Viran Morros (ESP) - FC Barcelona
• born in Barcelona, he started his career with his current club before playing for three different ASOBAL teams
• won the Champions League title twice with Ciudad Real in 2008 and 2009
• being nominated as best defender in the Spanish league in 2008 and in the EHF EURO in 2012 he also made it to the short list of the CL best defenders for two straight seasons
• His accolades with the national team consist of one
gold (WCh 2013) and two bronzes (WCh 2011 and EHF EURO 2014)
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Jakov Gojun (CRO) - Paris Saint-Germain Handball
• Born in Split, but made his name playing for RK Zamet (Rijeka), later joining VELUX EHF Champions League outfit RK PPD Zagreb
• Won three bronze and two silver medals in his national team career so far
• Voted into the All-Star team of the EHF EURO 2010 as the Best Defence Player
• Joined Paris Sent-Germain Handball in 2013 to replace the legendary Didier Dinart at the heart of their defence
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Young Players:
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Alexander Dereven (RUS) - Chekhovski Medvedi
• Born in Togliatti, started training handball in his hometown
• In 2012 was promoted in the first team of Chekovsike Medvedi and has two titles from the Russian championship.
• The powerful right-handed back is considered as the biggest Russian talent at the moment
• At the beginning of the year has signed three-year contract with Vardar
• Was voted in the “rookie team” at the World Championship in Qatar 2015
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Sander Sagosen (NOR) - Aalborg Handball
• a bright future predicted for him by the Norway’s national coach at the time, Robert Hedin in 2013
• remarkable playmaker and defence talent
• apart from being a great organiser of his team’s attacking and being a fine reader of the game despite his young age, also has an extremely dangerous shot, shown by top scoring for Aalborg with 45 goals in his debut CL season
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Alex Dujshebaev (ESP) - HC Vardar
• son of Talant Dujshebaev joined Vardar at the beginning of the 2013/14 season
• played for Spain at the Junior World Championship in 2013 and helped his team to win silver
• best right back of the All-star team at the 2012 Men’s 20 EHF EURO and the 2013 Junior WCh
• top scorer of the Spanish ASOBAL with BM Aragon in 2011/12 and 2012/13
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Blaz Janc (SLO) - Celje Pivovarna Lasko
• widely regarded as one of the top prospects in Slovenian handball
• made his VELUX EHF Champions League debut in 2012 at 16, playing for RK Celje Pivovarna Laško
• natural on two positions – both right wing and right back
• voted the best right back of the Men's 20 European Championship 2014
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Theofile Causse (FRA) - Dunkerque HB Grand Littoral
• he lived in an orphanage in Haiti before arriving in France at four, living with adopted parents
• his jumping skills earned the nickname of "the new Luc Abalo"
• at 22, he's already playing his second EHF Champions League season, the first one as the number one of the right wing
• he scored 28 goals in the competition this season, easily his best record
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Coaches:
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Alfred Gislason (ISL) - THW Kiel
• earned nine German championships (with Magdeburg and Kiel), four German cup titles, five European club titles
• five times “coach of the year” in Germany
• his first job on the bench was in his home town Akureyri, before taking over Hameln, Magdeburg and Gummersbach in Germany
• joined Kiel in 2008 as the successor of Noka Serdarusic – to lead THW to 15 trophies to date
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Juan Pastor (ESP) - MOL-Pick Szeged
• one of the masterminds of contemporary handball with an incredible amount of silverware in his career
• Szeged found him fit for the job of rebuilding their team in order to be able to challenge for the Hungarian title against Veszprém
• won the EHF Cup in his first year at the helm
• became also the sporting director after Szeged legend Richárd Mezei resigned
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Raul Gonzalez (ESP) - HC Vardar
• stalwart of BM Valladolid and a member of the Spanish national team during his playing career
• started his coaching carrier in Atletico Madrid and Ciudad Real working in team with Talant Dujshebaev
• replaced Zoran Kastratovic early in the 2013/14 season at Vardar
• steered the team to a historical success the quarter-finals of the CL for the first and has done it again this season
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Veselin Vujovic (MNE) - HC PPD Zagreb
• hired by Zagreb right before the beginning of the 2014/15 CL campaign
• one of the best players ever worked as a headcoach in Ciudad Real, Vardar, Yugoslavian national
team, Serbia and Montenegro (fourth place the OG in Sydney 2000)
• with Vardar won the regional SEHA League title
• known as an outstanding specialist but also as an impulsive coach
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Talant Dujshebaev (ESP) - Vive Tauron Kielce
• most awarded figure in the club
• during his longstanding player career he won plenty of trophies with three different teams (CIS, Russia, Spain) and many individual awards
• joined Kielce in the half of the 2013/14 season, replacing Bogdan Wenta
• changed the playing style of Kielce placing greater emphasis on an aggressive defence
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TEXT: EHF / cor
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