Spaniards galore at the 2015 VELUX EHF FINAL4

156 matches since the start of the qualification have been played in the VELUX EHF Champions League so far and the last four in Cologne on 30/31 May will decide which team will succeed last season’s champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

Here are the most important facts and figures of the 2014/15 season of the competition, prior to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. The draw for this pinnacle event will be staged in Cologne on Tuesday.

0 teams have defended their title since the implementation of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne in the 2009/10 season. Flensburg were the latest champions to fall after facing Kiel in the Last 16.

0 times THW Kiel has lost a match against a Spanish team at any VELUX EHF FINAL4 event or against a team coached by a Spaniard. All three opposing team coaches in Cologne are Spanish

1 – for the first time since the implementation of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, all four winners of the group phase have gone all the way to Cologne.

1 coach arrives in Cologne with his second club, for the first time. Before Talant Dujshebaev led Kielce to the LANXESS arena, he was in Cologne as the coach of Ciudad Real/Atletico Madrid in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

1 coach has won the EHF Champions League with two different clubs so far: Alfred Gislason (2002 with SC Magdeburg, 2010 and 2012 with Kiel). If Kielce take the trophy in 2015, Talant Dujshebaev would be the second.

1 man has won the EHF Champions League as a player (1994 with Santander) and as a coach (2006, 2008, 2009 with Ciudad Real): again Talant Dujshebaev. Carlos Ortega (six-time Champions League winner with FC Barcelona) can join the elite club if he leads Veszprem to the title.

1 player can win the VELUX EHF Champions League title for the second time in a row, Steffen Weinhold. He took the trophy last year with SG Flensburg-Handewitt before moving to THW Kiel. Not a single player since 2009 won the VELUX EHF Champions league twice in a row.

1 Spanish player minimum will become VELUX EHF Champions League winner 2015 – as every team counts on at least one Spanish player: Barcelona (13), Veszprem (3), Kielce (1) and Kiel (1). In three of four teams at least one German and Croat are involved.

1 Icelandic coach has been involved in all six VELUX EHF FINAL4 so far: Besides Alfred Gislason (now five times with Kiel), Dagur Sigurdsson was there with Füchse Berlin in 2012 and Gudmundur Gudmundsson with Rhein Neckar Löwen in 2011.

1 team turned a defeat in the first quarter-final leg into a ticket to Cologne – Kiel against Szeged.

1 team won all knockout matches (Last 16 and quarter-finals) this season: FC Barcelona.

2 players have scored more than 100 goals so far: Mikkel Hansen (PSG/103) and Momir Ilc (Veszprem/101). But only Ilic can add more goals to his tally, as PSG and Hansen were eliminated by Veszprem in the quarter-finals.

2 former EHF Champions League winners, amounting to ten titles, have made it to Cologne: FC Barcelona (1996-2000, 2005, 2011) and THW Kiel (2007, 2010, 2012).

2 straight times the defending VELUX EHF Champions league champions have been eliminated in the Last 16: Hamburg (2014 by Vardar) and Flensburg (2015 by Kiel).

2 teams won both legs of the quarter-finals – Barcelona and Kielce.

3 Spanish coaches are involved in the 2015 VELUX EHF Champions League FINAL4: Xavi Pascual (Barcelona), Talant Dujshebaev (Kielce) and Carlos Ortega (Veszprem). The only non-Spaniard is Alfred Gislason (Iceland/Kiel). In the quarter-finals five Spanish coaches were involved (including Juan Carlos Pastor/Szeged and Raul Gonzalez/Vardar) in the Last 16 it was even seven (including Manuel Cadenas/Plock and Jesus Javier Gonzales Fernandez/La Rioja).

3 of the four 2015 VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants had been part of the 2014 event: Barcelona, Kiel and Veszprem.

3 players part of the 2015 VELUX EHF FINAL4 hold non-European passports: Wael Jallouz (Barcelona/Tunisia), Danijel Saric (Barcelona/Qatar) and Imam Jamali (Veszprem/Iran).

4 nations are only represented by the 21 previous winners of the competition: Spain (13 titles, including all from 1994 to 2001), Germany (6 titles, including four from five in Cologne), France (Montpellier) and Slovenia (Celje).

4 former or current IHF World Handball Players of the Year will be on court in Cologne: Nikola Karabatic (Barcelona, 2007 and 2014), Slawomir Szmal (Kielce, 2009), Filip Jicha (Kiel, 2010), Domagoj Duvnjak (Kiel, 2013). In addition, Kielce coach Talant Dujshebaev was awarded twice in 1994 and 1996.

4 different nations are (for the first time since the premiere in 2010) represented by the four VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants: Spain, Germany, Poland and Hungary. Seven nations had been represented by the eight quarter-finalists, including two Hungarian teams.

5 former top scorers of the EHF Champions League are on court in Cologne: Filip Jicha (2008/09 – 99 goals for Kiel, 2009/10 – 119 goals for Kiel), Siarhei Rutenka (2003/04 – 103 goals for Celje, 2004/05 – 85 goals for Celje), Kiril Lazarov (2005/06 – 85 goals for Veszprem, 2007/08 – 96 goals for Veszprem), Nikola Karabatic (2006/07 – 89 goals for Kiel) and Momir Ilic (2013/14 – 103 goals for Veszprem)

5 consecutive times Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson will be part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 – with his fourth different club: 2011 with Rhein Neckar Löwen, 2012 with AG Kobenhavn, 2013 and 2014 with THW Kiel and 2015 with FC Barcelona. Despite this record the Icelandic left wing has yet to win the title.

5 Champions League titles with three clubs are on the tally of Siarhei Rutenka (Barcelona), who won trophy with Celje (2004), Ciudad Real (2006, 2008, 2009) and Barcelona (2011).

6 nations so far had been represented in VELUX EHF FINAL4 events since 2010: Germany (ten participants in total including 2015), Spain (8), Poland and Hungary (each 2), Russia, Denmark (each 1).

10 matches since the start of the group phase ended in a draw, nine in the group phase and one in the quarter-finals.

11 different clubs have qualified for the VELUX EHF FINAL4: Kiel, Barcelona (each five times), Ciudad Real/Madrid (three times), Hamburg, Veszprem, Kielce (each twice), Berlin, Löwen, Flensburg, Kobenhavn, Medvedi (each once).

11 consecutive matches Kiel and Kielce remained unbeaten. For Kielce it was ten in the group phase and the opener of the Last 16 against Montpellier. For Kiel it was nine in the group phase (after losing the opener to Zagreb) and both Last 16 matches against Flensburg.

12 times (including 2015) Barcelona are part of an EHF Champions League semi-final ahead of Kiel (11), Veszprem (5) and Kielce (2, all including 2015).

13 matches since the start of the group phase ended with a winning margin of ten or more goals, 10 in the group phase, two in the Last 16 and one in the quarter-finals.

13 wins from 14 matches bring Kielce on top of the “points ranking” with 26, ahead of Veszprem and Barcelona (25) and Kiel (24).

14 players, who are part of the 2015 VELUX EHF FINAL4, have won the Champions League at least two times. Rutenka (5) tops this ranking ahead of Henrik Lundström (Kiel) and Christian Zeitz (Veszprem), who won the title three times with Kiel and Uros Zorman (Celje 2004, Ciudad Real 2008 and 2009). Ten more players (Morros, Nagy, Tomas, Palicka, Palmarsson, Sprenger, Jicha, Ilic, Reichmann and Karabatic) have two titles each.

19 different nations are represented in the squads of the four FINAL4 participants: GER, ESP, HUN, POL, CRO, NOR, SWE, CZE, DEN, ISL, SRB, TUN, FRA, MKD, BLR, QAT, IRI, SLO, BIH - 9 different at Kiel and Veszprem, 8 at Barcelona and 5 at Kielce.

22 goals in the 43:21 clash of Barcelona against Zagreb was the biggest margin of all matches this season so far. The 31:11 win for Barcelona in the Last 16 match against Aalborg was the biggest margin in all VELUX EHF Champions League 2014/15 matches.

27 goals was the aggregate win of Barcelona after the two Last 16 duels against Aalborg (31:11 and 29:22). It is the biggest gap since the implementation of the Last 16, before it was 22 goals in the duels between Chekhovskie Medvedi and Sarajevo (31:22, 30:17) in 2010.

33 teams representing 24 countries have been part of the VELUX EHF Champions League season 2014/15, including the qualification tournaments.

36 goals were the lowest score in all matches since the start of the group phase, when Zagreb beat Metalurg 19:17 in the group phase.

44 goals Barcelona conceded in both quarter-final matches against Zagreb, while Kielce had the second best defensive record with 51 conceded goals against Vardar.

51 matches since the start of the group phase ended with a win of the away team, 42 in the group phase, 7 in the Last 16 and two in the quarter-finals.

73 goals were scored in the match Medvedi vs Vardar (34:39) to be the highest score in this season so far.

82 matches since the start of the group phase ended with a win of the home team, 69 in the group phase, nine in the main round and four in the quarter-finals.

103 goals have been scored by Mikkel Hansen (PSG) to be current top scorer.

156 matches have been played in the VELUX EHF Champions League season so far, including qualification tournaments.

+109 goals is the impressive goal difference of Barcelona after 14 matches.

357 goals were conceded by Barcelona in their 14 matches to have the best defensive record of the four VELUX EHF FINAL 4 participants, ahead of Kiel (362)

442 goals were scored in the eight quarter-final matches, which mean an average of 55.25 after an average of 53.1 per match in the Last 16, 56.80 in the group phase and 54.75 in the qualification tournaments. So the average of all matches is 54.97 goals.

466 goals were scored by Barcelona to have the best attack of the four VELUX EHF FINAL 4 participants, ahead of Kiel (445).

8765 goals were scored so far in this VELUX EHF Champions League season, 657 in the three qualification tournaments, 6816 in the group phase, 850 in the Last 16 matches and 442 in the quarter-finals.

15,200 fans attended the quarter-final match of Zagreb vs Barcelona to be the highest number of spectators in this season so far. The four matches with the highest attendance took place in Zagreb Arena against Kolding (14,500), Paris (13,000) and Kiel (11,000).

Top teams – points overall:
26 (13 wins, 0 draws, 1 defeat): Vive Tauron Kielce
25 (12 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat): FC Barcelona
25 (12 wins, 1 draws, 1 defeats): MVM-MKB Veszprem
24 (12 wins, 0 draws, 2 defeats): THW Kiel

Best defensive record of the four FINAL4 participants:
357 goals conceded: FC Barcelona
362 goals conceded: THW Kiel
368 goals conceded: MVM-MKB Veszprem
380 goals conceded: Vive Tauron Kielce  

Best attacking record of the four FINAL4 participants:
466 goals scored: FC Barcelona
445 goals scored: THW Kiel
427 goals scored: Vive Tauron Kielce
426 goals scored: MVM-MKB Veszprem

Best goal difference of the four FINAL4 participants:
+109: FC Barcelona
+83: THW Kiel
+58: MVM-MKB Veszprem
+47: Vive Tauron Kielce

Top scorers:
103 goals: Mikkel Hansen (PSG)
101 goals: Momir Ilic (Veszprem)
99 goals: Kiril Lazarov (Barcelona)
78 goals: Timur Dibirov (Vardar)
76 goals: Zsolt Balogh (Szeged)
76 goals: Karol Bielecki (Kielce)

Top scorers still in competition:
101 goals: Momir Ilic (Veszprem)
99 goals: Kiril Lazarov (Barcelona)
76 goals: Karol Bielecki (Kielce)
69 goals: Marko Vujin (Kiel)
61 goals: Nikola Karabatic (Barcelona)

Biggest winning margins this season:

+22: Barcelona vs Zagreb (QF, 43:21)
+20: Aalborg vs Barcelona (L16, 11:31)
+19: Kiel vs Metalurg (GP, 35:16)
+15: Metalurg vs Kiel (GP, 27:42)
+14: Kolding vs Flensburg (GP, 35:21)
+14: Montpellier vs Veszprem (GP, 20:34)
+13: Barcelona vs Alingsas (GP, 42:29)
+11: Vardar vs. Medvedi (GP, 39:28)
+11: PSG vs. Metalurg (GP, 35:24)
+11: Kiel vs Brest (GP, 33:22)

Highest goal totals in a match:

73 goals: Medvedi vs Vardar (GP, 34:39)
71 goals: Barcelona vs Alingsas (GP, 42:29)
70 goals: Flensburg vs Barcelona (GP, 33:37)
70 goals: La Rioja vs Brest (GP, 39:31)
69 goals: Metalurg vs Kiel (GP, 27:42)
69 goals: Kielce vs Szeged (GP, 37:32)
69 goals: Schaffhausen vs Zaporozhye (GP, 32:37)
69 goals: Medved vs Veszprem (GP, 32:37)
69 goals: Veszprem vs Medvedi (GP, 38:31)
68 goals: La Rioja vs PSG (GP, 35:33)
68 goals: Kielce vs Dunkerque (GP, 36:32)
68 goals: Montpellier vs Vardar (GP, 34:34)
68 goals: La Rioja vs Veszprem (L16, 31:37)

Lowest number of goals in a match:

36 goals: Zagreb vs. Metalurg (GP, 19:17)
39 goals: Zagreb vs. Kolding (L16, 22:17)
42 goals: Vardar vs Kielce (QF, 20:22)
42 goals: Aalborg vs. Barcelona (L16, 11:31)
42 goals: Alingsas vs. Kolding (GP, 19:23)
42 goals: Metalurg vs Zagreb (GP, 20:22)
43 goals: La Rioja vs. Zagreb (GP, 22:21)
43 goals: Szeged vs. Dunkerque (GP, 23:21)
44 goals: Dunkerque vs. PSG (L16, 21:23)
44 goals: Kolding vs Zagreb (L16, 23:21)
44 goals: Zaporozhye vs. Dunkerque (GP, 21:24)
45 goals: Celje vs Veszprem (GP, 21:24)
45 goals: Alingsas vs Plock (GP, 22:23)
45 goals: PSG vs. Dunkerque (L16, 23:22)

Spectators:

15,200: Zagreb vs Barcelona (QF)
14,500: Zagreb vs Kolding (L16)
13,000: Zagreb vs PSG (GP)
11,000: Zagreb vs Kiel (GP)
10,285: Kiel vs Flensburg (L16)
10,170: Kiel vs Paris (GP)
10,000: Kiel vs Szeged (QF)
9,500: Zagreb vs Metalurg (GP)
8,700: Kiel vs Metalurg (GP)
8,487: Kiel vs Zagreb (GP)
8,000: Kiel vs La Rioja (GP)
8,000: Zagreb vs La Rioja (GP)
7,270: Löwen vs Veszprem (GP)
7,100: Kiel vs Brest (GP)
6,963: Metalurg vs Paris (GP)
6,300: Flensburg vs Barcelona (GP)
6,000: Besiktas vs Kolding (GP)
6,000: Zagreb vs Brest (GP)
6,000: Montpellier vs Kielce (L16)
6,000: Flensburg vs Kiel (L16)

GP = Group Phase, L16 = Last 16, QF = Quarter-finals