Marta Zderic (CRO) - Buducnost

• playing her tenth consecutive CL season, and her third with Buducnost, after she moved from Podravka in 2013
• started as a back player, but soon she moved into goal
• in Buducnost she chose number 43, the decision to use that unusual number for a goalkeeper was made by her niece Lara
• despite an early exit at the EHF EURO 2014 on home court in Varazdin she has had an impressive season in the Buducnost goal so far

Amandine Leynaud (FRA) - HC Vardar

• playing her ninth season in the CL, six with Metz Handball and the last three with Vardar
• arrived at the Macedonian club in 2013, along with French teammates Siraba Dembele and Allison Pineau
• currently the number one French goalkeeper
• main strength is on 6m line shots

Katrine Lunde (NOR) - Rostov-Don

• one of the best goalkeepers in the world with a big collection of major trophies won both with clubs and the Norwegian national team
• her move to Rostov-Don after five years at Hungary's Györ was one of the biggest transfer events in Europe 2015
• missed the last season at Györ because of pregnancy
• already worked with Jan Leslie at Aalborg

Kari Grimsbø (NOR) - Györi Audi ETO KC

• joined Györ from Danish Team Esbjerg during the 2014/15 season, as Croatian Jelena Grubisic, the replacement for pregnant Katrine Lunde, gor injured
• All-star goalkeeper of the 2012 Olympics
• started her career at the age of 5, had her debut for Byasen in the Norwegian league at the age of 17

Darly Zoqbi de Paula (ESP) - Fleury Loiret Handball

• acquired the Spanish nationality in 2014, in order to play with the national team
• arrived in Europe in 2002, player with various Spanish and French clubs before signing to Fleury in 2013
• knew Fred Bougeant from her four years in Le Havre, where they reached the EHF Cup Semi-Finals in 2008, won two French national cups and took part in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final 2014/15
• firm fan favourite in Fleury, where her Panther outfit has become one of the symbols of the club

Majda Mehmedovic (MNE) - Buducnost

• her mother played handball as a goalkeeper
• started handball in Bar at the age of 12 with her brother Musa and immediately loved it
• It took her two years to get into the first team after being signed by Buducnost, now her efficiency makes her stand out
• voted for the 2013/14 CL All-star Team as the best left-wing

Louise Sand (SWE) - IK Sävehof

• Louise has been crazy about playing ball all her life and for her confirmation she only wanted a ball as present
• with her 160 cm, she is not among the tallest on a court, but she more than compensates for that through her outstanding technique
• joined Sävehof in 2009 after spells with Kärra and Önnereds
• Sweden national team member since 2012

Manon Houette (FRA) - Fleury Loiret Handball

• has spent her entire professional career in Fleury Loiret
• she played every minute of every game in Fleury's Cup Winners' Cup campaign last season
•  quick and very efficient, she was elected best left winger of the French league for two seasons (2013/14 and 2014/15)
• made her national team debut last season and has been a regular fixture ever since

Aniko Kovacsics (HUN) - Györi Audi ETO KC

• played as number one playmaker due to the pregnancy of Anita Görbicz in the last season
• the 24-year-old made her CL debut at the age of 16 and is already in her ninth season
• able to play left wing and was deployed in that position by Hungary during EHF EURO 2014
• awarded best young player of the 2012/13 CL
season

Maria Fisker (DEN) - CSM Bucuresti

• known for her speed and has a scoring percentage well above 80%
• started playing handball when she was five
• joined Viborg in 2006 from third division club Vissing Hadsten
• transferred to Randers HK in 2009, returned to Viborg in 2011
• Bucuresti as her first experience outside Denmark, where she was studying to be a nurse
• voted in the Women's EHF EURO 2014 All-star team

Cristina Neagu (ROU) - Buducnost

• named the World Handball Player of the Year after leading Romania to bronze medal at the EHF EURO 2010
• top scorer (53 goals) and All-star member of the EHF EURO 2010 and the 2014/15 CL season (102 goals), also MVP of the WCh 2015
• voted in the Women's EHF EURO 2014 All-star team
• missed nearly two of the last four years, after a shoulder injury and a torn ligament in her knee
• lost two CL finals, one with Oltchim (2013) and once with Buducnost (2014)

Alexandrina Barbosa (ESP) - Fleury Loiret Handball

• signed from Thüringer HC in the summer of 2014
• very quick, very powerful and one of the best left backs on the continent and definitely Fleury's sharpest offensive weapon
• former Portugese citizen, she now has a Spanish passport and has reached the final of the EHF EURO 2014 with the national team
• at the age of 29, she already played in five different countries: Portugal, Spain, Romania, Germany and France

Andrea Penezic (CRO) - HC Vardar

• extented her contract with Vardar until 2017
• raised the Slovenian title and cup four times with Krim Mercator before joining Vardar
• best left back in the All-star Team at the WCh 2011
• played also for Lokomotiva and Podravka
• Croatian player of the year six consecutive times
• together with Cristina Neagu the top scorer of the 2014/15 season with 102 goals

Lois Abbingh (NED) - HCM Baia Mare

• played four years at German side VfL Oldenburg (2010-2014) before she transferred to Baia Mare
• made her comeback on the court after an eight-month injury break in January 2015
• top scorer and member of the All-star team at the 2010 U18 World Championship and top scorer of the 2011 U19 EHF EURO with the Netherlands
• top scorer of the Dutch league in the 2009/10 season at the age of only 18

Nerea Pena (ESP) - FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• Spanish international signed from Itxako in 2012 and has been a clutch player for Elek ever since
• injury-prone sharp shooter has been through difficult times injuring the same knee twice, but when fit she is the focal point of FTC’s attacks
• finished as runner-up both at the EURO 2014 with Spain and in the CL with Itxako in 2011
• voted to the All-stars of the EURO 2010

Allison Pineau (FRA) - HCM Baia Mare

• French star has been named the "World Player of the Year" in 2012
• suffered two knee injuries, but came back more powerful than before
• is in the run for the top scorers crown
• a social-media addict, she has a page on which she posts on a daily basis and has over 43,000 fans

Isabelle Gulldén (SWE) - CSM Bucuresti

• fast, flexible and creative playmaker and a reliable penalty shooter
• started playing at the age of seven for IK Sävehof
• won the Swedish championship four times in succession with Sävehof (2007 to 2011)
• played for three clubs in her whole career: Sävehof, Viborg and CSM Bucuresti
• MVP and top scorer (58 goals) of the EHF EURO 2014 in Hungary & Croatia

Nycke Groot (NED) - Györi Audi ETO KC

• has a major share of the playing time at the playmaker's position due to the injury of Antia Görbicz
• her entire career at top level in Denmark until she joined Györ in the summer of 2015
• with FC Midtjylland the top scorer of the Women's EHF Final4 2014 (20goals)
• player of the year in the Danidh league in 2014

Ekaterina Ilina (RUS) - Rostov-Don

• one of the best Russian playmakers and the big revelation of the last season
• moved to Rostov-Don in 2014 from Lada Toliatti just after winning the EHF Cup with that team
• became the Junior World Champion with the Russian team in Bratislava 2008
• won her first domestic trophies later than international ones, having become the Russian champion and Supercup winner with Rostov in 2015

Andrea Lekic (SRB) - WHC Vardar SCBT

• competed in karate and reached blue belt before moving on to ball sports including volleyball, basketball, football and tennis
• voted the 2013 World Handball Player of the Year
• All-star Team at the EHF EURO 2012
• organises her own handball camp every other year
• extended her contract with Vardar until 2017

Heidi Løke (NOR) - Györi Audi ETO KC

• World Handball Player of the Year (2011)
• famous daughter in a big handball family as both of her siblings are professional players and all siblings are line players
• in 2011 she took the title with Larvik as the CL top scorer, and in 2012 she only narrowly missed it with Győr only to achieve it one year later
• member of the All-star teams at the London Olympics, 2011 WCh and EHF EURO 2010, 2012 & 2014

Dragana Cvijic (SRB) - Buducnost

• started handball at the age of 10, first as goalkeeper, but being very tall for her age, Dragana’s first coach put her at left back
• in 2007 at Crvena Zvezda she moved to the line
• joined Buducnost in 2011, just in time to help them on the way to the CL title
• Serbian national team player voted the best line player of the WCh 2013

Oana Manea (ROU) - CSM Bucuresti

• in 2008 diagnosed with ventricular extrasystole and stopped playing for six month
• can gather the team behinder her, one of the reasons she has been named captain both at Oltchim and the national team
• scored 6 goals in the close loss against Györi Audi ETO KC
• make-up is her hobby, considers to become a full-time make-up artist after finishing her handball career

Marit Malm Frafjord (NOR) - Larvik

• used to play for Larvik's rivals Byasen HE, but joined Larvik in 2014 after a three year long foreign adventure at Viborg HK
• crucial in the centre of defence as well as in the attack, to Larvik and the Norwegian national team
• one of the most experienced players of the team

Anja Althaus (GER) - HC Vardar

• first German player to play in FYR Macedonia
• switched from being a designer in advertising to a hairdresser, and is known as stylist to her teammates in both her club and national team
• two EHF Champions League titles with Viborg (2009, 2010)
• one of the most famous German players with over 200 caps for Germany and more than 500 goals

Nora Mørk (NOR) - Larvik HK

• best scorer of the Norwegian team at the EHF EURO 2014 (41 goals)
• voted the best right back of the EHF EURO 2014
• can also play on the right wing, her twin sister and teammate Thea plays on the left wing
• joined Larvik in the 2009/10 season and debuted in the national team in 2010 as a 19-year-old
• in 2014/15 she had her record-breaking CL season so far with 98 goals

Katarina Bulatovic (MNE) - Buducnost

• Serbia-born shooter arrived to Buducnost in 2014 after one-year stints with Oltchim and Györ
• made it to the CL final for the first time in 2007 with Slagelse
• won the CL title with three different clubs - Slagelse, Buducnost and Györ
• voted at right back in last season's All-star team

Barbara Lazovic-Varlec (SLO) - HC Vardar

• arrived from Krim together with Andrea Penezic in the summer of 2014
• before she joined vardar she played only for krim besides a year-long stint in Zaječar, Serbia
• married to Vuk Lazovic, a handball player from Serbia
• contemplated a switch to Serbia, but remained
loyal to the Slovenian national team

Szandra Szöllösi-Zacsik (HUN) - FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• back in business for 2015/16 after two serious shoulder injuries, which saw her out of action for almost two years after a maternity leave
• Ferencváros and national team teammate Mónika Kovacsicz is Zacsik's niece
• won both Hungarian and Slovenian titles; scored a last second penalty against later CL holders Viborg, which saw her team triumph on away goals in 2011

Line Jørgensen (DEN) - CSM Bucuresti

• the captain of the Danish national team started playing handball at the age of only three
• her two cousins, Lars and Kenn Eiberg Jørgensen, have both played in the Danish national team, both also as right backs
• joined CSM after stints aith GOG and FC Midtjylland
• won the EHF Cup with FCM in 2011 and bronze with Denmark at the WCh 2013

Iuliia Managarova (UKR) - Rostov-Don

• moved to Rostov in 2013 and quickly became one of the favourite players of local fans
• quiet and humble off the court, but a natural leader in the game with a powerful shot and great scoring abilities
• was a key player in the Ukraine national team, but opted to change citizenship hoping to play for Russia
• champion of three countries: Ukraine (Smart Krivy Rog), Romania (Oltchim) and Russia (Rostov-Don)

Alexandra Do Nascimento (BRA) - HCM Baia Mare

• after 11 seasons played for Hypo Niederösterreich took a new challenge and accepted Baia Mare’s offer
• with 501 goals scored over 12 seasons one of the top scorers of the CL history
• her husband, the Chilean right wing Patricio Martinez, followed her to Baia Mare and plays for the men’s team
• despite injury worries, Do Nascimento missed only one game this season and is Baia Mare's second top scorer with 50 goals

Jovanka Radicevic (MNE) - HC Vardar

• started playing handball at the age of 12
• best right wing at the EHF EURO 2012 when she won the championship with Montenegro and at the World Championship 2015
• in 2013, she won the CL title with Györ
• with Buducnost, she won seven championships and cup titles in Montenegro (2005-2011), two regional league titles (2010, 2011) and two titles in the Cup Winners’ Cup (2006, 2010)

Amanda Kurtovic (NOR) - Larvik

• made a comeback to Larvik in summer 2015 after three years joining from league colleagues Oppsal
• for a long time, she seemed to be heading for Danidh nykobing Falster, but ended in Larvik
• has been bothered quite a lot by injuries through her career
 

Carmen Martin (ESP) - CSM Bucuresti

• Spanish player started handball when she was 7 years old, in Roquetas del Mar, her hometown
• named the best right wing of the EHF EURO 2014, after ranking third in the top scorers list
• reached the CL final in 2011 with Itxako and the semi-final in 2013 with Krim Ljubljana
• loves drama movies, her favourite being "The Notebook"

Eduarda Amorim (BRA) – Györi Audi ETO KC

• 2014 IHF Player of the Year
• Brazilian international arrived in Europe in 2006
• first joining Kometal Skopje in FYR Macedonia, transferred to Győr in 2009
• passed the 300 goals milestone in the European top flight in the 2013/14 season
• All-star left back at the WCh 2013 and the CL 2013/14

Sabina Jacobsen (SWE) - FC Midtjylland

• joined FC Midtjylland from another Danish league club, Randers HK in the summer of 2014
• has played four years in the Danish league all in all, as she joined Randers from Swedish club Lugi HF in 2012
• part of the Midtjylland team who won the Cup Winners' Cup in the 2014/15 season and the Danish championship the same year
• part of the Midtjylland team who won the Cup Winners’ Cup in the 2014/15 season and the Danish championship the same year
• named the best defender of the Women’s EHF EURO 2014 in Hungary and Croatia, where she also won bronze with Sweden

Kinga Achruk (POL) – Buducnost

• the third Polish player in Buducnost’s history, after Monika Marzec and Izabela Puchacz, who played in Podgorica from 2003 to 2005
• her mother Malgorzata played handball for Montex Lublin and Zaglebie Lubin
• with Zaglebie Lubin she won a Polish title in 2011 and three Polish cups in 2009, 2011 and 2013, when she scored 14 goals in the final
• named Poland’s best player in 2012

Anna Sen (RUS) – Rostov-Don

• came back to Rostov-Don after a season in Hungary where she played for Györ
• her first spell at Rostov was 2011-2014 and during that time she won the Russian Cup twice, in 2012 and 2013
• has also played for Kuban Krasnodar and Zvezda Zvenigorod, but has never been a Russian champion yet
• in 2008 won the Junior World Championship with Russia and became the top scorer of that tournament

Andrea Klikovac (MNE) – HC Vardar

• as a young girl filled her album with photos of her idol Bojana Popovic and dreamed to be alongside her
• received personal congratulations from Popovic after Montenegro won the EHF EURO 2012
• considered as one Montenegro’s best young players
• one of the youngest players in Vardar, but has been at the club longer than many of the current squad

Julia Eriksson (SWE) – Sävehof IK

• one of many Sävehof’s young guns who have really developed in the 2015/16 season as she became their top scorer
• joined from the club Kärra in the lower leagues in the summer of 2014
• got her international break-through in the CL main round in 2015/16, scoring seven goals away against HC Vardar, 11 at home against FC Midtjylland and seven away against Györ
• her skills have not yet earned her a nomination for the national senior team, but she has played 27 internationals for the junior team

Luca Szekerczes (HUN) – FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• widely considered to be the best right back of her generation in Hungary
• voted to the All-star teams of both the EHF EURO in 2013 (where Hungary finished as runners-up) and WCh in 2014
• youngster will have to fill in for the team’s most prolific scorer, Zsuzsa Tomori, who signed to Györ
• was offloaded a couple of times but was called back in the summer
• voted Youth Player of the Year in Hungary in 2012

Kristine Breistøl (NOR) – Larvik

• has been with Larvik since 2012 when joining from Baekkelaget
• has played 37 junior internationals for Norway and scored 100 goals
• standing 191 cm tall, she has a perfect height for a back court player in women’s handball
• the 21-year-old is considered a player for the future in Larvik
• has already developed a very good and varied shot, benefiting also from her height

Eliza Iulia Buceschi (ROU) - HCM Baia Mare

• despite her young age, 21, she has already been selected many times for the Romania national team
• her father Costica was Baia Mare’s coach until January 2015
• on the 31st of January 2011, the Buceschi family made history in the Romanian League for Baia Mare as Carmen and Eliza – mother and daughter – played on the same time, while Costica was coaching
• top scorer for the club in Europe this season with 43 goals so far

Emma Ekenman-Fernis (SWE) – Sävehof IK

• joined Sävehof ahead of the 2015/16 season from Sporvägens IF in Stockholm
• her original club was Roserbergs IF in rural Roslagen in central Sweden, though
• despite an injury spell, she has developed into one of the key players in the Sävehof team over the season
• also soon turned out to be an asset to the club in the CL

Dragan Adzic (MNE) - Buducnost

• retired due to injury in 1998
• almost a decade was an assistant to many coaches in Buducnost
• became head coach in 2010
• in 2012 won the CL in May with Buducnost and EHF EURO in December with Montenegro
• met his wife Timea after she came to the club as an interpreter to former coach, Hungarian Gyula Zsiga

Jan Leslie (DEN) – Rostov-Don

• signed with Rostov-Don in 2014
• his first experience away from his home country Denmark
• won the Russian league in his debut season, having led Rostov-Don to the champion’s title for the first time since 1994
• previously worked in Denmark at Skjern, Aalborg, Esbjerg and Randers and won the EHF Cup in 2010 and the Danish league in 2012 with Randers
• considered one of the top Danish coaches of the new generation

Ambros Martin (ESP) - Györi ETO KC

• born in Lanzarote, Canary Islands
• joined Győr in 2012
• previously coached top Spanish side Estrella Itxako for seven years, winning the EHF Cup in 2009
• also eliminating Györ in the semi-final on the way to the CL final in 2010/11 during that spell
• in his first season with Györ he won their first European trophy

Tor Odvar Moen (NOR) – Larvik

• has made a comeback to the job as head coach ahead of the 2015/16 season, succeeding Ole Gustav Gjekstad, to whom he was assistant coach for the previous three and a half years
• has been with Larvik since 1997, taking care of several different jobs in the club
• head coach in the club for the second time, as he took over at New Year 2011, as now late Karl Erik Bohn left with immediate effect
• led Larvik to the club’s only CL triumph so far – in 2011
• has his strongest qualities in the tactical area and in communication with the players

Gabor Elek (HUN) – FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• son of legendary Ferencváros coach, who led the team for almost three decades, now plays in the arena that is named after his father, Gyula Elek
• has been at the helm in Ferencváros since 2008 but he won his first domestic gold medal in 2015 having already won an enermous amount of silvers behind Györ
• won back-to-back Cup Winners’ Cups with his team in 2011 and 2012
• respected member of the Ferencváros family, apart from his father his mother also played for the club