It is understandable that the Men’s Final Four gets much more attention, but it would really be regrettable if handball fans do not take the opportunity to watch the second leg of the Women’s Champions League final Gyor-Larvik on Saturday (EHF-TV, starting local time 15h15, meaning 09h15 on the U.S. East coast).

While some might think that Gyor will have an easy time after having won 24-21 in Larvik last week, the history of the battles between these two rivals suggests that it is far from decided yet. And in any case, it is promising to be a really exciting game between two teams who are full of world-class players. How about Hammerseng, Sulland, Edin, Blanco and Leganger on the Larvik team, with Gyor having Gorbicz, Loke, Lunde-Haraldsen, Radicevic, Amorim and Tervel, just to mention a few of the better known names.

And there is a reason why I speak about ‘rivals’. These two teams have been in more finals in the EHF women’s competitions than anyone else in the last ten years, and there is also a special situation. Two of the dominant players for Gyor are Norwegians, goalie Lunde-Haraldsen who will be measured against her veteran compatriot Leganger, and then of course hard-to-stop pivot Loke, one of the most spectacular players these days. And while the two teams have never met in a European final before, they both have something to prove: Larvik want to get back on the winning track after a total of 3 different titles in the past, while Gyor should be even more desperate after having been in 7 different finals without ever coming out as winners.

The first game, in Larvik, took a number of interesting turns. The home team started out best, but then there was a Hungarian comeback, before Larvik could pull away early in the second half. Many may have thought that this meant the game was about to be decided, but then the Norwegians lost their rhythm and Lunde-Haraldsen was, if possible, even more spectacular than Leganger at the other end The Norwegian attacks became more and more hesitant, and only the counterattacks seemed to work. By contrast, Gyor found some easy openings for their shots and turned the game around.

It will now remain to be seen if the three-goal deficit is too much of a handicap for Larvik, but the interesting things is that in the semi-finals the guest won every time, and especially Larvik managed an impressed turnaround in the away game against Krim. So let us hope for a real thriller in a game that will be played in the Veszprem arena, which is always full of loud and boisterous supporters.

Of course it is nice to have excitement in virtually all of the eight quarter-final games, and the four participants in the Final Four (Kiel, Barcelona, Kielce and Hamburg) got there in a fair and positive manner. But after you play a very long and often tedious period of group matches, what does it say about the format if you still cannot be sure that the best teams make it to the Final Four!?

It was great to follow the suspense in Kiel-Veszprem and in the Spanish rivalry between Barcelona and Atletico, but please do not try to convince me that Veszprem does not belong in the Final Four. And Atletico also is good enough to have deserved a better chance. It all goes back to the group draw with the enormous contrast between Veszprem/Kiel/Atletico in one group and Kielce/Metalurg/Velenje in another. Plus the regulations that then allow Veszprem-Kiel and Kielce-Metalurg match-ups in the quarterfinals. Having said that, I am joining all handball fans (including frustrated Veszprem and Atletico supporters, I hope) in wishing that we will have a really great Final Four on June 1-2.

Veszprem shocked Kiel in the first game by holding a sizeable lead before Kiel managed to turn it around in the end. And playing at home, Veszprem got the edge in the early going, in part by winning the goalkeeper battle. But sure enough, in the second half Kiel had another great comeback, largely due to scoring from Jicha and Vujin, but also because Palicka provided good relief for Omeyer, while Alilovic got injured. So the final result was, just like in the first game, a one-goal victory for Kiel, much to the frustration of the loud and partisan crowd.

Atletico had not had much luck against Barcelona this season, until inspired veterans Balic and Hombrados gave them the lift they needed in front of their home crowd, with a five-goal margin being the final result. But in Palau, Barcelona came out with a totally different determination, where Saric and his defense quickly drove Atletico to desperation. The result was 11-3 after 20 minutes, before the Madrilenos settled down a bit. But while the margin was down to five at one point, which meant that it was tied on aggregate, Atletico never quite recovered from the early deficit. Saric continued to be fantastic and the Barcelona shooting power was just too overwhelming. So while it was close enough to be exciting almost until the very end, Barcelona came out on top with a total advantage of three goals.

Kielce struggled early in Skopje, but the eventual two-goal margin must have been enough to feel comfortable; because in the today’s home game they were excruciatingly systematic, with an emphasis on strong defense. The second half became a mere formality and the final margin today was 26-15. Hamburg seemed to surprise Flensburg in the first game, with a massive, late surge on the way to a six-goal victory. I must admit that I am saving the viewing of today’s game until the BeIN Sport TV broadcast on Wednesday, but from what I have heard, today Flensburg seemed ready to ‘turn the table’ on their rivals. Ten minutes before the end, they were ahead in the aggregate score, but somehow HSV managed to wake up in time and come out on top by keeping today’s loss to 23-25.

And now we all have our favorite scenarios regarding the draw for the match-ups in the Final Four. Some will want to see Kiel-Hamburg in the semi-final to avoid having an all-German game in the final. Others seem more anxious to avoid having Kiel drawn against Barcelona, as that instead sounds like their ‘dream final’. So does this mean that Kielce will ‘sneak up’ on all the others, or will we find, as some suggest, that the Polish team is overrated after having had an easy group stage? The draw will take place on May 2.

In my recent attempt to offer some predictions for the Round of 16, it seems that, for once, I was able to anticipate rather well how things would evolve. I commented that I did not really expect any major surprises and, as it turned out, in seven of the eight match-ups the highest ranked team came out ahead. In most cases, the aggregate result involved a 5-6 goals edge for the favorites. I had even assumed that perennial champions Kiel might lose in Moscow but that they would still win in total. Kielce also lost in Szeged in the first match, which was Kielce’s first defeat this year, but they managed to turn it around at home.

As expected, the real fight was in the Fuechse Berlin vs. Atletico Madrid pairing. Madrid clearly looked like the strongest of the third-ranked teams, and there was every reason to expect two tough games. Fuechse managed to obtain a 29-29 draw in Madrid, so this looked promising but hardly enough to be sure of a success at home in the return leg. And it really became a dramatic game that was not decided until the final couple of minutes. It was clear that another tie would be enough for Berlin, but Madrid managed to come through in the end and win by 27-26. And the most remarkable thing was perhaps that this result was achieved to a large extent through a fantastic performance by Ivano Balic, who suddenly seemed to be ‘resurrected’.

This now meant that Germany has ‘only’ three teams in the quarterfinal, while Spain has two. In addition we have this year’s strong pair in Kielce and Veszprem, plus Metalurg Skopje as the only remaining representative from the Balkans. Hamburg, Veszprem, Kielce and Barcelona are the seeded teams, so they could not meet each other, but otherwise there were no restrictions for the pairings. It means that we could have a quarterfinal between Barcelona and Madrid, and we could also have a match-up between two German teams.

And following the draw that just took place, the outcome is as follows: Madrid-Barcelona, Metalurg-Kielce, Kiel-Veszprem and Flensburg-Hamburg. So, we will indeed have a Spanish derby, something that will surely inspire Madrid to try to get another victory. The two ‘burgs’ will have an unpredictable fight, although I suspect that advantage of playing at home in the second match will be useful for Hamburg. Kielce will need to show top form to avoid being surprised. But the real ‘thriller’ among the quarter-finals would seem to be the Kiel-Veszprem encounter. In the group play, Veszprem prevailed narrowly at home, while Kiel won easily on their home court, but this was at the late stage where the placements had already been determined. We should have some nice games to look forward to in the weeks April 17-21 and 24-28.

So finally is the very long, and sometimes boring, group stage of the EHF Men’s Champions League completed. There were so many strong teams involved, and occasionally there were some really high-quality games, but this was often overshadowed by one-sided games between teams of different calibers or meaningless games between strong teams that had already secured advancement. Clearly this points to flaws in the format, but I will get back to that.

It also turns out that the demise of AG Copenhagen left a big hole in the draw that Bjerringbro was not able to fill. I do not want to detract from the remarkable string of ten straight wins for Kielce, but this really seemed to happen in a mediocre group, especially compared with the situation in some of the other groups. The sad events and decline involving Montpellier led to their elimination on the very last day of group play, but they may have been unlucky to find themselves in the toughest group. From among the other teams that did not qualify, I want to mention Croatia, a young and often exciting team that simply may not have had the experience and cohesiveness yet.

The four German teams all finished first or second in their respective groups, but it is surely a bit odd to see Kiel failing to win their group, and they now must pay the price in the form of a tough opponent in the next round. Barcelona prevailed against Berlin in their group, but it is harder to assess the strength of Atletico Madrid. They finished behind Veszprem and Kiel, losing all four games against those teams, but that may not tell the full story about their strength.

The draw for the 1/8-finals was undertaken today, following the pattern of group winners taking on fourth-placed teams and second-place teams encountering those who finished third. The higher-placed teams have the advantage of playing the second game at home, and the games will take place during March 13-17 and March 20-24. Celje-Hamburg, Ademar-Veszprem, Szeged-Kielce and Bjerringbro-Barcelona are the four games involving the group winners. The other games are: Gorenje-Flensburg, Medvedi-Kiel, Minsk-Skopje and Atletico Madrid-Berlin.

One would instinctively feel that the group winners are in a good position to advance to the quarter-finals, and personally I would find it difficult to believe in an upset in any of those four match-ups. In the other four games, one could instead say that here it seems much more unpredictable. Who would be sure of the outcome in Atletico Madrid-Fuechse Berlin, which seems like the most exciting pairing? Kiel did get a solid opponent that could probably win at home. But Kiel has such a depth of top players, so that it is hard to see them fail to prevail in the aggregate of home-and-away matches. Flensburg may seem like an obvious favorite, but watch out!

Discussions of format changes for the 2014-15 season are already taking place. It is apparent that the views of the top clubs are somewhat polarized. The German clubs have enough tough competition at home, so they do not want a long schedule of less exciting games in the Champions League. Other clubs, such as the French or Slovenians, may also have a strong interest in their national leagues, but they still thrive on the Champions League competition. For virtually everyone else, the Champions League is THE main event of the season, as these clubs are too dominant in their national leagues. So these clubs will want more games in the Champions League.

The number of games wanted may not necessary point to a specific solution in terms of how many teams should be allowed to participate. The key is instead the size of the groups into which the teams are divided, and this could be anything from four to eight or even twelve. Perhaps it would be feasible to have some geographical divisions, moreover with groups of different sizes. But clearly it is a ‘political’ issue to determine the access to Champions League. It may make for more exciting competition to reduce from 24 to 16, but nations that were not included this season may instead push for 32. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the discussions, and whether there is any hint of an emerging ‘Euroleague’ in years to come.

So finally the long stretch with group matches in the preliminary round and main round is over! It has contained games of good quality and other games where at least the result caused excitement; but the reality is that with so many rounds of group matches, there is room for matches without importance for one or both teams, for capricious results, and for a final main round day with an anticlimax for most teams. If one adds the clear impression that most teams do not really have the stamina and the concentration to play six games in such an intensive schedule, so that their form sometimes is like a ‘roller-coaster’ both from one game to the next and also within a game, then the effect is that we get many disappointing games.

Therefore, it is great that from now on we only have games that clearly matter for both teams and where no manipulation is possible, and where the outcome is not affected by the result in some other game. And the match-ups in the semifinals really look exciting. To see Norway, with its Icelandic coach, play against Hungary with its new, well-known Norwegian coach is interesting enough. But to see Serbia take on Montenegro in the other semifinal is even more spectacular. After all, Serbia and Montenegro existed as one entity from 1992 to 2006, first as a ‘federation’ and then as a ‘State union of Serbia and Montenegro’ until Montenegro became independent after a popular referendum. To say that both the federation/union construct and the subsequent separation have had its controversies is a mild understatement…

For Montenegro there is now a chance of improving on the sensational silver medal from the Olympics earlier this year. I commented before EURO 2012 that there was a lot of speculation as to whether the Olympic success would serve as an inspiration or be the cause of a letdown. I think we have the answer now. And the current success has happened without the famous, now retired, Bojana Popovic. In the case of Serbia, I speculated that the team might not really be strong enough to be a medal candidate but that the support of the home crowds might help turn them into a contender. That also seems to have worked.

Norway continues to have the largest group of strong individual players. And in several matches, like against France, they have really showed their class. What has made some observers wonder, however, is that they have had problems in some other games. But most people would probably still see them as favorites. I predicted that Hungary would come through a seemingly difficult draw and make it to the semi-finals. And they now have the advantage of a coach who knows the Norwegian methods and individual talents better than anyone else. (Moreover, he is the ‘signficant other’ of Norwegian star Heidi Loeke!) Can he help the Hungarians come up with a winning formula?

Before EURO 2012 started, I also referred to media speculation that Spain might not this time be as strong as before, while Germany might cause a surprise. In the end, that speculation seems justified. Germany came extremely close to the chance of playing in the 5th place game. But Russia improved after a shaky start and passed Germany on more goals scored in aggregate, after gaining the same points and goal difference. A bit of luck with some referee decisions did not hurt. The Swedes and the young, rebuilt Danish team were too uneven to get to the semifinals, but the Danes at least made it to the 5th place game. The real disappointment was the overall performance of the French team.

Groups C and D finished yesterday with some exciting matches. Hungary finally managed to match my predictions by defeating Spain who had previously won both their games. The final result was a seemingly narrow one goal-win, but Hungary was in fact dominant and had a four-goal lead shortly before the end. And when Germany, not entirely unexpected, took their final chance to advance by beating Croatia, then the Hungarian happiness was complete, as they now advance with four points to the main round, their defeat against Croatia no longer being relevant. While Hungary-Spain was a game of good quality, Germany vs. Croatia was really highly affected by nerves, if one wants to be kind and find an excuse. The way they played, both teams really deserved to be packing their bags to go home. What made the difference in the end was the superb goalkeeping by Schuelke in the German net.

Montenegro continued to show that the really have a strong team also in the absence of Bojana Popovic, and the emphasis is really on cohesiveness and team spirit. They play with great enthusiasm and determination. Romania had the upper hand in the first half, but then they gradually fell behind. I put much on the blame on the coach, whose destructive demeanor has been obvious for many years now. It is hard to understand that the traditional handball power of Romania cannot find someone to replace him who gives the talented team the support they deserve! Russia easily advanced by beating Iceland, who took their third straight loss in good spirits but showed that they are not yet strong enough for this level of competition.

In the main round group that now combines groups C and D, it will be mostly a matter of watching whether any other team can catch up with Montenegro and Hungary (each with 4 points), prying away one of the semi-final slots from them. Perhaps Spain (2 points) will launch a comeback, whereas the Russians (1 point) may already have fallen too far behind. Romania (1 point) and Germany (0 points) are the remaining teams in this group.

Today we had the final round of groups A and B. In group A we had a rather anticlimactic match-up between Norway and Ukraine, after Norway already advanced with maximum points after their wins against Serbia and the Czech Republic. Norway spared some of their best players but won by one goal, after an unattractive game where Ukraine often resorted to dirty methods. The Serbs and the Czechs had a much more critical battle, with the winner gaining the points that could make all the difference for the chances in the main round. It did indeed turn out to be a high-intensity game with the Czechs being ahead in the first half. But the Serbs gradually took over, even if it was very close until the last few minutes. The final result, much to the delight of the crowd, was 28-24 for Serbia.

France has not lost against Sweden for quite some time. So the question was whether the earlier win against Denmark would cause the Swedes to get the inspiration to break the ‘dry spell’ against France. But those who were dreaming about that must have forgotten that Sweden won against Denmark despite a mediocre performance where Denmark committed even more mistakes. Sweden now stayed even until France pulled away from 5-5 to 10-5. The lead was at one point ten goals and the game ended 24-17 for France, after feeble attacking play from Sweden against a strong defense. As expected, Denmark was able to handle FYRO Macedonia rather handily, but the break-through did not come until the last few minutes of the first half. Up to that point, the ‘almost home team’ kept the game even.

In the main round group, I happily stay with my initial prediction that Norway (4 points) and France (2 points) will qualify for the semi-finals. France vs. Serbia (2 points) will of course be a key match-up. While I do not believe in a surprise here, it could hypothetically open up an opportunity also for Denmark (2 points) to get back into the running. I do not see any hope for Sweden (2 points) or the Czech Republic (0 points).

Finally, in a way that really disappoints those of us who want to expect more from the EHF, the EHF took the easy but totally inappropriate way out in dealing with the nasty incident caused by the Serbian coach in the game against Norway. His interference in the game, by repeatedly holding on to a Norwegian player on the court, should have earned him a suspension for the remainder of the event. Not even the top leaders of the EHF have wanted to try to deny that the EHF Legal Regulations would have made such action possible, even though the referees and delegates did not see the incidents.

So instead, the EHF tried to blur the issue, mumbling about the wording of the regulations and absurdly arguing that the video evidence that had circulated around the world was not adequate. So, as many had feared, the EHF simply decided to ‘sweep the whole thing under the rug’: a self-inflicted embarrassment for the EHF and an awful precedent in our sport that needs to think more about protecting its fragile image!

At this point, two of the groups have played two matches per team, while two groups just have had one round. We already have some teams qualified for the main round, and for the most part we have not seen major surprises.

In group C, Spain has shown that injuries and hints of poor form have not prevented them from grabbing two straight victories in an otherwise very evenly matched group. Croatia surprised Hungary on the first day, but the Hungarians came back and defeated Germany. The Germans are without a win so far but could still make it to the main round. As expected, group D has become a tough fight between three teams who are trying to maximize the points that they can carry to the main round. Montenegro was impressive against Russia, and they did not seem to miss their retired star Popovic. Romania also seemed to be able to get a comfortable win against Russia, mainly due to a spectacular performance by the young goalie Tolnai, but the Russians managed to come back and tie the game.

In Group A, Norway seemed comfortable during much of the game, but in the end they just barely managed to hold off the home team Serbia. The Czechs lived up to my ‘dark horse’ label and got a nice win against Ukraine. The Scandinavian ‘derby’ between Denmark and Sweden turned out to be just as exciting as had been expected, at least in terms of result. It was a game mostly characterized by technical mistakes and turnovers, and the Swedes seemed feeble in the early going. But towards the end it almost looked as if the Danes tried to give the game away through endless mistakes. And indeed, the Swedes turned a five-goal deficit into a 27-26 win. France seemed just as powerful as in the past, when running over FYRO Macedonia.

When the Netherlands pulled out as a host for this event at a very late stage, it is understandable that the EHF did not have much of a choice; and they cannot be criticized for accepting Serbia’s bid, after the very successful men’s championship at the beginning of the year. But it is apparent that women’s handball is not much of an attraction in Serbia. With the exception of the games involving the home teams and the near neighbors Montenegro and Romania, the halls looked miserably empty. Not exactly the image and propaganda that we want for women’s handball at the top level. It seems there are very few countries that can guarantee full arenas when the women come to play!

But the real scandal took place in the Norway-Serbia game. I thought that the situation involving the notorious Gunnar Prokop entering the court to stop a fastbreak for the opponents some years ago would remain unique. But here we had the Serbian coach Boskovic reach in and grab the arm and shirt of a Norwegian player on two occasions, to prevent her from her intended movement on the court. It is fully understandable that it was not detected by the referees, but I am somewhat disappointed that the match supervisors also failed to spot it. As it happens, the EHF (unlike the IHF) has a Legal Regulation that allows the EHF to initiate disciplinary proceedings on its own, and with the help of video evidence. I would be extremely disappointed if the EHF did not ensure that the Serbian coach at least gets barred from the rest of this event. This kind of action must be punished and discouraged as strongly as possible.

Considering Jean Brihault’s reputation and accomplishments over many years, it was not really a surprise that his ‘promotion’ from Vice-President to President at the recent EHF Congress got such overwhelming support. Nevertheless, as a friend and former colleague of Jean, an outstanding leader in our sport, who has always shown great integrity, I am very pleased to see him in his new role. Much to my delight, Jean kindly took the time to enter into a dialog with me about current EHF topics:

CA: Jean, first of all congratulations! Could you offer us your sense about the achievements and the spirit of the recent EHF Congress? What does it suggest to you regarding the working atmosphere you could expect during your initial mandate period as President?
JB: The Congress took place in a positive atmosphere. The elections and attribution of future championships certainly were top of the agenda in most people’s minds but this did not lead to tensions or antagonism. Other points must not be neglected concerning this Congress, in particular the very significant step made concerning female involvement in European handball (Cf. foundation of a Women’s Handball Board and vote of a motion on the promotion of gender equality). All of this seems to bode well for the future.

CA: There were this time vacancies in a large number of key positions; the ‘rumor’ is that the voting often tended to reflect geopolitical blocks; is this a correct impression and, if so, do you see this as something positive or possibly a matter of concern?
JB: I do not think that at the time of the voting itself the fundamental motivation was the geopolitical one. My impression is that, after a period of negotiation which put these “blocks” to the fore, there was a more open approach, especially after a meeting between the leaders of the “Nordics” on the one hand and the “Mediterraneans” on the other.

CA: When starting your first term, what do you see as the main challenges awaiting EHF as an organization?
JB: Clearly now the position of women in European handball and the status of female competitions is number one on the agenda.
Second, we have to work on a global competition schedule, bearing in mind the articulation with the other continents whose needs and wishes for worldwide competitions are different from ours. Top level European players are overloaded at the moment but the top European leagues also have to face their responsibilities in this regard.

CA: What do you see as the best ways in which you personally could contribute to the efforts of meeting these challenges?
JB: Simply by creating the best conditions for constructive dialogue between all those concerned and being an active participant in this dialogue. Any measure imposed from the top is bound to fail.

CA: The coming season brings a restructuring of your club competitions for men; what effects do you hope to see as a result of that?
JB: The merging of two competitions should make the new EHF cup more exciting for players and spectators and therefore more attractive for sponsors.

CA: What efforts do you envisage in the area of helping achieve newer or smaller national federations to achieve an expedited development?
JB: We already have many programs to contribute to the development of these “emerging handball nations” as they like to call themselves. I think that what we need at this stage is to help them better define their own needs in a global European context, contribute to the continuing education of those in charge on a national level and involve these nations as much as possible in existing competitions for national teams.

CA: You mentioned about the competition calendar which comes to mind particularly in an Olympic year; are there any specific ameliorations you hope to achieve in that area in the foreseeable future?
JB: I would only add that, given the rapid evolution of handball, not only in Europe, but throughout the world, we all have to be prepared to revise our competition schedules and not to consider that the competition structure which is valid at present should be “forever”.

CA: The EHF has made progress in the area of welcoming greater influence for leagues, clubs and players; what more might be important to achieve in that respect?
JB: The first results are extremely satisfactory. What we need now is to see the leagues and the players structuring themselves as efficiently as the clubs. This is the condition they have to fulfill if they wish to become a major contributor to the definition of EHF policies.

CA: You already emphasized gender equality; should we expect any further initiatives in this regard?
JB: This is a major issue for European handball. The two motions adopted by the Congress go in the right direction as well as the fact that 18% of the persons elected by the Congress were females. But is it not very telling that we can consider “18%” as a success?

CA: What impact do you see that the financial situation in Europe might have on handball, especially at the club level? Is there a risk for further polarization in terms of resources and team strength?
JB: This situation makes it more necessary than ever for the clubs to diversify their sources of income so that they may survive even if one suddenly disappears. What I am most afraid of is billionaires buying themselves a toy that they may tire of extremely rapidly.

CA: We hear more and more about match fixing as a threat, and the EHF has been proactive for some time now; how do you evaluate the risks, and what further measures from the EHF should we expect?
JB: Though one can never feel totally safe in this regard, the system and education programs we have set up as well as our cooperation with other European sport federations and the EU can be considered to offer reasonable protection.

CA: The EHF has decided to establish its own anti-doping unit; what trends do see in terms of the prevalence of doping in handball and the efficacy of the efforts to discourage and detect doping?
JB: In this regard, tests have been conducted by the EHF and by the various national anti-doping agencies for a number of years now. There seems to be no real use of performance-enhancing substances. What we find among average level young players (i.e. those we do not see in EHF competitions) is a use of drugs that corresponds to the consumption observed in their age group.

CA: You recently established a new set of legal regulations and procedures; are you satisfied that there is consistency in the resulting sanctions and conformity with the rules regarding the handling of player disqualifications ‘with’ and ‘without’ reports?
JB: I cannot give any informed answer on this point which is still under discussion among our specialists.

CA: Finally, how do you see the status of the current relations between the EHF and the IHF, and what do you hope to achieve in this regard in your new role?
JB: The EHF has always made its positions clear inside the IHF and this will continue. The IHF President is quite right when he says that for the future of handball it is essential that IHF and EHF should work “hand in hand” and this is my very sincere wish. This being said, the situation of handball differs from continent to continent and while showing understanding for others, we also have to expect support for a sport which has become of such importance in Europe and where European teams perform so well in world competitions.