The EHF live streaming is on again this weekend. The schedule includes a Women's match

Saturday, 23 February, 14:20hrs (Central European Time (CET))
Slagelse DT vs Viborg HK

Saturday, 23 February, 16:15hrs CET
Pick Szeged vs FC Barcelona

Saturday, 24 February, 15:50hrs CET
GOG Svendeborg TGI vs Celje Pivovarna Lasko

North America (East Coast) = CET – 6 hours

The two Men's matches should be interesting as all four clubs are in Group 4 and all four clubs are tied at 2 points, with the home team winning in each of the first two rounds. Barcelona is a 3 goal favorite on Saturday and Svendborg is a 1.5 goal favorite on Sunday.

Also, it's not obvious, but the entire games can be watched on demand. So if your time zone doesn't support a convenient live viewing, you can watch the match later at your leisure. To watch the match click on the tiny icon in the center next to the match results. Unfortunately, the EHF has set up this link right next to the score of the game so you will either need to be very careful with a sheet of paper or have someone else click the icon for you.

Link to videos: http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2007-08/videos

The breakup of the former Yugoslavia continued this past week with Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia. This declaration was recognized by several countries, including the USA, France, Germany, the UK and Italy. But other countries, including Serbia, Spain and Russia have indicated that they will not recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

On a sporting level, the IOC has indicated that they will wait for UN recognition before granting Olympic Status. While IOC recognition is important, it is not a requirement for either the International Handball Federation (IHF) or European Handball Federation (EHF) to recognize Kosovo for membership. Already, the EHF has granted Kosovo Associate Member status which has allowed Kosovo clubs to play in European competitions. Last year a Serbian club was fined and forfeited a match for refusing to play a Kosovar club. In other instances Kosovo-Serbian matchups have been staged on neutral sites. As Handball is one of Kosovo’s top team sports they will undoubtedly press the EHF for full membership. As a precedence, EHF recognition of Montenegro was very swift and allowed Montenegro to qualify and participate in the European Championships only a year and half after obtaining independence. Montenegro’s independence, however, was less controversial then Kosovo’s, so it will be interesting to see how the EHF responds.

Wikipedia Article on Kosovo Declaration of Independence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reaction_to_the_2008_Kosovo_declaration_of_independence

Washington Post: IOC: Kosovo Olympic Team Unlikely: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021801072.html

Serbian Handball Association Commentary on Kosovo being granted Associate Membership in the EHF:
http://www.kosovakosovo.com/forum/index.php?change_lang=en&id=3064

[html] Pick Szeged edged GOG Svendborg 34-33 in a Champions League match over the weekend. Svendborg tied the score on a fluke goal with about a minute left that left Pick Goalie Nenan Puljezevic wondering if he had just cost his team the game. He got his redemption moments later however, when he blocked a penalty shot then joined his team on the offensive end of the floor where his entry into the 6 meter area distracted the Svendborg defense leading to an easy goal and the 34-33 victory.
You Tube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD7ql72db2I
EHF feature on Nenad Puljezevic: http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2007-08/article/11157/I+analysed+all+players+years+ago
EHF write up on match: http://www.ehfcl.com/men/2007-08/article/11167/Decision+in+the+last+second [/html]

[html] With the Semifinals pairs( France vs. Croatia and Germany vs. Denmark) known there’s a little bit more certainty as to how the upcoming Olympic Qualification Tournaments shape up. Here’s an update:
Automatic Bid: France, Croatia or Denmark will get the automatic ticket to Beijing. As Germany has already qualified for the World Championships, should they win, the runner up will get the automatic European ticket.

European 2^nd and 3^rd place spots: Norway and Sweden have secured these two spots. The winner of the 5^th place game between these two teams will take 2^nd and the loser will take the 3^rd place spot.

The Olympic Qualification tournaments will shuffle based on who wins the European championships. Below are the scenarios:

If Denmark wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2^nd (Norway or Sweden), Argentina
Tourney 2: France, Spain, Tunisia, Europe 3^rd (Norway or Sweden)
Tourney 3: Croatia, Russia, Asia 2^nd (Japan or South Korea), Algeria

If France wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2^nd (Norway or Sweden), Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Spain, Tunisia, Europe 3^rd (Norway or Sweden)
Tourney 3: Croatia, Russia, Asia 2^nd (Japan or South Korea), Algeria

If Croatia wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2^nd (Norway or Sweden), Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Spain, Tunisia, Europe 3^rd (Norway or Sweden)
Tourney 3: France, Russia, Asia 2^nd (Japan or South Korea), Algeria

2009 World Championships

Europe will be awarding 3 direct tickets for the 2009 World Championsips.  Germany (Defending Champion) and Croatia (host) have already qualified.  France and Denmark therefore have qualified and the winner of the Norway-Sweden 5th place match will secure the 3rd ticket.  The 11 teams that didn't secure a direct ticket will join the 7 pool winners from the European World Championship Qualification pools that just recently finished.  Those 18 teams will be paired for 9 home and away winner take all playoffs.  As you never know who you could get paired up, Norway and Sweden have a lot to play for in their 5th place game. [/html]

[html] The Men’s World Championships took place in January 2007 and European teams took all the places and the resulting spots in Olympic Qualification tournaments. The nation which wins the European Championships, however, will receive an automatic bid to the Olympics and won’t have to play in an Olympic Qualification Tournament. As a result the exact composition of the Olympic Qualification tournaments will hinge on who wins the European Championships.

Here’s a summary of what’s at stake for each nation:

Germany: As the World Champion, they have already qualified. Where they place in the tournament has no bearing on Olympic qualification and wherever they place the teams behind them will all move up 1 spot.

Poland, Denmark, France, Croatia, Russia and Spain: These teams have already earned an Olympic Qualification Tournament bid by placing 2nd to 7th at the World Championships. Who they play and whether they will host a tournament, however, is very dependent on who wins the European Championship. The different scenarios are listed in detail at the bottom

Iceland: If Poland, Denmark, France, Croatia, Russia or Spain win the European Championship then Iceland will take the 7th place world’s position in Tourney 1. Otherwise, they are fighting for a 2nd or 3rd place finish with the teams in the next group below.

Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Norway, Montenegro, Hungary, Belarus, Slovakia or Sweden: These teams can only qualify for an Olympic Qualification Tournament by taking the 2nd or 3rd place spots in the European Championships. The good news for these teams is that all the teams that placed 2nd to 7th at the World Championships (Poland, Denmark, France, Croatia, Russia and Spain) won’t count in the standings. Additionally, should one of those teams win the European Championship, Iceland would also not be counted in the standings. This means that 9th and 10th place could actually earn the 2nd or 3rd place Europe spot. This means that teams that advance to the Main Round will likely have some meaningful games even if they don’t have a good chance at reaching the semifinals. A third place finish in one of the main round groups should earn a spot, and even a 4th or 5th place finish may be sufficient.

Detailed scenarios:

If Poland wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Denmark, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: France, Spain, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: Croatia, Russia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If Denmark wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: France, Spain, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: Croatia, Russia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If France wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Spain, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: Croatia, Russia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If Croatia wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Spain, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: France, Russia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If Russia wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Spain, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: France, Croatia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If Spain wins the European Championships
Tourney 1: Poland, Iceland, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Russia, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: France, Croatia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd

If Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Norway, Montenegro, Hungary, Belarus, Iceland, Slovakia or Sweden win the European Championship
Tourney 1: Poland, Spain, Europe 2nd, Argentina
Tourney 2: Denmark, Russia, Africa 2nd, Europe 3rd
Tourney 3: France, Croatia, Asia 2nd, Africa 3rd [/html]

[html]

Live streaming of Euro 2008 matches is available.  Click here to find out more.

Note: the Euro 2008 website misleadingly states that you can watch all matches whenever you want.  This is not the case!  Only 5 minute summaries are available for viewing after the match.  In order to watch an entire match, you have to watch the match live.  Additionally, we have received reports from several readers indicating either technical or billing problems.  We will be contacting the EHF and if you would like to add your complaint to our collective letter please send us an email at editors@teamhandballnews.com [/html]

[html] If you're planning on ordering any of the video streaming packages, you'll save money if you get your order in by closed of business on the 14th of January. [/html]

Editors Note: The article below is incorrect. See Meteo's comments and my response. The good news is that we will indeed get at least 3 Spanish League – German League showdowns.

The EHF decision to do away with the round of 16 and quarter finals home and away 2 game playoffs and replace it with 4 groups of 4 clubs with only the winner of each group advancing was a great move. The top 16 clubs will now have to fight tooth and nail for the four semifinal spots over a 6 game home and away schedule and it will also avoid two top teams meeting in an elimination match too early in the competition. I’ve got nothing to complain about with that setup.

What I do take issue with, however, is the EHF decision to not arrange the draw so that clubs from the same nation are not matched up against each other in the next group phase. This means the following worst case scenario could arise with the draw:

Group A: Kiel, Gummersbach, Flensburg, GOG Svendborg (3 German, 1 Danish)
Group B: Ciudad Real, Barcelona, Medvedi, Zagreb (2 Spanish, 1 Russian, 1 Croatian)
Group C: Portland San Antonio, Andemar Leon, Montpellier, Ivry (2 Spanish, 2 French)
Group D: Hamburg, Szeged, Celje, Gorenje (1 German, 1 Hungarian, 2 Slovenian)

This could actually happen and on top of the German and Spanish clubs playing each other we could also see the two Slovenian and French sides play each other. Why? The very best part of the Champions League is the opportunity for fans to see clubs they normally don’t get the opportunity to see and for each National league to stake its claim for superiority. Instead we could be subject to several national derbies. Do we really need to see Flensburg and Kiel play each other again twice? Maybe, but only later in the competition.

Why not simply follow the same rules as the first group phase and keep clubs from the same nation from playing each other? If it’s the right thing to do for the first round groups its even more so for the final groups. And with 4 German sides and 4 Spanish sides we would have 4 German-Spanish showdowns. Would that be compelling handball—You bet!

Let’s hope the EHF makes this simple fix for next years Champions League and while they’re at it why not make a video stream available for purchase via the internet. It wouldn’t take me two seconds to pull out my credit card for that.

Group Club Handball (GCH) has jointly signed a letter with Soccer's G-14 and Euroleague Basketball to European Union leaders expressing their concerns with the proposed modifications to EU Reform Treaty which could alter the current business practices for club teams in Europe.

The proposed modifications to the treaty are being pushed by UEFA President, Michel Platini, with support from the EHF and FIBA Europe. Platini has called for the EU treaty to include specific safeguards to protect the unique nature of the game, including the pyramid structure which allows any team — in principle — to reach the top, and the financial support of lower leagues by professional clubs. In his letter Platini further states that the European game is being threatened by "the malign and ever-present influence of money."

The combined G-14, GCH, Euroleague Basketball letter states that there is no problems with the current treaty and highlights that UEFA, the EHF and FIBA Europe are not neutral players, but are sports entities as well and that all of these entities should be equal under the law.

The underlying current for these disagreements between the European level sports bodies and the professional clubs are conflicts over players playing to many games (club and national team) as well as fears that the top clubs have become too powerful within the current European structure.

Group Club Handball Press Release: www.groupclubhandball.com/0_menue/0_0_index.htm
UEFA Statement on Platini Letter: www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=594068.html

In an interview on the EHF Champions League website Icelander, Olafur Stefansson , who plays for Spanish side, Ciudad Real was asked the following:

Eurohandball.com: You played in both leagues, for Wuppertal and Magdeburg in Germany and now for Ciudad Real in Spain. Which league is better: Asobal or Bundesliga?

Stefansson: If you look at the best three German and Spanish teams, they are all a class of their own, full of world class players. If they play against each other, there’s no favourite, they are similar. When you look further and see the first five teams of both leagues, the comparison is still the same. But if you take all teams of both leagues, Germany is better. The teams from 5 to 18 have more class than the similar teams in Spain. But as these teams are getting better in Spain, while the gap between place 5 and 12 is widening in Germany. It’s like in Spain: the good ones are getting better and the bad ones getting worse.

The whole interview is here: http://championsleague.eurohandball.com/index.asp?page=20081071X,10577#scroll

And if you don’t already do so, be sure to check the EHF Champions League website regularly as the quality and frequency of articles placed on their site has improved dramatically. (The link is on the right hand side of the THN Homepage.) Now if they can just add a satellite TV or web streaming package at a reasonable price….

The EHF and Italian Federation’s have put together a great website for the Men’s and Women’s European Beach Handball Championships. The website includes several articles and matches are being live streamed throughout the day with alternating Italian and English commentary. The tournament continues this weekend and concludes on Sunday with the Women’s Final at 4:00 PM (CET) and the Men’s final at 5:00 PM (CET)

(Note: Central European Time (CET) is 6 hours ahead of the USA East Coast)

Euro 2007 Beach Handball Championships website: http://www.beachhandballeuro2007.it/eng/

Last night in Vienna both the Men’s and Women’s draw for the 2007-2008 Champions League took place.
Men’s Groups: http://championsleague.eurohandball.com/index.asp?page=20081021X
Women’s Groups: http://championsleague.eurohandball.com/index.asp?page=20081022X

Here's some initial analysis of the Men's draw:

[b]Changes to the Draw result in First Ever Group of Death[/b]

Champions League Group play has historically offered few surprises and suspense.
As highlighted earlier https://teamhandballnews.com/news-i341-18.html German side Gummersbach’s placement in the 3rd pool increased the possibility of a draw resulting in a group of death. Additionally, on 21 June, the EHF granted wild card entries to 4th place Spanish side Barcelona and 2nd place Danish side Viborg. http://championsleague.eurohandball.com/index.asp?page=20081070X,10390#scroll These entries were granted after Luxembourg and Greece withdrew their Champions League slots. Barcelona and Viborg, however, do not directly qualify for Group Play, and will have to defeat Braga (Portugal) and Istanbul (Turkey) respectively. They will be heavy favorites to move on to group play and more importantly for last night’s draw they were placed in Pot 4. Thus, theoretically a four team group of death, featuring Barcelona, Gummersbach, and two top teams from Pot 1 and 2 could have been drawn. Instead, only one Group of Death (Group F) with Veszprem, Celje, and Gummersbach resulted. (Imagine that group with Barcelona—It could have happened) Each of these 3 teams would normally have expected to advance, but this year one of them will be staying home. The 2nd toughest group is Group E with Chekov, Hamburg, Zaporzhye, and Viborg.

[b]Weakest Groups[/b]

Group A with Ivry, Astrakhan, Karvina and Barcelona is the weakest group. Look for fourth seed Barcelona to win with the other 3 teams fighting it out for the 2nd seed. Group H with Pick Szeged, Gorenje Velenje, Sarajevo, and the winner of Red Star Belgrade/Brest is also lacking firepower.

[b]Can You Go Home Again?[/b]

Kiel and Montpellier are matched up in Group B, setting the stage for a homecoming for former Montpellier players Nikola Karabatic and Thierry Omeyer. Karabatic left on good terms, but Ohmeyer's departure late last Summer left Montpellier with only one top of the line goalie. The crowd reaction at Rene Bougnol should be interesting.

[b]A Loaded Main Round Competition [/b]

The EHF has tinkered with the format and done away with the Round of 16 and Quarterfinal Home and Away knockout matches. Instead the 16 surviving teams from the Group matches will be drawn into 4 groups that will play a full Home and Away round robin. And instead of two teams advancing from these groups, only one team will move on to the semifinals. These 4 groups should be very competitive and with only one team advancing there should be some real nail-biter matches heading into the final weekend of games. Hopefully, the EHF will further tinker with the format to avoid pairing any clubs from the same nation in these groups. That way, Germany and Spain could once in for all settle which league is better.

With the professional leagues over for the season the European Handball nations are playing (or have played) qualifiers for the 2007 Women’s World Championship in France (December) and the Men’s Euro 2008 Championship in Norway (January).

The Women’s qualifiers are over with the major news being 3 time Olympic Champion Denmark failing to qualify in their 2 game playoff versus Ukraine. Denmark managed only a draw match 30-30 at home and Ukraine beat the Danes 28-24 on the return leg. Denmark is also the home of the top Women’s club league, so there is sure to a lot of hand wringing about how the importing of foreign players into their league has damaged the Women’s program by hindering the development of home grown players. Several other matches were very close on aggregate, with Macedonia edging Belarus by 1 goal and Poland edging Serbia by 2. The 24 Women’s teams that have qualified are now complete and the draw will be later this month in Paris.
http://www.ihf.info/front_content.php?idcat=57&idart=732

The Men’s qualifiers are only half-way over. Of particular note is Montenegro’s 2 goal away win in Portugal. Assuming they can hold serve at home, this new nation will qualify for their first major tournament.
http://www.eurohandball.com/te_ko.asp?Bewerb=249&Runde=2&Ret=bew