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2019/20 SEHA League champion to be crowned this weekend

04 Sep. 2020

2019/20 SEHA League champion to be crowned this weekend

After a pause of several months, the SEHA – Gazprom League 2019/20 returned in late August with the last quarter-final matches, and now the top international league for south-eastern European clubs will see the title decided this weekend in Zadar, Croatia. 

North Macedonian club HC Vardar will have the chance to defend their 2018/19 title after winning the last quarter-final tie against Croatian side RK Nexe and booking the last remaining ticket to the Final 4 event for 2019/20. Their quarter-final tie, along with that of Hungarian side Telekom VeszprĂ©m HC and Serbian club Vojvodina, was interrupted after the first leg when COVID-19 hit Europe in March. 

After winning the first leg away against Nexe by one goal, 31:30, Vardar lost the return fixture by one, 25:26, making the aggregate score between the teams completely level. Vardar secured the semi-final place based on the away-goal rule for two-leg knock-out games, as they had scored more on Nexe’s court. Meanwhile, VeszprĂ©m’s second-leg match against Vojvodina was cancelled due to restrictions preventing travel for the Serbian team, and the Hungarian side were awarded the Final 4 place. 

For VeszprĂ©m, the 2019/20 season marked a return to the SEHA League after a two-season absence from this competition. The Hungarian team contested the final in their latest season, 2016/17, finishing as runners-up after winning back-to-back titles in 2014/15 and 2015/16. For the upcoming semi-final, to be played on Friday evening at 18:00 CEST, VeszprĂ©m will meet the same opponents they did in this stage in 2016/17, Belarusian club Meshkov Brest. 

“We are all in the same position after such a long break and a long time without handball. And to play at a Final 4 is always a mixture of daily performance, high quality and sometimes a bit of luck,” said Brest coach Raul Alonso in the pre-semi-final press conference. “We know that we face a great team with great players in the semi-final, but we came here to make it to the final and fight for the trophy. But we know that we have to play very well to beat a team like Veszprem.”


Vardar will also meet a familiar rival in the semi-final stage (throw-off at 20:30 CEST): Croatian club HC PPD Zagreb, against whom Vardar played for the SEHA title in 2018/19 and 2017/18, as well as in the 2016/17 semi-final. On all three occasions, Vardar were the victors. 

Vardar are the record title holders in the SEHA League, with five trophies, including the last three – although powerhouse VeszprĂ©m did not contest those seasons. If these two sides, who also met in the 2018/19 Champions League final, won by Vardar, are the finalists, Vardar’s hold on the title will be under significant threat. Alongside Vardar and VeszprĂ©m (two titles), the only other winners of this relatively young competition have been Zagreb, in 2012/13. 

More information on the SEHA League can be found on the official website. The semi-finals are to take place on Friday night, 4 September, while the finals will be played on Sunday 6 September.

PHOTO: SEHA League