Facts and Figures: 5148 goals, 205 645 fans and the same four teams at the Final4
The regular 2016/17 season of the SEHA - Gazprom League is over, the four teams aiming for the trophy and Brest as hosting venue for the Final4 tournament (7 - 9 April) are confirmed. Before the pinnacle event of the competition is about to start, it is time to check the most important Facts and Figures of the SEHA - Gazprom League season so far:
0 of all ten teams of the SEHA - Gazprom League finished the regular round either with a clean record or without any win: Vardar lost only one match, Izvidjac only took one victory.
0 home matches did Final 4 host Brest win in the regular season against the remaining three opponents, which made it to the final tournament: They tied with Zagreb (28:28) and were defeated by Vardar (30:35) and Veszprem (16:19).
2 - which means both - semi-finals are equal to the 2016 edition of the Final4, when Veszprem beat Brest and Vardar defeated Zagreb.
3 - which means all - former winners of the SEHA - Gazprom League have booked their tickets for the Final4 in Brest: Vardar (winners in 2012, 2014), Zagreb (2013), Veszprem (2015, 2016).
4 matches of the regular round ended with 70 or more goals, twice Vardar was involved (40:32 against Velenje, 42:30 against Izvidjac)
4 - which means all - participants of the 2017 Final 4 SEHA - Gazprom League have been part of the editions 2015 in Veszprem and 2016 in Varazdin.
4 - which means all - Final 4 SEHA - Gazprom League participants had qualified for the knock-out stage of the VELUX EHF Champions League. At least two will make it among the best eight teams: Vardar booked their straight ticket to the quarter-finals, while Veszprem and Zagreb duel in the Last16 (Veszprem won the first leg 23:22 at the Croatian capital).
4 - which means all - nations represented by the Final 4 SEHA - Gazprom League participants had at least qualified for the eighth-finals of the 2017 World Championship in France (Belarus and Macedonia were eliminated in the round of the last 16, Hungary made it to the quarter-finals, Croatia finished fourth ranked).
5 times before - which means at every edition of a SEHA - Gazprom League Final 4 tournament - Vardar and Zagreb had locked horns. In 2013, Zagreb won the final 25:24 after extra time, 2012 (30:29), 2014 (30:22) and 2016 (26:24) Vardar took the upper hand in the semi-finals, in 2015, Zagreb won the bronze final 26:23. And 2017? Of course, the pairing is again set as one semi-final at Brest.
5 different cities have hosted the Final 4 events of the SEHA - Gazprom League so far: Zagreb, Skopje, Novi Sad, Veszprem, Varazdin. Thus, Brest is the sixth different city in the fifth different country.
6 times including the upcoming edition, Vardar and Zagreb are part of the Final4 tournaments of the SEHA - Gazprom League, which means both sides had always qualified for all final events.
7 of the 90 matches of the regular season ended with draws.
7 nations are represented by the ten clubs, participating in the SEHA - Gazprom League season 2016/17: Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia (each two clubs), Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovakia, Hungary and Belarus.
8 matches of the regular season ended with a difference of ten and more goals.
11 goals had been the hugest difference in any final match of the SEHA - Gazprom League so far, when host Veszprem clashed Brest 32:21 in 2015. This year, the Belorussian champions can take revenge in the semi.
17 goals was the hugest difference in the regular season, when Vardar beat Presov 38:21, ahead of a 14 goal margin the match Metalurg vs Izvidjac (36:22).
22 of 27 possible points were taken by Vardar in their away matches of the regular season.
25 of 27 possible points were won by Vardar and Veszprem in their home matches.
29 times in the 90 matches of the regular season, the away teams were victorious.
34 matches of the regular round ended with an overall number of goals of 60+, including seven home matches of Vardar Skopje.
35 goals was the lowest number of goals scored in a singular match of the regular round, when Veszprem won 19:16 at Brest.
47 points was the brilliant outcome of Vardar to top the ranking of the regular round for the first time - ahead of the defending champions Veszprem.
54 times in the 90 matches of the regular season, the home teams were victorious.
57,2 goals had been scored in average in every match of the regular season.
75 goals was the highest number of goals in a singular match of the regular round, when Celje beat Izvidjac 42:33.
+89 is the goal difference of Vardar after the regular season, ahead of Veszprem (+63), Brest (+52) and Zagreb (+27).
90 matches have been played in the regular season.
120 goals were scored by Celje’s Slovenian youngster Blaz Janc to be top scorer of the regular season. The best scorer, who is still in competition, ist Meshkov’s Serbian line player Rastko Stojkovic with 89 goals.
166 shots in 18 matches were saved by Celje’s goalkeeper Urban Lesjak. Best goalkeeper still in competition is Roland Mikler (Veszprem) with 127 saves and a saving percentage of 35%.
458 goals were conceded by Veszprem to have the best defence after the regular season ahead of Zagreb (469) and Metalurg (472).
599 goals were scored by Vardar to have the best attack after the regular season ahead of Celje (561), Brest (552) and Veszprem (521). Zagreb are the only Final 4 participants with less than 500 goals scored in their 18 regular season matches (496).
2167 fans in average attended the matches of the regular season.
5148 goals had been scored in total in the 90 matches of the regular season.
32,248 fans were at the nine home matches in the Veszprem to top the attendance list.
205 645 fans attended the 90 matches of the regular season of the SEHA - Gazprom League in total.