Vardar or Veszprem? The road to the podium!
On Sunday (20.30 CET), two SEHA - Gazprom League Final 4 regulars will fight for the glory and the trophy in the ninth final of the competition in Zadar, Croatia. Here are all Facts and Figures you need to know before this clash of handball giants between Telekom Veszprem and Vardar 1961:
The road to the final
Telekom Veszprem:
Group Phase: 8 wins – 0 draws – 2 defeats
1st place in Group B
Quarter-finals against HC Vojvodina: WIN 31:26 (A), WIN 10:0 (H)
Semi-final against Meshkov Brest: WIN 28:24 (12:13)
375 goals scored – 28.8 goals per match
315 goals conceded – 24.2 goals per match
Goal difference: +60
Biggest win: 35:24 versus Eurofarm Pelister
Biggest defeat: 26:30 versus Metaloplastika
Points in total: 33 points (11 wins - 0 draws - 2 defeats)
Top scorers: Manuel Strlek (34/5), Andreas Nilsson (34/0), Dejan Manaskov (33/2)
Most assists: Petar Nenadic (26), Mate Lekai (25)
Vardar 1961:
Group Phase: 8 wins – 0 draws – 2 defeats
1st place in Group A
Quarter-finals against RK Nexe: WIN 31:30 (A), LOST 25:26 (H)
Semi-final against PPD Zagreb: 30:29 (after penalty shoot-out)
405 goals scored – 31.1 goals per match
376 goals conceded – 28.9 goals per match
Goal difference: +29
Biggest win: 37:23 versus Beijing Sport University
Biggest defeat: 26:42 versus Nexe
Points in total: 30 (10 victories - 0 draws - 3 defeats)
Top scorers: Timur Dibirov (65/13), Ivan Cupic (43/18), Daniil Shishkarev (33/0, now Veszprem)
Most assists: Stas Skube (25, now Brest)
Head-to-head statistics of the two finalists:
8 matches - 3 Vardar victories - 3 draws - 2 Veszprem victories - last Veszprem win was the final 2016 in Varazdin
Season 2014/2015 - regular season: Veszprem - Vardar 31:23, Vardar - Veszprem 28:21
Season 2015/2016 - regular season: Vardar - Veszprem 30:30, Veszprem - Vardar 24:24 - final: Veszprem - Vardar 28:26
Season 2016/2017 - regular season: Vardar - Veszprem 29:22, Veszprem - Vardar 28:28 - final: Vardar - Veszprem 26:21
All-time SEHA - Gazprom League records of the finalists:
Participations including 2019/20:
Vardar 1961: 9
Telekom Veszprem: 4
Participations at Seha - Gazprom League Final4 tournaments (including 2020):
Vardar 1961: 9
Telekom Veszprem: 4
SEHA - Gazprom League trophies:
Vardar 1961 (5): 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
Telekom Veszprem (2): 2015, 2016
SEHA - Gazprom League runners-up:
Vardar 1961 (2): 2013, 2016
Telekom Veszprem (1): 2017
Other competitions
Telekom Veszprem:
Best results in EHF Champions League: finalists 2002, 2015, 2016, 2019
Hungarian champions: 26 times
Hungarian cup winners: 27 times
Vardar 1961:
Best results in VELUX EHF Champions League: Winner 2017, 2019, Semi-Final 2018
Macedonian champions: 13 times
Macedonian cup winners: 13 times
Team captains:
Telekom Veszprem: Mate Lekai
Vardar 1961: Stojanche Stoilov (replaced by Timur Dibirov at Final4 tournament in Zadar)
Coaches:
Telekom Veszprem: David Davis (ESP, since October 2018)
Vardar 1961: Stevche Alusovski (MKD, since January 2020)