2014–15 EHF Cup

EHF Cup
2014–15
The Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, venue of the Final four tournament
Tournament information
SportHandball
Dates5 September 2014–17 May 2015
Teams69 (qualification stage)
16 (group stage)
7 (knockout stage)
Final positions
ChampionsGermany Füchse Berlin (1st title)
Runner-upGermany HSV Hamburg
Tournament statistics
Matches played58
MVPFrance Kentin Mahé
Top scorer(s)Slovenia Staš Skube (81 goals)

The 2014–15 EHF Cup was the 34th edition of the EHF Cup, the second most important European handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF), and the third edition since the merger with the EHF Cup Winners' Cup.

Overview

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Team allocation

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The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:[1]

  • TH: Title holders
  • CW: Cup winners
  • CR: Cup runners-up
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.: League position
  • ECL: Transferred from the EHF Champions League
    • QS: Losers from the qualification tournaments
Round 3
Germany Füchse Berlin (CW) Spain Huesca (4th) Slovakia Tatran Prešov (ECL QS) Serbia Vojvodina (ECL QS)
Germany HSV Hamburg (4th) Slovenia Gorenje (2nd) Portugal Porto (ECL QS) Austria Alpla HC Hard (ECL QS)
Spain Fraikin Granollers (3rd) Russia St. Petersburg (2nd) Romania HCM Constanța (ECL QS) Norway Haslum HK (ECL QS)
Round 2
Germany MT Melsungen (6th) Denmark SønderjyskE (5th) Switzerland Pfadi Winterthur (2nd) Norway Elverum (1st)
Spain Ademar León (5th) Slovenia Maribor Branik (3rd) Croatia Nexe Našice (2nd) Ukraine Portovik (2nd)
France Nantes (4th) Hungary Balatonfüred (3rd) Belarus SKA Minsk (2nd) Netherlands Targos Bevo HC (ECL QS)
France Fenix Toulouse (5th) Hungary Tatabánya (CR) Romania SMD Bacău (2nd) Italy Junior Fasano (ECL QS)
Denmark Skjern (3rd) Russia GK Permskie Medvedi (CW) Sweden Eskilstuna Guif (3rd) Belgium Initia Hasselt (ECL QS)
Denmark Tvis Holstebro (4th) Russia Kaustik Volgograd (4th) Portugal Sporting CP (2nd)
Round 1
Hungary Orosháza (7th) Romania Potaissa Turda (3rd) Slovakia Topoľčany (2nd) Montenegro Lovćen (1st)
Russia Dinamo Astrakhan (5th) Sweden IFK Kristianstad (4th) Slovakia HC Sporta Hlohovec (3rd) Iceland ÍBV (1st)
Switzerland Kriens-Luzern (3rd) Serbia Železničar 1949 (CW) Austria Bregenz (CW) Iceland Haukar (2nd)
Switzerland BSV Bern Muri (4th) Greece Diomidis Argous (1st) Netherlands OCI-Lions (2nd) Lithuania Dragūnas Klaipėda (1st)
Croatia GRK Varaždin 1930 (3rd) Turkey Nilüfer Belediyespor (CW) Netherlands KRAS/Volendam (3rd) Kosovo KH BESA Famiglia (1st)
Croatia Dubrava (4th) Luxembourg Handball Käerjeng (1st) Belgium Achilles Bocholt (2nd) Moldova HC Olimpus-85 USEFS (1st)
North Macedonia Strumica (3rd) Luxembourg Handball Esch (2nd) Italy SSV Bozen Loacker (2nd) United Kingdom London GD (1st)
Poland NMC Górnik Zabrze (3rd) Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (1st) Czech Republic Talent M.A.T. Plzeň(1st)
Belarus HC Gomel (3rd) Israel Maccabi Rishon LeZion (2nd) Estonia HC Kehra (1st)

Round and draw dates

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All draws were held at the European Handball Federation headquarters in Vienna, Austria.[2]

Phase Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Qualifying Qualification round 1 22 July 2014 6–7 September 2014 13–14 September 2014
Qualification round 2 11–12 October 2014 18–19 October 2014
Qualification round 3 21 October 2014 22–23 November 2014 29–30 November 2014
Group stage Matchday 1 4 December 2014 14–15 February 2015
Matchday 2 21–22 February 2015
Matchday 3 28 February–1 March 2015
Matchday 4 7–8 March 2015
Matchday 5 14–15 March 2015
Matchday 6 21–22 March 2015
Knockout stage Quarterfinal 24 March 2015 11–12 April 2015 18–19 April 2015
Final 4
(Berlin) 		Semifinal 21 April 2015 16 May 2015
Final 17 May 2015

Qualification stage

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The qualification stage consisted of three rounds, which were played as two-legged ties using a home-and-away system. In the draws for each round, teams were allocated into two pots, with teams from Pot 1 facing teams from Pot 2. The winners of each pairing (highlighted in bold) qualified for the following round.

For each round, teams listed first played the first leg at home. In some cases, teams agreed to play both matches at the same venue.

Round 1

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A total of 34 teams entered the draw for the first qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 22 July 2014. The first legs were played on 6–7 September and the second legs were played on 13–14 September 2014.[3]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Achilles Bocholt Belgium 59–63 Serbia Železničar 1949 31–30 28–33
Bregenz Austria 64–50a Lithuania Dragūnas Klaipėda 28–24 36–26
Diomidis Argous Greece 36–60 Sweden IFK Kristianstad 19–30 17–30
HC Sporta Hlohovec Slovakia 56–48 Turkey Nilüfer Belediyespor 35–25 21–23
Lovćen Montenegro 47–67b Switzerland Kriens-Luzern 22–30 25–37
KRAS/Volendam Netherlands 52–55 Slovakia Topoľčany 29–32 23–23
Dubrava Croatia 55–63 Croatia GRK Varaždin 1930 26–30 29–33
London GD United Kingdom 30–72c Netherlands OCI-Lions 18–28 12–44
HC Olimpus-85 USEFS Moldova 56–62d Hungary Orosháza 28–34 28–28
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 55–67e Romania Potaissa Turda 25–32 30–35
ÍBV Iceland 50–57f Israel Maccabi Rishon LeZion 25–30 25–27
Talent M.A.T. Plzeň Czech Republic 50–43g Italy SSV Bozen Loacker 26–26 24–17
BSV Bern Muri Switzerland 55–38 Belarus HC Gomel 29–15 26–23
Haukar Iceland 53–54 Russia Dinamo Astrakhan 27–29 26–25
KH BESA Famiglia Kosovo 63–55h Estonia HC Kehra 31–32 32–23
NMC Górnik Zabrze Poland 70–52 North Macedonia Strumica 36–25 34–27
Handball Käerjeng Luxembourg 48–59 Luxembourg Handball Esch 23–34 25–25
Notes

Round 2

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A total of 40 teams entered the draw for the second qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 22 July 2014. Among these teams were the fourth-placed teams from the 2014–15 EHF Champions League qualification tournaments (Pot 1) and the 17 winners of the previous round (Pot 2).[4] The first legs were played on 11–12 October and the second legs were played on 18–19 October 2014.[3]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eskilstuna Guif Sweden 55–52 Denmark SønderjyskE 29–27 26–25
SKA Minsk Belarus 64–63 Poland NMC Górnik Zabrze 34–30 30–33
SMD Bacău Romania 62–55a Netherlands OCI-Lions 34–29 28–26
KH BESA Famiglia Kosovo 51–83b Croatia Nexe Našice 25–40 26–43
Balatonfüred Hungary 46–43 Russia Dinamo Astrakhan 21–23 25–20
Bregenz Austria 59–72 Denmark Skjern 27–36 32–36
Nantes France 72–53 Croatia GRK Varaždin 1930 42–27 30–26
Topoľčany Slovakia 59–49 Netherlands Targos Bevo HC 32–25 27–24
Tvis Holstebro Denmark 71–59 Switzerland Kriens-Luzern 35–23 36–36
Pfadi Winterthur Switzerland 65–55 Serbia Železničar 1949 35–26 30–29
Kaustik Volgograd Russia 20–0 Ukraine Portovik 10–0 10–0
Sporting CP Portugal 62–57 Slovakia HC Sporta Hlohovec 34–24 28–33
Maribor Branik Slovenia 50–61 Sweden IFK Kristianstad 26–25 24–36
Junior Fasano Italy 53–67 Romania Potaissa Turda 27–28 26–39
BSV Bern Muri Switzerland 51–67 Spain Ademar León 30–38 21–29
Handball Esch Luxembourg 49–50c Hungary Tatabánya 24–25 25–25
Talent M.A.T. Plzeň Czech Republic 48–55 Russia Permskie Medvedi 23–25 25–30
MT Melsungen Germany 57–53 France Fenix Toulouse 34–27 23–26
Initia Hasselt Belgium 46–56 Hungary Orosháza 25–26 21–30
Elverum Norway 65–52d Israel Maccabi Rishon LeZion 36–28 29–24
Notes

Round 3

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A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the third qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 21 October 2014. Among these teams were the runners-up and third-placed teams from the 2014–15 EHF Champions League qualification tournaments (Pot 1) and the 20 winners of the previous round.[5] The first legs were played on 11–12 October and the second legs were played on 18–19 October 2014. The 16 winners qualified for the group stage.[6]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Porto Portugal 54–52 Spain Ademar León 29–24 25–28
Tvis Holstebro Denmark 61–55 Romania SMD Bacău 32–27 29–28
Nexe Našice Croatia 58–46 Romania Potaissa Turda 35–20 23–26
Füchse Berlin Germany 46–46 (a) France Nantes 23–18 23–28
Kaustik Volgograd Russia 57–64 Norway Haslum HK 31–28 26–36
MT Melsungen Germany 56–50 Slovakia Tatran Prešov 31–24 25–26
IFK Kristianstad Sweden 55–55 (a) Germany HSV Hamburg 27–29 28–26
Alpla HC Hard Austria 49–52 Hungary Balatonfüred 31–26 18–26
HCM Constanța Romania 57–50 Norway Elverum 27–21 30–29
Tatabánya Hungary 47–54 Russia St. Petersburg 23–22 24–32
Topoľčany Slovakia 51–60 Switzerland Pfadi Winterthur 26–28 25–32
Eskilstuna Guif Sweden 55–50 Spain Huesca 32–24 23–26
Sporting CP Portugal 50–50 (a) Spain Fraikin Granollers 27–25 23–25
Permskie Medvedi Russia 63–76 Slovenia Gorenje 34–37 29–39
Skjern Denmark 72–45 Hungary Orosháza 40–20 32–25
Vojvodina Serbia 52–50 Belarus SKA Minsk 27–22 25–28

Group stage

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class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 2014–15 EHF Cup group stage.
Red: Group A; Green: Group B; Blue: Group C; Yellow: Group D.
Main article: 2014–15 EHF Cup group stage

Draw and format

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The draw of the EHF Cup group phase took place on Thursday, 4 December 2014, at 11:00 CET. The 16 teams allocated into four pots were drawn into four groups of four teams. The country protection rule was applied, i.e. two clubs from the same country could not face each other in the same group.[7]

In each group, teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 14–15 February, 21–22 February, 28 February – 1 March, 7–8 March, 14–15 March, and 21–22 March 2015.

If Füchse Berlin, as the organiser of the Final 4 tournament, win their group or finish among top three second-ranked teams, they will receive a direct qualification to the Final 4 tournament. If the German side wins their group then the other three group winners and the three best second ranked team will qualify for the quarter-finals. If the Germans finish among the top three second-ranked teams, the quarter-finals will consist of four group winners and two best second-ranked teams. If Füchse Berlin finish as the worst second-ranked team, they will have to play the quarter-final match. Should the German club rank on the third or fourth position in their group, they will be out of the competition, but they will still organize the Final 4 tournament.

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings (in descending order):[8]

  1. number of points in matches of all teams directly involved;
  2. goal difference in matches of all teams directly involved;
  3. higher number of plus goals in matches of all teams directly involved;
  4. goal difference in all matches of the group;
  5. higher number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by drawing lots. Lots shall be drawn by the EHF, if possible in the presence of a responsible of each club.[8]

Seeding

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On 1 December 2014, EHF announced the composition of the group phase seeding pots.[7]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Germany HSV Hamburg Spain Fraikin Granollers Germany Füchse Berlin Croatia Nexe Našice
Germany MT Melsungen Hungary Balatonfüred Russia St. Petersburg Denmark Skjern
Portugal Porto Norway Haslum HK Slovenia Gorenje Denmark Tvis Holstebro
Romania HCM Constanța Serbia Vojvodina Sweden Eskilstuna Guif Switzerland Pfadi Winterthur

Group A

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HSV GOR HAS WIN
1 Germany HSV Hamburg (A) 6 5 0 1 189 169 +20 10 Advance to knockout stage — 33–28 36–26 30–28
2 Slovenia Gorenje (A) 6 4 0 2 192 160 +32 8 31–32 — 34–21 30–26
3 Norway Haslum HK (E) 6 2 0 4 160 194 −34 4 34–32 22–34 — 23–27
4 Switzerland Pfadi Winterthur (E) 6 1 0 5 160 178 −18 2 22–26 26–35 31–34 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 March 2015. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated

Group B

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification HOL GRA CON PET
1 Denmark Tvis Holstebro (A) 6 4 2 0 185 168 +17 10 Advance to knockout stage — 29–24 34–28 28–24
2 Spain Fraikin Granollers (E) 6 3 1 2 159 154 +5 7 28–28 — 23–21 30–26
3 Romania HCM Constanța (E) 6 1 2 3 163 178 −15 4 34–34 28–27 — 25–25
4 Russia St. Petersburg (E) 6 1 1 4 162 169 −7 3 30–32 22–27 35–27 —
Updated to match(es) played on 22 March 2015. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated

Group C

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BER SKJ POR VOJ
1 Germany Füchse Berlin (A) 6 5 0 1 175 143 +32 10 Advance to knockout stage — 29–24 25–20 37–22
2 Denmark Skjern (A) 6 5 0 1 164 147 +17 10 32–28 — 27–21 32–23
3 Portugal Porto (E) 6 2 0 4 142 152 −10 4 20–26 23–24 — 29–23
4 Serbia Vojvodina (E) 6 0 0 6 143 182 −39 0 25–30 23–25 27–29 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 March 2015. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated

Group D

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MEL GUI NEX BAL
1 Germany MT Melsungen (A) 6 5 0 1 177 152 +25 10 Advance to knockout stage — 31–27 34–26 29–23
2 Sweden Eskilstuna Guif (A) 6 3 2 1 165 156 +9 8 27–25 — 33–24 24–24
3 Croatia Nexe Našice (E) 6 1 1 4 161 170 −9 3 25–28 29–29 — 26–27
4 Hungary Balatonfüred (E) 6 1 1 4 140 165 −25 3 24–30 23–25 19–31 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 March 2015. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated

Ranking of the second-placed teams

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The ranking of the second-placed teams was carried out on the basis of the team's results in the group stage. Because the German side Füchse Berlin, the organizers of the Final 4 tournament, finished on top of their group they qualified directly to the final tournament and only the top three second-placed teams qualified to the quarter-finals.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Denmark Skjern Håndbold 6 5 0 1 164 147 +17 10
2 Slovenia Gorenje 6 4 0 2 192 160 +32 8
3 Sweden Eskilstuna Guif 6 3 2 1 165 156 +9 8
4 Spain Fraikin Granollers 6 3 1 2 159 154 +5 7
Source: [citation needed]

Knockout stage

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Main article: 2014–15 EHF Cup knockout stage

Quarter-finals

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Draw and format

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Because the hosts of the Final 4 tournament, Füchse Berlin, finished the group stage among the group winners, they have clinched the direct ticket to the final weekend and decided that only three quarter-finals will be played for the remaining spots in the final tournament.[9] The draw of the EHF Cup quarter-finals took place on Tuesday 24 March 2015 at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, Austria.[9] Six teams were positioned into two pots with the country protection rule not applied: two clubs from the same country could face each other in the quarter-finals.[9] However, teams from the same group could not face each other in the quarter-finals.[9] The first pot contained the three group winners and the second pot contained the top three second-placed teams.[9]

In the quarter-finals, teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the teams from second pot playing the first leg at home.[10] The first leg matches were played over 11–12 April, and the second leg matches were played over 18–19 April.[9]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Eskilstuna Guif Sweden 51–53 Germany HSV Hamburg 29–26 22-27
Skjern Håndbold Denmark 48–48 Germany MT Melsungen 25–20 23-28
Gorenje Slovenia 59–57 Denmark Team Tvis Holstebro 28–27 31-30

Final four

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The tournament was played at the 8,700 capacity Max-Schmeling-Halle in the German capital Berlin, the home of Füchse Berlin.[11]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
16 May
 
 
Slovenia Gorenje24
 
17 May
 
Germany Füchse Berlin27
 
Germany Füchse Berlin30
 
16 May
 
Germany HSV Hamburg27
 
Denmark Skjern Håndbold23
 
 
Germany HSV Hamburg27
 
Third place
 
 
17 May
 
 
Slovenia Gorenje22
 
 
Denmark Skjern Håndbold27

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Team Goals
1 Slovenia Staš Skube Slovenia Gorenje 81
2 France Kentin Mahé Germany HSV Hamburg 69
3 Slovenia Mario Šoštarič Slovenia Gorenje 58
4 Germany Adrian Pfahl Germany HSV Hamburg 55
5 Sweden Viktor Östlund Sweden Eskilstuna Guif 54
6 Denmark Michael Damgaard Denmark Tvis Holstebro 51
7 Denmark Patrick Wiesmach Denmark Tvis Holstebro 49
Sweden Daniel Petterson Sweden Eskilstuna Guif
Sweden Mathias Tholin Sweden Eskilstuna Guif
10 Denmark Morten Balling Denmark Skjern 48

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2014/15 EHF Cup clubs". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation (EHF). Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ^ "2014/2015 Men's EHF Cup competition system" (PDF). eurohandball.com. EHF. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Draw of the Men's EHF Cup". eurohandball.com. EHF. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Men's EHF Cup seedings (Round 1 & 2)" (PDF). eurohandball.com. EHF. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Big names await their EHF Cup fate". eurohandball.com. EHF. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Hamburg face Kristianstad, while Füchse meet Nantes in Round 3". eurohandball.com. EHF. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  7. ^ a b "Hamburg, Melsungen, FC Porto and Constanta in Pot 1". eurohandball.com. EHF. 1 December 2014. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b "2014/2015 Men's EHF Cup Regulations" (PDF). EHF. p. 18. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Journey to Berlin leads through Vienna". EHF official website. 22 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Montpellier face Nantes in all-French quarter-final". EHF official website. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Official contract for EHF Cup Finals signed". European Handball Federation official website. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
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