Everything you need to know about Szeged

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After a resounding return to action against Ivry (28-41) last Friday, our Parisians are preparing to fly to Hungary for a match that is crucial to the second half of the season. Discover Szeged, a city with an atypical charm, and a club that is determined to write a new page in its history.

Szeged: A rich and colourful past

A few months after their visit to Veszprém, our Parisians continue their Hungarian adventures on Thursday. This time they are heading for Szeged, a thousand-year-old city with a history as eventful as it is fascinating. Home to more than 150,000 people, Hungary's fourth-largest city shares many traits with Paris: unfailing resilience, a rich cultural heritage and a distinctive architectural style.

Reduced to ashes by invasions, then ravaged by floods that left only 300 of the city's 6,000 homes standing at the end of the 19th century, Szeged had to show patience and courage to rebuild itself. Today, it stands as a jewel of Art Nouveau. From Reök Palace to the water tower, via the impressive New Synagogue - the fourth largest such building in the world - Szeged shines far beyond the borders of Hungary. Resilience, authenticity, valour... so many adjectives that apply as much to the city as to its handball club: Pick Szeged.

A pioneer of Hungarian handball

Founded in 1961, the club is one of the pioneers of handball in Hungary. Long in the shadow of Veszprém, Szeged reached a major milestone with the arrival of Juan Carlos Pastor in 2013. The Spanish coach propelled the Blues to the forefront of the European scene, beating Montpellier to lift the EHF Cup in his very first season.

Since then, Szeged has established itself as a mainstay of the EHF Champions League, qualifying for the final phase every year. On the national level, the club even temporarily took the lead over Veszprém, with three championship titles between 2018 and 2022.

Since Juan Carlos Pastor left in 2023, after ten years of loyal service - and is now shining at the head of the Egyptian national team - Szeged are struggling to maintain their level. In the Pick Aréna, an 8,200-seat arena inaugurated in 2021, the team now led by Swedish coach Michael Apelgren continues its fight on all fronts.

A season of two halves

In pursuit of their first qualification for the EHF Champions League Final4, Szeged started their European campaign at full speed. The Hungarians achieved a series of prestigious victories against Magdeburg (31-29), Nantes (33-32), Zagreb (30-35), and Kielce (x2). These results suggested that they would qualify directly for the quarter-finals, but the dynamic has completely reversed since December. Mario Sostaric and his team-mates have now gone five matches without success in Europe, forcing them to go through the play-offs - a stage they have not had to contest since 2019.

Despite this slump, Szeged remain a tough opponent with an experienced squad, fifteen of whom have already crossed paths with the Parisians. While some did so playing for Szeged (Roland Mikler, Mario Sostaric, Richard Bodo, etc.), others were wearing a different jersey at the time. Among them are two former NHL players: Jérémy Toto (Nantes) and Imanol Garcianda (Aix).

Szeged is thus taking advantage of its status in the shadow of the giant Veszprém to make its way at its own pace. Nevertheless, they are still a team capable of striking hard, as demonstrated by the dogged draw secured against Barcelona a few weeks ago (29-29). The Parisians have been warned: a pillar of Hungarian handball, highly motivated and buoyed by an electric Pick Aréna, awaits them this Thursday.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)