On Thursday evening, Les Rouge et Bleu play host to Dinamo Bucharest for their EHF Champions League Matchday 5 clash - an opportunity to look back at the links between the two teams, with shared players and memorable encounters.
Glorious names with a dizzying track record
Paris and Bucharest are both regulars in the Champions League, and a number of players have worn their colours over the seasons. The first of them even dates back to the last century, proof of the long history between the two clubs.
A true local legend, Ion Moscanu joined Paris in 1991 after nine years of loyal service at Bucharest. It was a first experience abroad for the Romanian international, who spent eleven years in France, including two in Paris. He even returned to finish his career at his original club in 2002. Moscanu's association with Dinamo Bucharest did not end there, however, as he returned to the Romanian giants as a coach in the 2014-2015 season. During that campaign, Moscanu was able to call on a name familiar to all fans of the capital club: Ibrahima Diaw.
A Parisian between 2003 and 2009, the former left-back took his first steps in the professional world in Rouge et Bleu, going on to join Istres for two seasons. After a brief hiatus, he made a glorious comeback in 2011. A major asset to the Parisian squad, Ibrahima Diaw remained co-captain of the club for several seasons, playing alongside stars such as Daniel Narcisse, Luc Abalo, Didier Dinart and Mikkel Hansen. Crowned French champion in 2013, he joined the Romanian giants for two seasons in 2014, winning another domestic title.
While playing for Les Rouge et Bleu, Ibrahim Diaw rubbed shoulders with Antonio Garcia Robledo, whose career mirrors that of the Senegalese international. A true handball globetrotter with spells in Szeged, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Nantes, the Spanish left-back played for Paris for two seasons between 2012 and 2014, helping to win the capital club's first French league title before adding a Coupe de France the following season.
The Parisians and Romanians also share a former French international, and a big one too: Cédric Sorhaindo. An iconic member of Les Experts over the last decade, the former pivot wore the colours of the capital club 160 times between 2004 and 2009. Over the years, he built up one of the most impressive records in French handball, winning the Olympic Games, four world championships and two European championships with Les Bleus. A glorious career that doesn't stop with the national team.
Named best defender in Division 1 with Paris in 2006 and 2009, he was also named best pivot in his final season with the Les Rouge et Bleu, nad helped clinch the first Coupe de France in club history in 2007. Sorhaindo moved to Barcelona in 2010, where he cemented his legacy over 11 seasons, winning three Champions Leagues and five Club World Cups. He joined Bucharest in 2021 and stayed in the Romanian capital for three seasons, playing against Paris four times before moving to Besiktas in Turkey last winter.
Victories, goals and a reunion
Although Paris and Bucharest have only met on four occasions, the capital club's record against their Romanian counterparts remains perfect. The first meeting between the two sides was particularly interesting in many respects, notably that this first-ever match-up between the clubs saw Les Rouge et Bleu face off against club legend Cédric Sorhaindo! Although he had already crossed paths with Raul Gonzalez's men during his long spell at Barcelona, this was his first time playing for his new club at Coubertin.
He had arrived a few weeks earlier and put up a splendid fight against the Parisians, scoring nine goals in the process. Impressive indeed, but not enough to topple the capital club, who went on to win comfortably (40-31) thanks to their attacking armada of Nedim Remili, Mikkel Hansen, Ferran Solé Sala, Kamil Syprzak and Nikola Karabatic, among others. Despite his team's defeat, the French pivot proved his worth on Matchday 2.
(Credits: Team Pics/PSG)