The EHF Champions League is back! On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball travel to Northern Macedonia to take on Eurofarm Pelister - an opportunity to find out more about this newcomer to the European handball elite.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Eurofarm Pelister have one of the most distinctive backstories among this year's EHF Champions League teams - to say the least. Founded in 2011, they have enjoyed a meteoric rise, joining the Macedonian handball elite in 2016 as RK Eurofarm Rabotnik, before merging with local and historic rivals RK Pelister in 2019. It was a surprise merger, but a welcome one, given that their rivals were none other than the first club in the history of Macedonian handball - founded in 1946 - and had racked up thirteen national titles in the course of their history. This record made the Bitola club the most successful in the country before the rise of Vardar Skopje.
Renamed RK Eurofarm Pelister, the Green and Whites now enjoy all the glory, while their former rival retains its place in the Macedonian handball elite by becoming... the reserve team, named RK Eurofarm Pelister II, whose aim is to bring together the best young Macedonian talent to not only supply the national team and make the city of Bitola shine, but also to create a golden generation for Northern Macedonia. Always on the lookout for their first title, Eurofarm Pelister finally came into their own in 2023, putting an end to the hegemony of seven-time champions Vardar Skopje.
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The club now known as RK Eurofarm Pelister are playing in their first season in the EHF Champions League, although their former rivals, with whom they merged, made an appearance 18 years ago. In 2002, the Macedonians even crossed swords with the Parisians in a Challenge Cup match, the forerunner of today's European Cup.
2023: AN HISTORIC YEAR
Eurofarm Pelister's 2022-2023 season ended on a high note, with a first national championship crown - and an undefeated record. However, it was not all plain sailing for the Green and Whites. Despite a record of thirteen wins and one draw during the regular season, the Bitola club entered the second phase of the championship, which brought together the four best teams from the two regular-season groups, in second place. Vardar Skopje, the seven-time defending champions, had a perfect record at the time. Their one draw was slip-up that could have proven costly, especially as it came at the hands of their own reserve team!
However, Pelister managed to lift their game at the perfect time, and went on to win all eight of their fixtures in the second phase of the championship and claim their first national title.
Although the Macedonians have enjoyed success on the domestic front, they have not had the same success on the continental stage. Having qualified for the EHF European League, Eurofarm Pelister failed to progress beyond the group stage, finishing fifth. The Green and Whites have plenty to regret, as only one point separated them from Ukrainian side Motor, who snapped up the final place in the last sixteen.
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KEYWORD: EXPERIENCE
RK Eurofarm Pelister's record in the first ten rounds of the EHF Champions League may not have put them in the limelight, but their squad nevertheless boasts a rare depth and breadth of experience. At the recent EURO in Germany, no fewer than eight Green and Whites were on duty for their respective countries - the same number as from the capital club. At the same time, goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane reached the final of the African Men's Handball Championship with Algeria, losing out to the Egypt of future Parisian Omar Yahia.
The main goal threat for the Macedonians is undoubtedly Zharko Peshevski. A true leader of the Green and Whites, the centre-half is coming off a sparkling Euro, during which he finished as Macedonia's top scorer, with 15 goals in three matches. Peshevski has also been imperious in the EHF Champions League this season, with 32 goals to his name. In the first leg against the capital club, he finished as his team's top scorer with a five-goal haul.
In addition to Zharko Peshevski, another Eurofarm Pelister player has scored 32 goals in the first ten rounds of the EHF Champions League: Bogdan Radivojevic. The Serbian international forms a match-winning partnership with his Macedonian team-mate, and will be urged on by a doubtless sold-out and roaring Boro Čurlevski Sports Hall.
No angle? Not a problem for Bogdan Radivojevic ✨
— EHF Champions League (@ehfcl) December 7, 2023
😮💨😮💨😮💨 #ehfcl #CLM #DareToRise pic.twitter.com/IgeemWZn28
A ROCKY START TO THE SEASON
When the second phase of the league campaign kicked off, Eurofarm Pelister kept up the pace of last season. Defeated by Vardar on the opening day, the Green and Whites went on to rack up thirteen consecutive wins and finish the regular season in top spot in their group. Eurofarm Pelister, who had the same record as their rivals Vardar Skopje at the end of the regular season, took the upper hand with a hard-fought 27-21 derby win on Saturday.
On the continental stage, however, their baptism into the EHF Champions League has not gone according to plan. Defeated in each of their opening ten matches, the Macedonians are already mathematically eliminated from the race for the finals. In addition to the capital club, Pelister will face Kiel, Aalborg and Kolstad before the end of the group stage - with the sole aim of salvaging some pride.
(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)