PSG Handball - Saint-Raphaël : l’avant-match

News

Le Paris Saint-Germain Handball retrouve la compétition samedi après-midi. Les Rouge et Bleu disputent le Trophée des Champions à Montbéliard, où ils affrontent Saint-Raphaël, en demi-finale.

Familiar fixture
To find a previous instance of these two sides clashing in the Trophée des Champions semis, you don't have to look back very far. Just to last season, in fact, when Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Saint-Raphaël faced off on 1 September - almost a year to the day - at the Kindarena in Rouen. On that day, our lads got the better of SRVHB 35-28, thanks notably to the excellent Sander Sagosen (8 from 9), who got his time in France off to the perfect start.

Crazy summer
Several big names left Saint-Raphaël (or retired) during the summer transfer window, notably Geoffroy Krantz, who called time on his career at the same moment as Wissem Hmam and Aurélien Abily. Meanwhile, Belarusian pivot Artsem Karalek left to join Kielce, and in a bid to shore up the squad, coach Joel Da Silva opted for quality over quantity. Thus 23-year-old playmaker Vadim Gayduchenko (38 Velux EHF Champions League goals last season) arrived from Dinamo Bucharest, while 26-year-old pivot Jérémy Toto (21 Proligue goals last season) signed from Créteil.

Accounts to open
Saturday's match will also see a number of newly signed Parisians - notably Viran Morros and Henrik Toft Hansen - take their first steps in France. Meanwhile Kim Ekdahl, signed from Rietz, makes his return to France after playing for Nantes in 2012. And what could be better than a semi-final against one of the Lidl StarLigue's best teams to make your Parisian debut? Our new lads have already shone for their new club in the Eurotournoi in Strasbourg. Notably, Henrik top-scored with eight goals in the final, helping Paris to a 33-30 win over fellow Lidl StarLigue side Montpellier.

Paris: Record holder
With three titles to their name since the creation of the competition in 2010, Paris Saint-Germain Handball is the most decorated club in the Trophée des Champions. The capital club beat Dunkerque 34-23 in Monastir, Tunisia in 2014; then toppled Saint-Raphaël 29-27 in Nantes in 2015; and finally beat Nantes 35-26 in La Roche-sur-Yon in 2016. Another victory would see them pull clear of nearest rival Montpellier, who have two Trophée des Champions titles to their name. Our team have also lost one final, going down 32-26 last season to Nantes, who will also be in Montbéliard, taking on Montpellier in the other semi-final, at 17:30.

To follow the match (throw-off at 15:00)

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)