Up close: Kiel
On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball travel to Kiel for their EHF Champions League Matchday 9 clash. Find out all you need to know about our upcoming opponents...
PIONEERS OF GERMAN HANDBALL
Founded in 1904, Kiel were one of the earliest pioneers in German and European handball. As they celebrate their 120th anniversary next year, the Zebras have forged the greatest record in German handball: 23 league titles, eleven more than their nearest rivals, 12 German Cups and 13 German Supercups. Clearly at the top in domestic affairs, Kiel also boast one of the best records on the European stage, with four EHF Champions League titles and as many EHF European League titles to their name.
In 2007, the Germans won the Champions League thanks to an unstoppable Nikola Karabatic, who finished as the competition's top scorer with 89 goals and was voted best player in the world a few months later. The French international, who is preparing to retire at the end of the season, will be visiting his former club for the last time in his career.
2022/23: THE RECONQUEST
Last season, Kiel once again filled their trophy cabinet, reclaiming the German league title they had dropped to Magdeburg the previous season and also winning the German Supercup. The Zebras missed out on a domestic treble, losing by a narrow margin to Magdeburg in the German Cup quarter-finals (34-35). In the Champions League, it was the Parisians who ended the Germans' hopes of a fifth title in the competition. Having put in a sensational performance in Kiel in the first leg (27-31), the capital club repeated the feat a few days later in a frenzied Stade Pierre de Coubertin (32-29), thereby qualifying for another Final4.
A TOP-CLASS SQUAD
Kiel may have struggled at times this season, but the team is not lacking in quality. As sparkling as ever, Niclas Ekberg is a legend among the Zebras. At the club since 2012, the former Swedish international, who recently retired from international football, has been through it all with the Germans, and is still as decisive as ever. Kiel's top scorer this season (57 goals in the Liqui Moly Bundesliga, 44 goals in the EHF Champions League), he will undoubtedly be one of the biggest threats this Thursday. However, Ekberg is far from the Germans' only trump card. His international team-mate, young Eric Johansson, is proving more and more to be one of the bright prospects to watch this season. The 23-year-old left-back, who arrived from Elverum in the summer of 2022, has proven himself to be a key figure, particularly in the Bundesliga, where he has already scored 54 goals and provided 34 assists in 14 games.
In addition to Johanssen, the Germans also boast a number of talented youngsters, such as Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, a Faroese international who arrived from Sweden this summer. Voted best centre-half at the 2023 U21 World Championship, where he finished top scorer (55 goals), the new recruit needed no time to adjust to life at Kiel, with 39 goals and 35 assists in the league to add to his tally of 27 goals on the European stage this season. Finally, the Zebras have several former Liqui Moly StarLigue stars in their ranks, including Samir Bellahcène, Karl Wallinius and a former Rouge et Bleu: Vincent Gérard, a Parisian between 2019 and 2022.
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A ROCKY START TO THE SEASON
Kiel fans have been through a rollercoaster of a start to the season, to say the least. Although things got off to a good start with a penalty shoot-out victory over Rhein-Neckar in the German Supercup, followed by clean sheets in the first three rounds of the league campaign, the Zebras somehow managed to lose their way. Three consecutive defeats were followed by a home elimination in the first round of the German Cup. After twelve league games, the Kielers had already suffered five defeats. An abysmal figure for the Germans, who had never conceded defeat more than four times in a single season since the 2017-2018 campaign, symbolising their loss of power.
THW Kiel's woes soon extended to the European stage, where Kolstad managed to halt the Germans' unbeaten run on EHF Champions League Matchday 5 (34-30). The defeat had a shock effect on the Zebras, who went on to record three consecutive wins in all competitions, including a 28-34 victory over Les Rouge et Bleu at Coubertin. Despite their recent disappointment in the double-header against Aalborg in the Champions League (an 18-27 defeat and a 27-27 draw in Denmark), Kiel are back on track in the Liqui Moly Bundesliga title race. The Zebras have now won three games in a row, including one against previously unbeaten Füchse Berlin, and are now just five points behind Magdeburg - after having been nine points behind after eleven games.
Incredible performance by Domagoj Duvnjak reeling back the years.
— (Un)informed Handball Hour (@HandballHour) November 19, 2023
9 goals for the Croat including the last 3 for Kiel as they sealed a 30-26 victory over Bundesliga Leaders Fuchse Berlin!
Great scenes as the whole Arena stood up to applaud Duvnjak after his 9th goal pic.twitter.com/qjtU8H7mca
A FORBIDDING SPARKASSEN-ARENA
The Parisians will have their work cut out in the huge Sparkassen Arena in Kiel, the largest stadium in the EHF Champions League. On Thursday, more than 10,000 ecstatic fans will be cheering on their players from the first to the last minute in a match the outcome of which could prove crucial when it comes to the race for the top two places in the group (which qualify directly for the quarter-finals) in March.
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(Credits: L. Valroff/Team Pics/PSG)