El software integral

Usually the VELUX EHF Champions League is the “international home” of Hungarian runners-up Pick Szeged. Since the 2003/04 season the club from “sausage city” had always been part of this competition. But as – due to the EHF seeding list – Hungary lost a direct spot for the Champions League in the 2013/14 season, Pick needed to go through qualification – and failed against the Macedonian runners-up of Metalurg Skopje.

So Szeged – inspired by Spanish eyes not only because of their coach Juan Carlos Pastor, but players like Roberto Garcia Parrondo – will face new challenges in a new competition including a well-known new face. Hungarian international Ferenc Ilyes returned to his home country.

In the qualification for the Group Phase of the EHF Cup Szeged eliminated Portuguese side Benfica, now tough matches are ahead with opponents like Presov, Kristianstad and 2013 EHF Cup finalists Nantes.

For club CEO Richárd Mezei, a former Hungarian international, it is unclear, where the journey of Pick will determinate– despite a huge number of competitors name Szeged as one of the competition’s favourites:

“After the draw it is quite difficult to predict which teams are going to get to the quarter-finals. Of course, we exactly knew that in this stage it was impossible to have easy opponents in our group. Each team participates very well in its national championship so we are looking forward to great matches. Our objective is getting to the next round and to continue our international participation.”

Club Address: Pick Szeged Deák Ferenc u. 28-30. 6720 Szeged Hungary Media contact: Nandor Szögi +36 70 3878234 [email protected] Online information: www.pickhandball.hu Facebook: pickszeged Playing hall

Varosi Sportcsarnok Szeged Temesvari Krt.33 6726 Szeged Hungary Capacity: 3,200 Kit colours Light

Player shirt: orange Player short: silver

Goalkeeper shirt: black / red / green

Dark

Player shirt: blue or red Player short: blue or red

Goalkeeper shirt: black / red / green

Past achievements

VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-final: 1996/1997, 2003/2004 Last 16: 2004/2005, 2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2010/2011, 2012/13 Main Round: 2007/2008 Group Phase: 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2011/2012 EHF Cup Quarter-final: 2000/01 Last 16: 1994/95, 1999/2000 Cup Winners’ Cup

Semi-final: 1993/94 Quarter-final: 2002/03, 2008/09 Hungarian champions: 1996, 2007, runners-up: 1985, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Hungarian cup winners: 1977, 1982, 1983, 1993, 2006, 2008

The road to the Group Phase:

Round 3: Pick Szeged – SL Benfica 25:24, 31:25

Newcomers:

Ferenc Ilyés (Wisla Plock), Vladimir Vranjes (Adeamar Leon), Niko Mindegia (Naturhouse La Rioja Logrono), Roberto Garcia Parrondo (Atlético Madrid) Left the club:

Norbert Nagy (Balmazújváros, second league in Hungary), Rajko Prodanovic (Veszprém, Rhein Neckar Löwen), Dániel Buday (Orosháza), Antonio Pribanic (Stal Mielec)

Coach:

Juan Carlos Pastor (since July 2013, forerunner: László Skaliczki)

Team roster

Pick Szeged

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Height Weight

90 Gabor Ancsin HUN Right Back 27 Nov 1990 202 97

14 Patrik Arpasi HUN Line Player 17 Sep 1996 0

19 Zsolt Balogh HUN Right Back 29 Mar 1989 189 96 21 Alen Blazevic CRO Left Back 29 Mar 1986 200 110 24 Jozsef Czina HUN Left Back 24 Nov 1980 196 106 15 Balint Fekete HUN Right Back 27 Jun 1995 190 80 51 Roberto Garcia Parrondo ESP Right Wing 12 Jan 1980 187 86 11 Mate Gidai HUN Right Wing 18 Jan 1994 185 80 9 Mark Hegedüs HUN Line Player 14 Sep 1992 190 103 18 Ferenc Ilyés HUN Left Back 20 Dec 1981 198 103

5 Jonas Källman SWE 17 Jul 1981 200 100

6 Marinko Kekezovic HUN Left Wing 20 Aug 1985 187 80 25 Attila Kun HUN Left Back 12 May 1994 196 88 10 Jonas Erik Larholm SWE Centre Back 3 Jun 1982 193 88

34 Marko Lasica MNE Right Wing 30 Apr 1988 188 80

16 Roland Mikler HUN Goalkeeper 20 Sep 1984 190 92 5 Niko Mindegia Elizaga ESP Centre Back 19 Jul 1988 184 87 20 Imre Pasztor HUN Goalkeeper 23 Jul 1996 0

19 Nikola Prce BIH 31 Aug 1980 200 105

31 Nikola Stojanov HUN Centre Back 28 Oct 1993 192 85 29 Frantisek Sulc SVK Left Back 13 Dec 1978 186 90 12 Peter Tatai HUN Goalkeeper 23 Jun 1983 195 98 8 Balazs Toth HUN Left Wing 30 Nov 1994 188 90

1 Michal Toth SVK Goalkeeper 3 Sep 1992 196 103

7 Attila Vadkerti HUN Left Wing 22 Feb 1982 182 88 77 Vladimir Vranjes BIH Line Player 14 Dec 1988 200 107 17 Szabolcs Zubai HUN Line Player 31 Mar 1984 191 86

Juan Carlos Pastor coach

One of the masterminds of

contemporary handball Juan Carlos Pastor has won an incredible amount of silverware in his career. With BM Valladolid Pastor won the Spanish league and cup at home, a Cup Winners’ Cup, an EHF Cup, a City Cup and a European Supercup at international level. He spent four years at the helm of the Spanish national team and led them to win the world championship in Tunisia in 2005, finished runner-up at the 2006 European Championship and won bronze in the Beijing Olympics. Pastor is a household name in the world of handball, no wonder Pick Szeged found him fit for the job of rebuilding their team in order to be able to challenge both for the Hungarian title against domestic rivals MKB-MVM Veszprém and the EHF Cup. Due to lack of time for preparation Szeged missed out on the VELUX EHF Champions League after being knocked out by Metalurg Skopje but managed to beat Veszprém in the Hungarian league in November.

Jonas Källman left wing

Signed in winter 2014 Jonas Kälman has already become the biggest name in Pick Szeged’s squad. The 2 meter tall left wing won the VELUX EHF Champions League three times with Ciudad Real, where he showed his unique ability to defend in three positions thus the 32-year-old will be a vital part of both coach Juan Carlos Pastor’s defensive variatonst and Szeged’s attacking edge. Having spent more than a decade in Spain with Ciudad Real and Atlético Madrid the versatile swede returned home and played for IFK Skövde in the first part of the 2013/14 season but on 2nd February he signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Pick Szeged. The five time Spanish champion and olympic runner-up star, who moved to Szeged with his wife and new born child, will wear the number 8.

Roland Mikler goalkeeper

The 2005 All-Star goalkeeper of the junior world championship joined Pick Szeged in 2010 quickly establishing himself as both the team’s first choice goalkeeper and the future heir of Nándor Fazekas, the Hungarian national team’s goaltender. The former Dunaferr player has developed to become one of the best goalkeepers in the game, Mikler showed his capacity to be a clutch player both for Pick Szeged and the national team. The 1,94 meter tall player is quick, compact and excellent at directing the famous Pick Szeged defense behind which he already gained name in the VELUX EHF Champions League last season when a lot of his brilliant saves made it to the selection of EHF’s Best five saves. The 29 year old goalkeeper is one of Pick Szeged’s most important assets and will definitely play an essential role in the team’s EHF Cup campaign. As a teenager Mikler already reached the semifinal of the EHF Cup more than a decade ago, with Dunaferr in 2003.

Gábor Ancsin right back

The 2,02 meter right back already has Bundesliga experience under his belt, he was only 19 when Rhein-Neckar Löwen signed him from Dunaferr. The Mannheim based side immediately offloaded him to TSG Friesenheim where he gained promotion from Bundesliga II. In May 2011 Pick Szeged announced the signing of Ancsin on a permanent basis. The 23 year old heavy shooter has been the first choice right back of the Hungarian runner-up but it was only at EURO 2014 that he established himself as an important player for the national team, too. In Denmark Ancsin became top scorer of the Hungarian team that finished 8th in the absence of their star right back László Nagy. Voted junior handball player of the year back in 2011 Ancsin has just started to prove his worth at senior level: the young right back was voted second best Hungarian field player after the Euros, where he suffered a mild injury keeping him out of Hungary’s last game, but will definitely feature in Pick Szeged’s EHF Cup campaign.

EC trophies: CWC 2009

OG: B 2008, EURO: S 2006, WCh: G 2005

EC trophies: CL 2006, 2008, 2009 OG: S 2012

Pick Szeged Profiles