La retórica en el pitching

Club Address:

HCM Constanta

str. Mircea cel Batran no 99B, e 900726 Constanta Romania Media contact: Ali Nurhan +40 724 341014 [email protected] Online information: www.hcmct.ro Facebook: HCM-Constanta-Officiel Playing hall

Sala Sporturilor Constanta B.dul Tomis Nr. 104-106 Constanta Romania Capacity: 2,994 Kit colours Light

Player shirt: white Player short: white

Goalkeeper shirt: blue/red/green Dark

Player shirt: blue Player short: blue

Past achievements

VELUX EHF Champions League

Last 16: 2009/10

Group Phase: 2004/05, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 Qualification: 2013/14

EHF Cup Winners’ Cup

Semi-final: 2005/06 Quarter-final: 2006/07, 2008/09 Round 4: 2002/03 Challenge Cup Semi-final: 2003/2004 Round 4: 2000/01 Romanian champions: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Romanian cup winners: 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013

After a failure in the VELUX EHF Champions League qualification in Porto the Romanian champions quickly refocused to the EHF Cup and it was not an easy task having the EHF Cup Finals hosts and Chambery as another traditional EHF Champions League club in the group.

After four rounds they had only four points and they were trailing both at Hlohovec and at home vs Chambery in their lost matches a few minutes before the end. But in both cases they had a great finish as they successfully claimed the last quarter-final ticket. They went on in a perfect fashion in the quarter-final as they basically decided the tie with Lugi already in the first leg at home, winning by 10 goals.

GROUP B Final Table:

1. Füchse Berlin 6 4 2 0 181:164 (17) 10

2. HCM Constanta 6 3 2 1 173:160 (13) 8

3. Chambery Savoie Handball 6 2 2 2 162:158 (4) 6 4. HC Sporta Hlohovec 6 0 0 6 147:181 (-34) 0

Group Phase results: (W - win, D - draw, L - loss)

vs HC Sporta Hlohovec W31:22 (17:12) @ Chambery Savoie Handball D29:29 (14:14) vs Füchse Berlin D31:31 (16:16)

@ Füchse Berlin L28:26 (12:11) @ HC Sporta Hlohovec W27:25 (12:15) vs Chambery Savoie Handball W29:25 (15:14)

Quarter-final results First leg: HCM Constanta vs Lugi HF 31:21 (15:10) Second leg: Lugi HF vs HCM Constanta 34:28 (14:13) Top scorers:

Alexander Viorel Simicu (ROU) 55

Laurentiu Mihai Toma (ROU) 39

Iuliu Alexandru Csepreghi (ROU) 36

George Ionut Buricea (ROU) 21

33 Team roster

HCM Constanta

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Height Weight Goals 7 Alexandru Viorel Simicu ROU Left Back 8.10.1988 202 96 55 14 Laurentiu Mihai Toma ROU Right Wing 28.6.1981 194 90 39 28 Iuliu Alexandru Csepreghi ROU Left Back 28.3.1987 195 100 36 77 George Ionut Buricea ROU Left Wing 1.8.1979 179 80 21 90 Bogdan Andrei Criciotoiu ROU Right Back 13.3.1990 196 105 20 3 Marius Ioan Novanc ROU Line Player 8.11.1980 194 103 15 15 Marius Sadoveac ROU Right Wing 7.5.1985 193 88 14 18 Branislav Angelovski MKD Centre Back 21.2.1977 192 85 9 55 Albert Georgian Cristescu ROU Line Player 30.5.1992 194 97 7 17 Dalibor Cutura SRB Centre Back 14.6.1975 190 91 7 11 Marius Stavrositu ROU Centre Back 3.9.1980 182 80 7 30 Bogdan Vasilie Soldanescu ROU Line Player 30.1.1985 193 108 1 24 Ramon Alin Somlea ROU Centre Back 20.2.1994 83 191 1 22 Aleksandar Adzic MNE Left Back 18.9.1975 192 103

13 Predrag Vujadinovic SRB Left Wing 12.7.1983 186 86 16 Mihai Catalin Popescu ROU Goalkeeper 15.3.1985 190 100 1 Ionut Rudi Stanescu ROU Goalkeeper 14.8.1979 196 103

Zvonko Šundovski coach

Šundovski (46) has attracted huge interest from European clubs after leading FYR Macedonia’s national team to the 5th place in the EHF EURO 2012. Several German clubs wanted to sign him in 2012 after the best performance of his career, but he chose Constanța, as he wanted to coach a VELUX EHF Champions League team.

At first, he had both communication and tactical problems, as he didn’t know Romanian and needed to change the team’s approach to the game. But after a difficult season and an early exit from this year’s Champions League, Constanța has made a serious improvement. Šundovski describes himself as a perfectionist and he thinks the key for success is drinking two-three cups of espresso every morning. The Macedonian coach says his happiest memory is placing 5th with the national team in the EHF EURO 2012, after which 100,000 Macedonians came to the streets of Skopje to celebrate the achievement.

Alexandru Csepreghi left back

Csepreghi’s ascension, highlighted by playing his first game in the national team as a 19-year-old Minaur Baia Mare player, has been marred by recurring knee injuries, which crippled his minutes in Constanța’s shirt and his progress as a player. However, the 26-year-old left back, who has a cannon for an arm, is back in business, after he had a successful operation on his knee in April 2013.

He has been in superb form for the “sailors” this season, scoring 10 goals in the qualification round against Danish side Mors-Thy. Csepreghi loves tattoos and he has put the story of his life on his left hand: a portrait of his grandparents, a rose, two clowns and a cross, the latter which was tattoed in the memory of Zoran Kurteș, Constanța’s ex-coach, who died in 2010. Another interesting fact from his life is that the priest who officiated Csepreghi’s wedding was a former teammate from Minaur Baia Mare.

Mihai Popescu goalkeeper

If you say HCM Constanța, you could say definitely think of Mihai Popescu. The 28-year-old goalkeeper’s career is a perfect mirror for the Romanian champions. The excellent goalkeeper helped them secure seven national titles in the last ten years.

His connections with handball have started since he was a toddler. But his first contact with the ball was painful! While cheering for his father – an ex-goalkeeper – behind the posts, Mihai, then only a 5-year-old kid- was hit in his face. He started handball playing as a right-back, but his father asked Mihai’s youth coach to put him between the posts. He never looked back and became Romania’s top goalkeeper. Popescu, who was awarded the ”Romanian handball player of the year” in 2010, 2011 and 2012, has also a strong goal appetite, scoring two goals in the 2008/09 edition of the VELUX EHF Champions League.

Alexandru Șimicu left back

Born in Timișoara, Șimicu’s imposing physique has recommended him straight away for handball. He has started playing as a 12-year old at the local high-school and was immediately scouted by the local club, Politehnica Timișoara. In 2011, he signed for HCM Constanța, winning two championships, two Romanian Cups and one Romanian Supercup with the ”sailors”. The 25-year-old left back, who can also play as a center back, has been named the ”Romanian handball player of the year” in 2013. A great defender, who has both skill and huge size (2,00 m), Șimicu is considered one of the cornerstones for the new Romanian national team. He started to ply his trade also in attack, where he is a constant threat, with a powerful and precise shot.