ProApps para productores en la fase de preproducción y rodaje

The past season HBC Nantes wrote history: Already in their second participation in a European Cup competition, the French club made it to the EHF Cup Finals qualifying as the event’s hosts straight from the group phase. At the Finals they were close to lifting the trophy, but eventually were beaten by Rhein Neckar Löwen. Now the club, that contracts three Spanish world champions (Jorge Maqueda, Alberto Entrerrios, Valero Rivera jun.), will try to continue on this winners’ track.

Their first domestic title and the quarter-finals of the EHF Cup are the main goals of the club, which celebrated its 60th anniversary by winning the match against powerhouse PSG Handball on 12 December, attended by the new French record audience for indoor competitions of 9,346 spectators.

After earning a wild card for this season’s EHF Cup, Nantes eliminated Partizan Belgrade and Elverum on their way to the group phase, becoming the third French team among the last 16 clubs of this competition.

Now the 2013 finalists will face big names with Szeged and Presov - additionally they will play against Kristianstad in the group phase.

But despite these top opponents, club president Gaël Pelletier is confident that his team can go all the way. “I wish I’ll go to Berlin (host city of the 2014 EHF Cup Finals) with the club, and not only as a spectator. The draw gave us kind of a ‘group of death’ this season and each game will be very difficult against three well-playing teams.“

Club Address: HBC Nantes 9 rue Andre Tardieu 44200 Nantes France Media contact: Marina Normand +33 606 78 22 52 [email protected] Online information: www.hbcn44.com Facebook: HBC-Nantes Twitter: @HBCNantes Playing hall

Palais des Sports de Beaulieu 5 rue Andre Tardieu

44200 Nantes France

Capacity: 5,000

Kit colours Light

Player shirt: white/purple Player short: white Goalkeeper shirt: yellow

Dark

Player shirt: purple/yellow Player short: purple Goalkeeper shirt: black

Past achievements EHF Cup

Finalist 2012/13 Round 3 2011/12 The road to the Group Phase:

Round 2: HBC Nantes – RK Partizan 22:15, 28:24

Round 3: HBC Nantes – Elverum Handball Herrer 28:21, 24:23 Newcomers:

Jordan Camarero (first professional contract), Nicolas Claire (Paris-SG Handball), Javier Garcia Rubio (BM Aragon), Gorazd Skof (US Créteil), Aymen Toumi (Etoile Sportive du Sahel) Left the club:

Frédéric Dole (retired), Borja Vidal Fernandez Fernandez (Al Qiyadah Handball/QAT), Paul Mourioux (USAM Nîmes), Andy Pijulet (Angers-Noyant), Arnaud Siffert (Montpellier AHB), Michele Skatar (Carpi)

Coach:

Thierry Anti (since April 2009)

GROUP C

Team roster

HBC Nantes

No. First Name Surname Nat. Position Date of Birth Height Weight 20 Ronald Alcindor FRA Left Back 4 Sep 1993 205 92 9 Jordan Camarero FRA Right Back 10 Mar 1992 181 82 Robin Cantegrel FRA Goalkeeper 13 Feb 1995 192 90 6 Nicolas Claire FRA Centre Back 10 Jul 1987 190 86 18 Mathieu De la Breteche FRA Right Wing 14 Sep 1989 177 72 21 Florian Delecroix FRA Right Back 17 Mar 1994 197 84 2 Alberto Entrerrios Rodriguez ESP Left Back 7 Nov 1976 192 102 13 Rock Feliho FRA Left Back 13 Aug 1982 192 95 15 Francisco Javier Garcia Rubio ESP Line Player 7 Jan 1990 195 120 5 Mahmoud Gharbi TUN Line Player 11 Feb 1982 191 85 10 Gunnar Steinn Jonsson ISL Centre Back 4 May 1987 189 86 27 Edlieck Kiala FRA Left Wing 14 Feb 1994 186 78 12 Marouene Maggaiez TUN Goalkeeper 28 Jul 1983 190 108 19 Jorge Maqueda Pena ESP Right Back 6 Dec 1988 197 105 8 O’Brian Nyateu FRA Centre Back 7 Nov 1992 186 90 14 Andy Pijulet FRA Line Player 14 Aug 1990 191 114 7 Valero Rivera Folch ESP Left Wing 22 Feb 1985 185 85 1 Julien Salmon FRA Goalkeeper 17 Dec 1994 190 93 11 Seufyann Sayad FRA Centre Back 1 Nov 1979 190 88 17 Michele Skatar ITA Right Back 30 Dec 1985 192 90 16 Gorazd Skof SLO Goalkeeper 11 Jul 1977 188 91 3 Aymen Toumi TUN Right Wing 11 Jul 1990 184 84 22 Nicolas Tournat FRA Line Player 5 Apr 1994 199 106

4 Stefan Vujic CRO Centre Back 6 Jul 1991 192 91

Thierry Anti coach

He is the coach of HBC Nantes for the fourth consecutive season after he had been the head coach of Paris Handball for six years from 2004 to 2009. Before that he was coach in his home club US Creteil after he had finished his playing career there. Anti led Creteil to four French Cup trophies and added another trophy with Paris to his tally, after winning three league titles as a player with Creteil (division 1) and Pontault-Combault (division 2). He’s yet to win a trophy with Nantes, but reaching two finals last season (in the EHF Cup and the French league cup) shows he’s heading in the right direction. With a boiling temper and vast knowledge, it shouldn’t be long before he finally wins something.

Rock Feliho left back

The French left back, who became team captain when he arrived in Nantes 2010, was voted “best defender” in the previous season of the French league. Feliho started his professional career in 2000, when joining Sélestat Alsace Handball. Four years later he transferred for two seasons to HBC Villefranche Handball, before he crossed the German border to play for TSG Münster and later first league team HBW Balingen-Weilstetten, where he was contracted for four seasons, before he returned home to join Nantes in 2010. Now branded “chief of the defence” by his coach Thierry Anti, he hardly scores any goals anymore, but he’s feared by almost any player on the continent. A very nice man off the court, but a very tough one on, he’s able to stop any opponent one second and to give him a big smile the second after. A key factor in Nantes’ defensive solidity.

Valero Rivera left wing

World champion in January 2013, bronze medallist at the EHF European Championship last month, Valero Rivera has handball in his veins. His father is the most successful coach in the history of handball with 70 titles on club level with FC Barcelona and the recent world championship title under his belt. Valero junior, playing on the left wing position, started his career in Barcelona, later transferring to Aragon, Algericas, and Octavio, before he left Spain in 2010 to join HBC Nantes. Last season, Rivera was a key element in Nantes’ European campaign, which lead them all the way to the EHF Cup Finals, finishing ammong the five best scorers of the competition. He’s already scored 16 in the preliminary stages and aims to finish best scorer of the competition, a distinction which would surely bring his team to the EHF Cup Finals in Berlin. Currently the Spaniard ranks second in the league’s top scorer list.

Alberto Entrerrios left back

At the age of 37 he owns one of the most impressive records of international handball. Having played for Ciudad Real, then Atletico Madrid for ten years, he’s collected lots of medals along the way. Three Champions League titles, six Spanish league titles, twice world champion.... He arrived in the summer of 2012 in France, wanting to prove he was not over yet. He immediately turned into one of the key players of Nantes squad from his left back position, and you could feel that the team was playing differently when he was not on the court. The weight of the years certainly has no effect on him.

He’s now willing to bring the French side their first European trophy in history, before retiring at the end of next season. The EHF Cup is the only trophy missing on his shelf, and he’d very much like to add it to his phenomenal collection.

EURO: B 2014, WCh: G 2013

OG: B 2008, EURO: S 2006, B 2000, WCh: G 2005, G 2013, B 2011 EC trophies: CL 2006, 2008, 2009, CWC 1999, 2003, IHF Super Globe 2010

HBC Nantes Profiles