EHF Champions League

The European Handball Cup later Champions League (in English Champions League) is the name which designates the highest European handball competition between clubs. Organized by the European Handball Federation, it brings together the best teams from the best European handball leagues.

The competition has been held every year since the 1956-1957 season, although over the years the tournament system and competitions have been modified and replaced. In the early years, only the champions of each of the national leagues federated to the EHF could participate.

Currently it brings together the top ranked players from the top leagues, not just the champions. The Spanish Asobal League, for example, was represented by four clubs at the beginning of the 2008-09 season, specifically by Club Balonmano Ciudad Real, FC Barcelona, BM Valladolid and Ademar León. The club with the most titles in the European Cup and League Champions of Handball is FC Barcelona, with eleven trophies followed by VfL Gummersbach with five.

Competition system

Interior view of Lanxess Arena

The format has undergone transformations from the classic playoff model to the current system of groups, playoffs and a 4-player final phase.

Until the 1992-93 season, the competition, then called the European Cup, was played through a direct knockout system involving two legs, including the final, the hallmark of the competition until recently. As of the 1993-94 season, the name Champions League was established and, with it, a double-round league phase, made up of 8 teams, divided into two groups of four teams each. This phase was preceded by two heats. The winner of each group played the final over two legs. This competition system was maintained for three seasons.

Between 1996 and 2003, the number of teams participating in the league phase was increased to 16, preceded by a tie. The teams were framed in four groups of four teams each, facing each other against each other in a double round. The first two classifieds went to the quarterfinals, facing off in a crossed draw (first against seconds) and a double match, just like the semifinals and the final.

The number of teams was expanded to 32 in the 2003-04 season. During the following six seasons a competition was developed in eight groups of four teams each. The playoffs for the main teams were abolished, participation was increased to more than one team (up to three, depending on the case) for the countries with the best coefficient and a preliminary playoff was established (to complete the groups with teams from countries with worst coefficient). Until 2007, the top two finishers in each group reached the round of 16, to resolve the competition through successive knockouts. In the 2007-08 season, a second group stage (Main Round) was established, made up of four groups of four teams each. The winner of each of them agreed to the semifinals, played over two legs, just like the final. In the following season, the system underwent a slight modification. The teams classified from the first group stage dragged their results to the Main Round, playing only matches against the other two teams they came across. In addition, the quarterfinal tie was reinstated, with the first two finishers from each group entering it.

Since the 2009-10 season, the number of participants has been reduced to 24, being divided into four groups of six teams each. The first four of each group accessed the round of 16 through a cross-elimination system (first against fourth and second against third parties). Prior to the group phase, some preliminary phases were held to complete the participants of each group, through variable systems depending on the season, which included an invitation phase (Wild Card), which awarded one last place. From this season the novelty of deciding the competition under the Final Four system was established, being this disputed since its first edition at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne.

In the 2015-16 season, the competition system was changed again, consisting of two main groups (A and B), made up of eight teams each, and two other groups (C and D), of six teams each. The teams with the greatest capacity to generate income for the competition enter the main groups (not necessarily those with the best coefficient) and play a total of 14 days. Groups C and D are made up of the rest of the participating teams, which included one or two teams from a previous phase, which has ceased to be played since the 2018-19 season. These teams play only 10 days and the first two classifieds gain access to an intermediate tie between them (first against second). The winners of these playoffs face the runners-up from the main groups in the round of 16. The winners of these groups achieve a direct pass to the quarterfinals and those classified between the third and sixth positions meet in the round of 16 in eliminatory third against sixth and fourth against fifth. The winners of the quarterfinals access the Final Four, which continues to be played in Cologne.

Editions

Season	Champion	Outcome	Subfield	Semifinalists
EHF European Cup
1956-57	HC Dukla Prague	21 - 13	Örebro	Copenhagen, Paris Handball
1957-58	It was not disputed because of the celebration of the World Championship
1958-59	Redbergslids IK	18 - 13	Frisch Auf Göppingen	Dinamo Bucharest, Helsingør IF
1959-60	Frisch Auf Göppingen	18 - 13	AGF Aarhus	Dinamo Bucharest, Paris Handball
1960-61	It was not disputed because of the celebration of the World Championship
1961-62	Frisch Auf Göppingen	13 - 11	Partizan Bjelovar	HC Dukla Prague, AGF Aarhus
1962-63	HC Dukla Prague	15 - 13	Dinamo Bucharest	Frisch Auf Göppingen, AGF Aarhus
1963-64	It was not disputed because of the celebration of the World Championship
1964-65	Dinamo Bucharest	13 - 11	Medvescak Zagreb	Ajax Copenhagen, Grasshopper Zürich
1965-66	SC Leipzig	16 - 14	Honved Budapest	HC Dukla Prague, AGF Aarhus
1966-67	VFL Gummersbach	17 - 13	HC Dukla Prague	Trud Moscow, Dinamo Bucharest
1967-68	Steaua Bucharest	13 - 11	HC Dukla Prague	Dynamo Berlin, Partizan Bjelovar
1968-69	It was not disputed to coincide date and scenarios of the end with the invasion of Czechoslovakia
1969-70	VFL Gummersbach	14 - 11	Dynamo Berlin	Steaua Bucharest, RK Crvenka
1970-71	VFL Gummersbach	17 - 16	Steaua Bucharest	Sporting de Portugal, Partizan Bjelovar
1971-72	Partizan Bjelovar	19 - 14	VFL Gummersbach	Tatran Presov, MAI Moscow
1972-73	MAI Moscow	26 - 23	Partizan Bjelovar	DHFK Leipzig, Solk Hellas
1973-74	VFL Gummersbach	19 - 17	MAI Moscow	Oppsal Oslo, Cervena Bratislava
1974-75	ASK Frankfurt/Oder	19-17	Borac Banja Luka	VfL Gummersbach, Steaua Bucharest
1975-76	Borac Banja Luka	17 - 15	KFUM Fredericia	Fredensborg/Ski, VfL Gummersbach
1976-77	Steaua Bucharest	21 - 20	CSKA Moscow	KFUM Fredericia, VfL Gummersbach
1977-78	SC Magdeburg	28 - 22	Slask Wroclaw	Honved Budapest, CB Calpisa
1978-79	TV Großwallstadt	14 - 10 18 - 16	SC Empor Rostock	Dinamo Bucharest, Honved Budapest
1979-80	TV Großwallstadt	21 - 12	Valur Reykjavik	Atlético de Madrid, HC Dukla Prague
1980-81	SC Magdeburg	25 - 23 29 - 18	Slovan Ljubljana	CSKA Moscow, Lugi Lund HF
1981-82	SC Honved Budapest	25 - 16 18 - 24	TSV St. Omar St. Gallen	Helsingor IF, TV Großwallstadt
1982-83	VFL Gummersbach	15 - 19 13 - 14	CSKA Moscow	FC Barcelona, Sabac metaloplastics
1983-84	HC Dukla Prague	21 - 17 21 - 17*	Sabac metaloplastics	Honved Budapest, VfL Gummersbach
1984-85	Sabac metaloplastics	19 - 12 20 - 30	Atletico de Madrid	HF Hafnarfjordur, HC Dukla Prague
1985-86	Sabac metaloplastics	29 - 24 30 - 23	Wybrzeże Gdańsk	Atlético de Madrid, Steaua Bucharest
1986-87	SKA Minsk	32 - 24 25 - 30	Wybrzeże Gdańsk	Sabac metaloplastics, TUSEM Essen
1987-88	CSKA Moscow	18 - 15 21 - 18	TUSEM Essen	Sabac metaloplastics, Elgorriaga Bidasoa
1988-89	SKA Minsk	30 - 24 37 - 23	Steaua Bucharest	HK Drott Halmstad, SC Magdeburg
1989-90	SKA Minsk	26 - 21 29 - 27	FC Barcelona	US Créteil, TUSEM Essen
1990-91	FC Barcelona	23 - 21 20 - 17	Proleter Zrenjanin	ETI Bisk Eskisehir, Dinamo Astrakhan
1991-92	RK Zagreb	22 - 20 18 - 28	Teka Santander	FC Barcelona, Kolding IF
1992-93	Badel 1862 Zagreb	22 - 17 22 - 18	SG Wallau-Massenheim	FC Barcelona, HB Vénissieux
EHF Champions League
1993-94	Teka Santander	22 - 22 23 - 21	ABC Braga	USAM Nîmes, SG Wallau-Massenheim
1994-95	Elgorriaga Bidasoa	30 - 20 26 - 27	Badel 1862 Zagreb	Teka Santander, HC Dukla Prague
1995-96	FC Barcelona	23 - 15 23 - 23	Elgorriaga Bidasoa	THW Kiel, Pfadi Winterthur
1996-97	FC Barcelona	31 - 22 30 - 23	Badel 1862 Zagreb	Celje Pivovarna Lasko, THW Kiel
1997-98	FC Barcelona	28 - 18 28 - 22	Badel 1862 Zagreb	TBV Lemgo, Celje Pivovarna Lasko
1998-99	FC Barcelona	22 - 22 29 - 18	Badel 1862 Zagreb	Celje Pivovarna Lasko, Portland San Antonio
1999-00	FC Barcelona	25 - 28 29 - 24	THW Kiel	Badel 1862 Zagreb, Celje Pivovarna Lasko
2000-01	Portland San Antonio	30 - 24 25 - 22	FC Barcelona	THW Kiel, Celje Pivovarna Lasko
2001-02	SC Magdeburg	23 - 21 30 - 25	Fotex Veszprém	Portland San Antonio, Kolding IF
2002-03	Montpellier HB	19 - 27 31 - 19	Portland San Antonio	Prule 67 Ljubljana, Fotex Veszprém
2003-04	Celje Pivovarna Lasko	34 - 28 30 - 28	SG Flensburg-Handewitt	BM Ciudad Real, SC Magdeburg
2004-05	FC Barcelona	28 - 27 29 - 27	BM Ciudad Real	Celje Pivovarna Lasko, Montpellier HB
2005-06	BM Ciudad Real	25 - 19 37 - 28	Portland San Antonio	SG Flensburg-Handewitt, MKB Veszprém
2006-07	THW Kiel	28 - 28 29 - 27	SG Flensburg-Handewitt	Portland San Antonio, BM Valladolid
2007-08	BM Ciudad Real	27 - 29 31 - 25	THW Kiel	HSV Hamburg, FC Barcelona-Borges
2008-09	BM Ciudad Real	34 - 39 33 - 27	THW Kiel	HSV Hamburg, Rhein-Neckar Löwen
2009-10	THW Kiel	36 - 34	FC Barcelona-Borges	BM Ciudad Real, Chehovski Medvedi
2010-11	FC Barcelona	27 - 24	BM Ciudad Real	Rhein-Neckar Löwen, HSV Hamburg
2011-12	THW Kiel	26 - 21	BM Atlético de Madrid	Füchse Berlin, AG København
2012-13	HSV Hamburg	30 - 29	FC Barcelona	THW Kiel, KS Vive Targi Kielce
2013-14	SG Flensburg-Handewitt	30 - 28	THW Kiel	FC Barcelona, MKB Veszprém
2014-15	FC Barcelona	28 - 23	MKB Veszprém	KS Vive Targi Kielce, THW Kiel
2015-16	KS Vive Targi Kielce	39 - 38	MKB Veszprém	Paris Saint-Germain, THW Kiel
2016-17	RK Vardar	24 - 23	Paris Saint-Germain	FC Barcelona, MKB Veszprém
2017-18	Montpellier	32 - 26	HBC Nantes	RK Vardar, Paris Saint-Germain
2018-19	RK Vardar	27 - 24	MKB Veszprém	FC Barcelona, KS Vive Targi Kielce
2019-20	THW Kiel	33 - 28	FC Barcelona	Veszprém KSE, Paris Saint-Germain
2020-21	FC Barcelona	36 - 23	Aalborg HB	Paris Saint-Germain, HBC Nantes
2021-22	FC Barcelona	37 - 35	KS Vive Kielce	THW Kiel, MKB Veszprém

Honours of Prizes

Equipment	Champion	Subfield	Years champion	Years underfield
FC Barcelona	11	5	1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2021, 2022	1990, 2001, 2010, 2013, 2020
VfL Gummersbach	5	1	1967, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1983	1972
THW Kiel	4	4	2007, 2010, 2020	2000, 2008, 2009, 2014
BM Ciudad Real	3	2	2006, 2008	2005, 2011
HC Dukla Prague	3	2	1957, 1963, 1984	1967, 1968
SC Magdeburg	3	0	1978, 1981, 2002
SKA Minsk	3	0	1987, 1989, 1990
RK Zagreb	2	4	1992, 1993	1995, 1997
Steaua Bucharest	2	2	1968, 1977	1971, 1989
Frisch Auf Göppingen	2	1	1960, 1962	1959
Metaloplastika Šabac	2	1	1985, 1986	1984
TV Grosswallstadt	2	0	1979, 1980
Montpellier HB	2	0	2003,
RK Vardar	2	0	2017, 2019
RK Bjelovar	1	2	1972	1962, 1973
CSKA Moscow	1	2	1988	1977, 1983
Portland San Antonio	1	2	2001	2003, 2006
SG Flensburg-Handewitt	1	2	2014	2004, 2007
Dinamo Bucharest	1	1	1965	1963
MAI Moskva	1	1	1973	1974
RK Borac Banja Luka	1	1	1976	1975
Budapest Honvéd	1	1	1982	1966
Teka Santander	1	1	1994	1992
Elgorriaga Bidasoa	1	1	1995	1996
Redbergslids IK	1	0	1959
SC Leipzig	1	0	1966
ASK Frankfurt/Oder	1	0	1975
Celje Pivovarna Lasko	1	0	2004
HSV Hamburg	1	0	2013
KS Vive Targi Kielce	1	1	2016	2022
Veszprém KC	0	4		2002, 2015, 2016, 2019
Wybrzeże Gdańsk	0	2		1986, 1987
Atletico de Madrid	0	2		1985, 2012
AGF Århus	0	1		1960
Medveščak Zagreb	0	1		1965
Dynamo Berlin	0	1		1970
Fredericia KFUM	0	1		1976
Śląsk Wrocław	0	1		1978
Empor Rostock	0	1		1979
Valur Reykjavík	0	1		1980
Slovan Ljubljana	0	1		1981
TSV St. Omar St. Gallen	0	1		1982
TUSEM Essen	0	1		1988
Proleter Zrenjanin	0	1		1991
SG Wallau-Massenheim	0	1		1993
ABC Braga	0	1		1994
PSG	0	1		2017
HBC Nantes	0	1		2018
Aalborg HB	0	1		2021

Players with the most titles

The following is a list of players who have won the EHF Champions League at least 5 times with their teams.

Titles	Nationality	Player	Club
7	SpainSpain	Andréi Xepkin	FC Barcelona (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005) THW Kiel (2007)
7	SpainSpain	David Barrufet	FC Barcelona (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005)
7	SpainSpain	Xavier O'Callaghan	FC Barcelona (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005)
6	Sweden Sweden	Tomas Svensson	Bidasoa Irún (1995) FC Barcelona (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
6	SpainSpain	Enric Masip	FC Barcelona (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
6	SpainSpain	Antonio Carlos Ortega	FC Barcelona (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005)
6	SpainSpain	Iñaki Urdangarin	FC Barcelona (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
6	BelarusBelarus	Siarhei Rutenka	Pivovarna Lasko (2004) BM Ciudad Real (2006, 2008, 2009) FC Barcelona (2011, 2015)
6	SpainSpain	Mateo Garralda	Teka Cantabria (1994) FC Barcelona (1996,1997, 1998, 1999) Portland San Antonio (2001)
5	SpainSpain	José Javier Hombrados	Teka Cantabria (1994) Portland San Antonio (2001) BM Ciudad Real (2006, 2008, 2009)
5	BelarusBelarus	Mikhail Yakimovich	SKA Minsk (1987, 1989, 1990) Teka Cantabria (1994) Portland San Antonio (2001)
5	CroatiaCroatia	Patrik Ćavar	RK Zagreb (1992, 1993) FC Barcelona (1998, 1999, 2000)
5	SpainSpain	Rafael Guijosa	FC Barcelona (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)

Coaches with the most titles

The following is the list of coaches who have won the EHF Champions League with their teams at least 2 times.

Titles	Nationality	Coach	Club
6	SpainSpain	Valero Rivera	FC Barcelona (1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
4	SpainSpain	Talant Dujshebaev	BM Ciudad Real (2006, 2008, 2009) KS Vive Targi Kielce (2016)
3	GermanyGermany	Horst Dreischang	VfL Gummersbach (1967, 1970, 1971)
3	IcelandIceland	Alfreð Gíslason	SC Magdeburg (2002) THW Kiel (2010, 2012)
3	SpainSpain	Xavier Pascual	FC Barcelona (2011, 2015, 2021)
2	CroatiaCroatia	Zdravko Zovko	RK Zagreb (1992, 1993)
2	Yugoslavia	Aleksandar Pavlović	RK Metaloplastika Šabac (1985, 1986)
2	German Democratic Republic	Klaus Miesner	SC Magdeburg (1978, 1981)
2	France	Patrice Canayer	Montpellier (2003, 2018)