EHF Champions League
2019–20
Tournament information
SportHandball
Dates11 September 2019–29 December 2020
Teams28 (group stage)
Websiteehfcl.com
Final positions
ChampionsGermany THW Kiel
Runner-upSpain Barça
Tournament statistics
Matches played180
Goals scored10715 (59.53 per match)
Attendance553,901 (3,077 per match)
Top scorer(s)Sweden Niclas Ekberg
(85 goals)

The 2019–20 EHF Champions League was the 60th edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 27th edition under the current EHF Champions League format.[1]

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the knockout stage matches were postponed and later cancelled. The Final Four, which took place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, was moved from May to December and was contested by the top two teams from Groups A and B – Barça, Paris Saint-Germain, THW Kiel and Telekom Veszprém.[2][3] As a result, reigning champions Vardar were not able to defend their title.

Format

The competition begins with a group stage featuring twenty-eight teams divided in four groups: Groups A and B contain eight teams, while Groups C and D contain six teams. Matches are played in a double round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures. In Groups A and B, the top six teams qualify for the knockout stage, with teams ranked 2nd–6th entering the round of 16 and the group winners advancing directly to the quarter-finals. In Groups C and D, only the top two teams advance to a compete in a two-legged play-off round, with the two winners going through to the knockout stage round of 16.

The knockout stage includes four rounds: the round of 16, quarterfinals, and a final-four tournament comprising two semifinals and the final. In the round of 16, twelve teams (ten from Groups A and B, and the two play-off winners from Groups C and D) are paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The six aggregate winners of the round of 16 advance to the quarterfinals, joining the winners of Groups A and B. The eight quarterfinalist teams are paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches, with the four aggregate winners qualifying to the final-four tournament.

In the final four tournament, the semifinals and the final are played as single matches at a pre-selected host venue.

Team allocation

A total of 35 teams from 21 countries submitted their application for a place in the competition's group stage before the deadline of 12 June.[4] The final list of 28 participants was revealed by the EHF Executive Committee on 21 June.[5]

Groups A/B
Belarus HC Meshkov Brest Croatia PPD Zagreb Denmark Aalborg Handbold Germany SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Spain Barça France Paris Saint-Germain Hungary Telekom Veszprém North Macedonia Vardar
Norway Elverum Håndball Poland PGE Vive Kielce Portugal FC Porto Sofarma Slovenia Celje Pivovarna Laško
Ukraine HC Motor Zaporizhzhia Germany THW Kiel France Montpellier Handball Hungary MOL-Pick Szeged
Groups C/D
Finland Riihimäki Cocks Romania CS Dinamo București Russia Chekhovskiye Medvedi Sweden IK Sävehof
Switzerland Kadetten Schaffhausen Slovakia Tatran Prešov Denmark GOG Håndbold Spain Bidasoa Irun
North Macedonia Eurofarm Rabotnik Poland Orlen Wisła Płock Portugal Sporting CP Sweden IFK Kristianstad

Round and draw dates

The draw was held on 27 June 2019 in Vienna, Austria.[6]

Phase Draw date
Group stage 27 June 2019
Knockout stage
Final Four
(Cologne)		 5 May 2020

Group stage

Location of teams of the 2019–20 EHF Champions League group stage.
Red: Group A; Blue: Group B; Green: Group C; Yellow: Group D.

The draw for the group stage was held on 27 June 2019 in Vienna, Austria. The teams were drawn into four groups, two containing eight teams (Groups A and B) and two containing six teams (Groups C and D). The only restriction was that teams from the same national association could not face each other in the same group.

In each group, teams played against each other in a double round-robin format, with home and away matches.

After completion of the group stage matches, the teams advancing to the knockout stage were determined in the following manner:

  • Groups A and B – the top team qualified directly for the quarterfinals, and the five teams ranked 2nd–6th advanced to the first knockout round.
  • Groups C and D – the top two teams from both groups contested a playoff to determine the last two sides joining the 10 teams from Groups A and B in the first knockout round.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR PAR SZE ALB FLE CEL ZAG ELV
1 Spain Barça 14 13 0 1 485 380 +105 26 Quarterfinals — 36–32 30–28 44–35 31–27 45–21 32–23 33–24
2 France Paris Saint-Germain 14 11 0 3 444 389 +55 22 First knockout round 32–35 — 30–25 37–24 32–30 27–18 37–26 31–25
3 Hungary MOL-Pick Szeged 14 9 2 3 409 370 +39 20 31–28 32–29 — 26–26 24–24 31–24 33–23 32–25
4 Denmark Aalborg Håndbold 14 7 1 6 416 420 −4 15[lower-alpha 1] 30–34 29–32 28–35 — 31–28 28–24 30–20 30–28
5 Germany SG Flensburg-Handewitt 14 7 1 6 388 379 +9 15[lower-alpha 1] 27–34 29–30 34–26 29–32 — 29–26 20–17 26–19
6 Slovenia Celje Pivovarna Laško 14 3 0 11 355 429 −74 6 25–37 29–33 23–34 28–29 24–25 — 24–22 32–25
7 Croatia PPD Zagreb 14 2 1 11 343 419 −76 5 19–36 29–37 21–26 31–30 25–26 27–31 — 30–27
8 Norway Elverum Håndball 14 1 1 12 365 419 −54 3 26–30 22–25 25–26 24–34 28–34 37–26 30–30 —
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Aalborg Håndbold 63–57 SG Flensburg-Handewitt

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification THW VES KIE MON POR VAR BRE ZAP
1 Germany THW Kiel 14 9 2 3 437 398 +39 20[lower-alpha 1] Quarterfinals — 29–28 30–30 33–32 27–28 34–23 31–23 32–32
2 Hungary Telekom Veszprém 14 10 0 4 448 386 +62 20[lower-alpha 1] First knockout round 31–37 — 28–24 24–23 38–28 39–30 31–25 40–28
3 Poland PGE Vive Kielce 14 8 2 4 421 389 +32 18 32–30 34–33 — 27–29 30–25 35–25 30–24 33–26
4 France Montpellier Handball 14 8 1 5 386 375 +11 17 30–33 23–18 25–24 — 22–27 31–33 30–26 34–30
5 Portugal FC Porto Sofarma 14 6 2 6 400 410 −10 14 29–30 24–31 33–30 23–23 — 30–22 27–25 35–35
6 North Macedonia Vardar 14 5 1 8 396 444 −48 11 20–30 29–38 28–28 27–31 32–27 — 36–31 38–28
7 Belarus HC Meshkov Brest 14 4 0 10 401 431 −30 8 33–30 30–37 27–31 25–27 32–35 31–22 — 33–31
8 Ukraine HC Motor Zaporizhzhia 14 1 2 11 406 462 −56 4 27–30 22–32 26–33 25–26 33–29 30–31 33–36 —
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 THW Kiel 66–59 Telekom Veszprém

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BID SPO SÄV PRE RII RAB
1 Spain Bidasoa Irun 10 6 3 1 297 246 +51 15 Playoffs — 30–30 39–23 27–27 34–19 26–25
2 Portugal Sporting CP 10 6 2 2 309 266 +43 14 32–32 — 27–20 32–24 39–29 36–26
3 Sweden IK Sävehof 10 6 0 4 268 278 −10 12 24–33 29–24 — 30–29 28–22 25–24
4 Slovakia Tatran Prešov 10 3 1 6 260 279 −19 7 23–25 22–37 23–28 — 30–19 31–29
5 Finland Riihimäki Cocks 10 3 0 7 239 290 −51 6[lower-alpha 1] 18–28 25–23 25–30 29–27 — 23–21
6 North Macedonia Eurofarm Rabotnik 10 3 0 7 265 279 −14 6[lower-alpha 1] 25–23 28–29 32–31 23–24 31–30 —
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Riihimäki Cocks 53–52 Eurofarm Rabotnik

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BUC PLO GOG KRI MED SCH
1 Romania CS Dinamo București 10 7 3 0 298 256 +42 17 Playoffs — 29–20 35–28 28–25 34–23 27–26
2 Poland Orlen Wisła Płock 10 5 1 4 267 260 +7 11 26–26 — 27–24 36–29 34–28 27–23
3 Denmark GOG Håndbold 10 4 1 5 310 319 −9 9[lower-alpha 1] 31–32 28–27 — 37–37 38–31 35–30
4 Sweden IFK Kristianstad 10 3 3 4 283 298 −15 9[lower-alpha 1] 29–29 24–20 24–33 — 36–28 24–24
5 Russia Chekhovskiye Medvedi 10 4 0 6 280 308 −28 8 20–30 25–23 36–28 37–26 — 29–27
6 Switzerland Kadetten Schaffhausen 10 2 2 6 280 277 +3 6 28–28 24–27 40–28 26–29 32–23 —
Source: EHF
Notes:
  1. 1 2 GOG Håndbold 70–61 IFK Kristianstad

Playoffs

The top two teams from Groups C and D contested a playoff to determine the two sides advancing to the knockout phase. The winners of each group faced the runners-up of the other group in a two-legged tie.

Overview

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Sporting CP Portugal 49–52 Romania CS Dinamo București 25–26 24–26
Orlen Wisła Płock Poland 51–49 Spain Bidasoa Irun 32–25 19–24

Knockout stage

The winners of Groups A and B would have advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while the teams ranked 2nd–6th to the round of 16 alongside the playoff winners. After the cancellation of the last 16 and quarterfinals on 24 April 2020, the top-two placed teams from each group played the final four.[3]

Round of 16

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
CS Dinamo București Romania M1 France Paris Saint-Germain Cancelled Cancelled
Orlen Wisła Płock Poland M2 Hungary Telekom Veszprém Cancelled Cancelled
Vardar North Macedonia M3 Hungary MOL-Pick Szeged Cancelled Cancelled
Celje Pivovarna Laško Slovenia M4 Poland PGE Vive Kielce Cancelled Cancelled
FC Porto Sofarma Portugal M5 Denmark Aalborg Håndbold Cancelled Cancelled
SG Flensburg-Handewitt Germany M6 France Montpellier Handball Cancelled Cancelled

Quarterfinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
M6 – Spain Barça Cancelled Cancelled
M5 – Germany THW Kiel Cancelled Cancelled
M4 – M1 Cancelled Cancelled
M3 – M2 Cancelled Cancelled

Final four

The final four was scheduled to be held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on 30 and 31 May but was rescheduled to 22 and 23 August 2020,[7][2][8] and later to 28 and 29 December 2020. Because of the cancellation of the last 16 and quarterfinals, the first two-placed teams from the group stage groups will play in the final four.[3] The draw was held on 10 November 2020.[9][10]

Bracket

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
28 December
 
 
Germany THW Kiel36
 
29 December
 
Hungary Telekom Veszprém35
 
Germany THW Kiel33
 
28 December
 
Spain Barça28
 
Spain Barça37
 
 
France Paris Saint-Germain32
 
Third place
 
 
29 December
 
 
Hungary Telekom Veszprém26
 
 
France Paris Saint-Germain31

Final

29 December 2020
20:30		 THW Kiel Germany 33–28 Spain Barça Lanxess Arena, Cologne
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referees: Gubica, Milošević (CRO)
Ekberg 8 (19–16) Gómez 10
1×Yellow card 5×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  4×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Statistics and awards

Top goalscorers

Rank Player Club Goals[11]
1 Sweden Niclas Ekberg Germany THW Kiel 85
2 Norway Sander Sagosen[12] France Paris SG/Germany THW Kiel 76
3 France Hugo Descat France Montpellier Handball 75
4 Spain Aleix Gómez Spain Barça 74
Belarus Barys Pukhouski Ukraine HC Motor Zaporizhzhia
6 Russia Timur Dibirov North Macedonia Vardar 69
7 Serbia Petar Nenadić Hungary Telekom Veszprém 67
8 Norway Sebastian Barthold Denmark Aalborg Håndbold 65
Spain Alex Dujshebaev Poland PGE Vive Kielce
Ukraine Vladislav Ostroushko North Macedonia Eurofarm Rabotnik
Germany Hendrik Pekeler Germany THW Kiel

Awards

The all-star team was announced on 12 June 2020.[13]

Other awards

Notes

  1. ↑ The match was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ↑ "A magnificent season is over, on to the next one". ehfcl.com. 4 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 "EHF presents feasibility study for potential re-start of European handball". eurohandball.com. 25 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Information on the future of the European handball season 2019/20". eurohandball.com. 24 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "35 clubs eye a place in the new season". ehfcl.com. 13 June 2019.
  5. ↑ "Starting grid for the 2019/20 season confirmed". ehfcl.com. 21 June 2019.
  6. ↑ "Last season's finalists draw same group again". ehfcl.com. 27 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "A magnificent season is over, on to the next one". ehfcl.com. 4 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 takes place, will be organised in December". ehfcl.com. 21 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 teams to learn semi-final opponents". eurohandball.com. 9 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Kiel face Veszprém and Barça take on PSG in VELUX EHF FINAL4 semi-finals". eurohandball.com. 10 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Goalscorers
  12. ↑ 64 goals for Paris Saint-Germain and 12 goals for THW Kiel.
  13. ↑ "Massive fan's vote makes for fresh-look All-Star Team". eurohandball.com. 12 June 2020.
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