The curtain is being raised on a new season in European handball. SG Flensburg-Handewitt enter the EHF European League as defending champions, but will be breaking new ground in the coming weeks. The first match on Tuesday at 20:45 will be against Saint-Raphaël Var Handball.
Palm trees, sailing ships, historic buildings - Saint-Raphaël has a picturesque harbor. The city on the Mediterraneanactually only has a good 30,000 inhabitants, but it always feels like there are more. As a seaside resort and winter health resort, tourists are always flocking here. The heart of the handball fans beats in the "Palais des Sports Jean-FrançoisKrakowski". The arena has a capacity of 2,400 spectators and is named after the long-time president of Saint-Raphaël Var Handball, SRVHB for short. The inauguration of this venue in 2006 was an important milestone in the development of the club, which was founded in 1963. They established themselves in the French league from 2007. In 2010, the Mediterranean club reached the final of the League Cup and qualified for the European Cup for the first time. In 2012 and 2016, they already had one foot in the EHF Champions League - as third in the table and as runners-up in theFrench league. In 2018, SRVHB even reached the final of the EHF Cup, losing to Füchse Berlin in Magdeburg.
The team from Saint-Raphaël Var Handball
Last season, SRVHB finished fifth in the French league - one pointbehind Fenix Toulouse. The team's international absence came to an end after a commanding qualification against Mors-Thy. "This result is a credit to our training performance, our will and our collectivestrength," said coach Benjamin Braux. The 42-year-old took over the team in 2022, having previously led Nancy Handball forward. SRVHB has a team that has grown, but must come to terms with a turning point. Left wing legend Raphael Caucheteux ended his career this spring at the biblical age of 40 after 18 years with the club. His successor, Drévy Paschal, was already waiting in the wings. The goalkeeper hierarchy also changed. Brazilian Rangel Luan da Rosa moved to Benfica Lisbon and Alexandre Demaille is now number one. The other heads of the team are pivot and captain Johannes Marescot, Algerian left-back Micke Brasseleur and Chema Màrquez. The Spanish playmaker has been joined by a Portuguese colleague in Miguel Soares Neves. Belgian Quinten Colman has an important role in defense. Christian Gaudin has been appointed sporting director. The 58-year-old was once goalkeeper at SC Magdeburg and then keeper and coach at Saint-Raphaël.
