Györ remain on top but rivals are knocking on the door
Györ remain on top but rivals are knocking on the door
No Hungarian team in the past has been as dominant as Györi Audi ETO KC this season. They played 45 matches across various competitions and remained unbeaten, defying fans and experts who doubted the team’s dominance following important changes during last summer.
Most notably, coach Ambros Martin left for Rostov-Don. The management found an in-house solution by appointing Martin’s assistant coach Gábor Danyi.
He tweaked the team’s playing style and - after a bobbly start - ended up triumphing in every competition without any loss: the Hungarian cup, the Hungarian league, and of course the Women’s EHF Champions League 2018/19.
While no team - in Hungary or in Europe - managed to beat Györ this season, two Hungarian sides hope to close the gap to the dominant champions soon.
Another green-white army, FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, has been dreaming of reaching the DELO WOMEN’S EHF FINAL4 with a young, mostly Hungarian squad.
When Katrin Klujber was voted EHF Player of the Month in February 2019, the 20-year-old right back and player of the national youth team that won the world title in 2018, said: “…I feel that I could retire with this club.”
While Györ and FTC have been the face of Hungarian women’s handball for years, a third team has risen to the top this season: Siófok KC Hungary.
Tor Odvar Moen’s squad started the season very slowly, but at the end they were crowned the Women’s EHF Cup champions and finished third in the domestic league - with even higher ambitions for next season.
The international successes of Györ and Siófok have been enabled not only by the economic stability of the respective clubs but also by the academic system producing talented youngsters.
