RYT stars Móré and Späth make the biggest impact

Calin Dedu – Dinamo Bucuresti

The tall line player showed his abilities mainly in defence, but also scored two goals in the semi-final against Flensburg. At the side of experienced Hungarian pivot Miklos Rosta he grabbed his chance to show his talent. Dedu finished the EHF European League season with 25 goals.

Daniel Stanciuc - Dinamo Bucuresti

One’s bad luck is another's good luck; as Dinamo’s regular playmaker Luka Cindric was ruled-out by a calf injury in Hamburg, others had to step in. In the semi-final against Hamburg, 20-year-old Daniel Stanciuc had little playing time, but when Lazar Kulic also got injured in the second half of the 3/4 placement match against Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Stanciuc underlined his constant improvement. One goal from three attempts, but many very clever passes were on his tally in the end. Like Dedu, Stanciuc had his personal highlight in January, when he was part of the Romanian team at the Men’s EHF EURO.

Hakun West av Teigum – Füchse Berlin

Being the back-up to the legendary Hans Lindberg at Hamburg, the main role of the Faroese right wing was to allow the Dane to recover. After 27 strikes in the previous EHF European League matches, the 22-year-old added one more goal in the victorious semi-final against Rhein-Neckar Löwen. West av Teigum’s time will come now, as Lindberg steps back – and the EHF Finals have been a perfect stage to gain international experience.

Tim Freihöfer – Füchse Berlin

For the second time after the victorious edition in 2023, the 21-year-old left wing was part of the EHF Finals. After playing a crucial role one year ago, Freihöfer this time stood in the shadow of his counterpart Jerry Tollbring, who had an outstanding tournament. Like West av Teigum, he scored once in the semi-final and finished the EHF European League season with 57 goals – Berlin’s third top scorer in total, only bettered by Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson.

Matthes Langhoff – Füchse Berlin

The defensive specialist was the RYT alumnus in Berlin’s squad with the most playing time. At the side of Max Darj, Marko Kopljar and Mijajlo Marsenic, the 22-year-old U21 world champion played a crucial part in the middle block of the Foxes. Against Löwen, he defended extremely well, and in the final against Flensburg he jumped in, when Marsenic had received a red card. Surely, Langhoff (EHF European League winner in 2023) will be a cornerstone of the Füchse defence in future – as Kopljar is leaving the club.

David Späth – Rhein-Neckar Löwen

The Löwen hero of the quarter-finals against Sporting CP with 31 saves in two matches was the best player of his side in the 3/4 placement match against Dinamo. His eleven saves – including stopping the last shot of Alexandar Cenic - provided Löwen with the 32:31 victory. In the semi-final against Füchse, he replaced starter Mikael Appelgren and made five saves, but the U21 world champion did not have the impact he had one day later. But overall, Späth again was on a high in Hamburg.

David Móré – Rhein-Neckar Löwen

The youngest RYT alumni was the one with the most playing time at the EHF Finals. In the absence of Uwe Gensheimer, 19-year-old David Móré played almost 120 minutes in Hamburg. In the semi-final against Berlin, he failed with his first shot against Dejan Milosavljev, and later on was a little bit too shy, netting only once. But in the 3/4 placement match, he was in a flow, scoring four goals from four attempts and was one of the driving forces in Löwen’s counter-attack match play. After many strong matches in the Bundesliga and EHF European League and knowing that Gensheimer will finish his career now, Móré is a core player for the Löwen's future and recently extended his contract until 2027.

Launched in 2019 by the EHF, the Respect Your Talent programme promotes the holistic development of talented players both on and off the handball court, addressing topics such as the dual career, anti-doping, mental fitness, media and sports law. The talent of those players was recognised at Younger Age Category EHF events, playing with their national teams.

During the past years, a plethora of young players have taken part in the programme, mentored by former stalwarts like Ivano Balic, Vid Kavticnik, Victor Tomas, Dominik Klein, Stefan Lövgren and Carlos Prieto as ambassadors.

© Uros Hocevar / kolektiff, Anze Malovrh / kolektiff