22 March 2014. Paris Saint-Germain Handball finished the group stage in second place behind Barcelona - a fine performance for Les Rouge et Bleus' first Champions League season since 2006. In the round of 16, the capital club faced Gorenje Velenje, a “young but talented” team according to Fahrudin Melic, playing for Paris after turning out for the Slovenian side a few years earlier. And with the benefit of more than a decade’s hindsight, we can say that our former right-winger was spot on.
Back then, at the start of their careers, Szeged’s current mainstay Mario Sostaric (nine goals) and former Montpellier player Stas Skube (eight goals) put on a show at the Zlatorog Arena, catching Mikkel Hansen, Luc Abalo and Daniel Narcisse off guard to secure victory in that first leg (30–28). Narcisse was circumspect ahead of the return leg, telling PSGTV that “being two goals down isn’t a big deal”, before adding that “in today’s handball, things can change very quickly”. And with good reason: a week later, the capital club showed no nerves as they overturned their rivals’ lead to secure a historic place in the quarter-finals (34–25).
Just over a year later, Paris travelled to Slovenia once again. But this time, it was neither for a round of 16 tie nor in Velenje. Some twenty kilometres away, on the banks of the Savinja, Les Rouge et Bleu took on RK Celje. It was a return to his roots for Parisian coach Zvonimir Serdaruzic, who had managed the 2004 European champions for a few months in 2010.
In a hard-fought battle, the capital club secured it's first-ever win in Slovenia (30-32). On that October night in 2015, Nikola Karabatic (nine goals) and Mikkel Hansen (eight goals) led the way, responding to the inspired play of a young Blaž Janc, then aged 18 and his team’s top scorer. The current Barcelona star was far from being the only promising talent to wear the yellow and blue that day, with other future internationals also in the line-up, such as Blaž Blagotinšek and Sime Ivic, who have since played for Nantes, Aix and Limoges.
A few weeks after the conclusion of Euro 2018, which saw Spain lift the trophy against Sweden while Les Bleus had to settle for the bronze medal against Denmark, club handball made its return. To mark the occasion, the Parisians travelled to Slovenia for the first time in three years. During that period, the capital club had grown on the continental stage and had to live up to their status as European runners up as they took on Celje.
Like Paris, the Slovenians had been developing over the years, with the presence of Borut Mačkovšek, who would join Montpellier a few years later; current Chambéry player Matic Groselj; and even a young Daniel Dujshebaev, then on loan from Kielce. To get the job done, Paris looked to Uwe Gensheimer (eight goals), Nikola Karabatic (six goals) and Rodrigo Corrales - who had just been crowned European champion with La Roja - to secure two vital points (26-31).
The following season, Paris and Celje found themselves in the same group once again. Now helmed by Raul Gonzalez, the capital club was on course for a historic campaign, having recorded 12 wins and just one defeat by the time they travelled to the Zlatorog Arena. However, Les Rouge et Bleu had to watch out for Celje, who had former Parisian William Accambray in their ranks, and who were determined to get the better of his former team-mates.
Despite a standout performance from Accambray (five goals) and current Nantes player Rok Ovnicek, Paris escaped unscathed thanks to Luc Abalo (eight goals), and an historic performance from Rodrigo Corrales, who made no fewer than 19 saves (32-36). With this victory and the win against the Ukrainian side Zaporozhye a week later, the capital club achieved what remains to this day the best group stage campaign in club history, securing 26 points out of a possible 28.
A year after their previous meeting, in the groups stage (a 29-33 victory), Les Rouge et Bleu faced Celje for the fourth consecutive season, this time in the round of 16. Raul Gonzalez’s men were aiming to put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals, and they more than achieved that goal.
Thanks to standout performances from Dylan Nahi (ten goals) and Ferran Solé (seven goals), the Parisians secured one of their most convincing victories on the continental stage and took a giant step towards the next round (24–37). A few months later, Paris went on to secure third place at the FINAL4 in Cologne following a victory over Nantes (28–31), the day after a cruel semi-final defeat (33–35) against Aalborg, then coached by a certain Stefan Madsen.
So, on Wednesday 14 October, the capital club is set to write a new chapter in its adventures in Slovenia. Once again, this away fixture could prove decisive, as the capital club could officially secure qualification for the main round should they win and the result of the other group match, between Aalborg and Zagreb, go their way.
