(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: The 2018 IHF Super Globe begins with title holders Barca Lassa meeting Bahrain debutants Al Najma in the first quarter-final, today with the Catalan side on the hunt for their fourth trophy.
2017/18 Champions League winners Montpellier HB follow with their clash against Hammamet, before Brazilian club Taubate meet two-time winners Füchse Berlin and hosts Al Sadd face Oceania title holders Sydney University Handball Club.
The first match of the 2018 IHF Super Globe will see record title holders Barca Lassa open what is their fifth campaign. The Catalan side have stood on top of the podium three times, in 2013, 2014 and 2017. Now, they aim to claim their fourth trophy to extend their impressive record.
Barca are no strangers to holding and continuously smashing records, having won the most titles in every competition they play regularly. In the world's highest level regular club competition, the VELUX EHF Champions League, Barcelona have claimed nine trophies. In Spain, they have won 25 ASOBAL League titles, 22 Copa del Reys, 13 ASOBAL Cups and 21 ASOBAL Supercups.
Barca's record reflects the strength of the squad, which boasts multiple world-class players in each position. The team on the bench is no weaker than the starting line-up, and several medal-winning national squads from recent years (Spain, France, Denmark, Slovenia and Poland) are represented in Barca by players who helped lead their countries to big achievements.
'It's a special competition that we've already won three times. When we play a competition, we always try to win, said Barca coach Xavi Pascual in the lead-up to the Super Globe.
'We know that we'll have hard opponents. First of all, we'll have to win against Al-Najma Club, a very hard Bahrain team who has the structure of the national team. If we win the quarter-final, we'll probably face Montpellier, the Champions League winner. No more words about this.
Debutants Al-Najma will certainly face a tough task when they take the court on Tuesday. The Bahrain squad have risen sharply in recent years, winning two of their three medals in the Asian Club League Championship since 2015.
After taking bronze in the continental club championship in 2001, Al-Najma claimed silver in 2015 then won the title for the first time in 2017 with a dominant, undefeated performance.
Al-Najma's rise through the ranks within their own continent is evident, but Barca are another step up from that level of competition, so a quarter-final win for the Bahrain team would be something of a surprise.
Al-Najma can count on the international experience of their numerous Bahrain national team players which Pascual highlighted as their main strength.
Local challenge at the championship will be carried by Al Sadd, who face Oceania champions Sydney University Handball Club is now a traditional Super Globe clash.
The teams have faced each other at every Super Globe since Sydney Uni made their debut in 2012, with Al Sadd coming out on top on each occasion apart from in 2015, when the Australian team pulled off a surprise quarter-final win and went on to reach their best position ever (fourth).
While Sydney Uni bring an almost entirely new team, with only four players who were on court in 2017 and arrivals from France, Germany, Denmark, Brazil and Iran, Al Sadd count on experience led by the likes of 2015 World Championship runners-up Danijel Saric and Rafael Capote.
In the other quarter-final line up, the injury-struck Champions League title holders Montpellier HB enter the IHF Super Globe in dire need of a confidence boost. After winning their second Champions League trophy in May 2018, the French club returned from the summer break but not to their previous form.
Five rounds of Champions League matches have been played so far this season, but Montpellier have yet to secure any points from a win or even a draw.
Elsewhere, Both Taubate and Füchse Berlin returned to the top of a podium in order to secure their 2018 Super Globe ticket.
For Taubate, that podium was at the 2018 Pan American Club Championship; for Füchse, it was the 2017/18 EHF Cup. With their title at the Pan American Championship, Taubate earned their continent's place at the Super Globe, while Füchse Berlin were the wild card recipients thanks to their international club trophy won this spring.
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