(Un)informed Handball Hour

We're well used to Barcelona winning this title over the years but this one felt a little different. With the German sides favoured by most and Aalborg the hipster tip for the trophy, the Catalan club reminded us all what it takes to get through this weekend, surviving Saturday's semi-final slog before a masterclass in the final against Berlin. Emil Nielsen's early showdowns with Gidsel and...

The four contenders have arrived in Cologne, ready to clash in one of the most tightly contested FINAL4s in years. All four sides have a real say in the destination of the Champions League trophy this weekend and that's what makes these weekends truly special. We discuss the two semi-finals and figure out where the difference will be made, before making our predictions. We hear from Aalborg's...

Metz claimed their first Women's Champions League title with a pair of brilliant performances led by an unstoppable Sarah Bouktit. We look back at their weekend in Budapest, try to make sense of the World Championship wildcards and unpack the conclusion of the Bundesliga season. Our buildup to Cologne continues this week with our mystery interview on patreon.com/handballhour first, followed by a...

All eyes on Budapest this weekend as the Women's EHF FINAL4 rolls into town. Reigning champions Györ are favourites but must overcome a Brest team at the end of an era and with recent history at this stage on their side, while Metz will look to overcome their semi-final hoodoo against CSM Bucuresti, buoyed by returning to the sport's pinnacle event. Aleksa Pavicevic joins us to preview the party....

Crunchtime across Europe as major league titles are being won in France and Germany, while deciders await in Denmark, Hungary and Poland. We discuss PSG denying Nantes and big news at the top and bottom of Denmark's top flight, while Tim Dettmar joins us to look at the Bundesliga run in and the German-heavy EHF Finals in Hamburg this weekend.

It's national team week for the men with places at next January's World Championship in Germany on the line. Plenty of intrigue among the 10 European play-offs, while it comes down to USA vs Greenland in Iowa on Saturday. Team Handball News' John Ryan joins us to chat about the tournament, how Team USA is shaping up and the new residency project players in action at this weekend's club...

With Björn Pazen in the forest, Chris at the beach and Alex at home, we dive into the week's Champions League first leg encounters, which gave us a surprising lack of surprise results. We also look at the sudden departure of Talant Dujshebaev from Kielce, bringing an end to a 12-year era, consider his most memorable times and what's next.

Less than a season into a 3-year contract, Jim Gottfridsson's time at Szeged has come to an abrupt end and it has been anything but amicable. Gottfridsson has called it unilateral, unjustified and unlawful, Szeged have said they acted legally and little else. We speak to Nemzeti Sport's Zoltán Szendrei and Handbollskanalen's Ola Selby to get their reactions and the mood in both the Hungarian and...

Danijela Vekic joins us to discuss the latest action in Europe's top flight competitions. We're halfway through the men's playoffs, where we've already seen Sporting and GOG let big advantages slip from their grasp as all but one of the contests are delicately poised. The women's Champions League has been whittled down to eight contenders with a new face among the mix. In the round's headline...

With the recent international week offering little in the way of drama, we filled our gossip cup with stories off the court in the past few days, including Simon Pytlick's revelations about the breakdown in trust with Flensburg, French coaches displeasure with a non-Frenchman taking over France's national team and Veszprem's players being told there will be consequences if they don't reach the...