How have PSG turned into genuine contenders?

In only their third participation in Europe’s most prestigious club competition, Paris Saint-Germain are on the verge of earning a ticket to the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

The 28:20 win in Zagreb on Saturday evening makes it very likely and even Noka Serdarusic admitted this after the game: “I can’t see how Zagreb could stop us.”

Such a meteoric rise has not been without trouble though. Only last summer the Parisian club finally took various turns that shaped him into potential VELUX EHF Champions League winners. Let us discover which key changes took place.

The foundations were already there

Building a team takes time, everybody knows that. But building a team capable of winning the competition is an entirely different matter. When the Qatari owners took control of the club, back in 2012, everything had to be built.

A coaching staff, fan base and perhaps most importantly a team. Former Champions League winners such as national figure Luc Abalo and defensive monster Didier Dinart, were drafted. Mikkel Hansen, the Danish superstar, took his place on the boat too, even though, at the time, you could wonder what he was looking for here, in a club which was not even qualified to play in the VELUX EHF Champions League.

“The project appealed to me,” he said back then, alongside the ability to play handball in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Year after year, the team was strengthened, adding experience with former Champions League winners Igor Vori and Daniel Narcisse in 2013 as well as future leaders such as William Accambray.

In the summer of 2014, Thierry Omeyer joined in, and you could feel back then that something special was on the way. The first two Champions League campaigns ended at the quarter-final stage, but both were very different, even though they ended in Veszprem.

In the first season they were hesitant, sometimes awkward, while in the second they looked more confident, although clashes between some players and Philippe Gardent, the coach at the time, sometimes made you wonder who the real boss was.

But, all in all, you could feel that almost all the ingredients were there, all you needed was a little bit of spice and a good cook.

Noka Serdarusic, the perfect cook

And the good cook arrived last summer. Zvonimir Sardarusic, nicknamed Noka, had been back in business since the early months of 2014 at Aix. His record makes him one of the most prestigious coaches in handball world.

In fifteen years on the THW Kiel bench, he caused a revolution in handball. To him, the aim is not to concede one goal less than your opponent, but to score one more. And if it means scoring 40 while the guys in front of you score 39, then so be it.

Noka was chosen by the PSG decision makers for many reasons. Firstly, he changed THW Kiel from a good team to one that reached the stars many times.

With …

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