Pool A of the men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup sees Gaziantep Polisgücü (Türkiye), Mannheimer HC (Germany), OKS-SHVSM Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and Sanse Complutense (Spain) lock horns, starting on Friday morning in Wettingen.
It is a diverse group with Sanse Complutense one of the most frequent competitors, Gaziantep looking to build on back-to-back fifth place finishes, Mannheim returning to the top level for the first time since they won the title in 2011 and Vinnitsa who give Ukraine just their second appearance in the top level.
All will be looking to finish in the top two and advance to Saturday evenings semi-finals and potentially Sunday’s final.
Each game will be broadcast live on www.eurohockeytv.org with a weekend pass costing €7.99 or you can get a EuroHockeyTV Season Pass for €39.99, covering this event as well as the EHL FINALS and the EuroHockey Championships.
** Click here for the match schedule – further info on squad lists is available on the “More Info” tab
** Click here to read the Pool B preview
Men’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Cup Pool A – team by team preview
Gaziantep Polisgücü (Türkiye)
The Turkish champions are playing in the top division for the third successive edition having finished in fifth place in 2022 and 2024 and they will looks to make a similar impact in Wettingen this weekend.
Their panel has a wealth of experience on this stage with the majority of the panel playing in numerous EuroHockey events both indoors and outdoors. The side is captained by Yusuf Yasar while the likes of Akin Ali Özkiliç (seven goals) and Müslüm Elagöz (five goals) will look to provide the firepower from last year.
As always, there is a strong Iranian connection with Reza Norouzzadeh named in the panel for a sixth tournament with the club while the towering Yaghoub Bahrami – now 38 – is a defensive titan.
Maxi Valdes is also in the panel for a potential third tournament just a couple of weeks on from playing for Argentina in the Indoor World Cup. Mohsen Bohlouli and Mohamaad Asnaashari did likewise for Iran.
Mannheimer HC (Germany)
Mannheim’s last indoor visit to Switzerland ended in gold back in 2011 when they nabbed the title in Lucerne ahead of Dinamo Ekaterinburg. This year’s panel, however, does not have such a similar experience to draw on with their only recent EuroHockey indoor competition coming in the form of the second tier 2023 Trophy event which they hosted, taking gold.
Nonetheless, as German champions last year, it is a side bulging with indoor talent, not least Ben Hasbach who was named the FIH Indoor World Cup young player of the tournament.
Spanish indoor goalkeeper Adrian Rafi is another star performer while captain Jan-Philipp Fischer is vital to making things tick. Luis Holste was their key man in front of goal with 13 strikes to his name, one more than Hasbach and Tim Seagon as they reached the semi-finals of the German championship before bowing out 5-3 to eventual champions Harvestehuder THC. There is 11 of the panel that played in the side in 2023 still at the club and so they go into the tournament as major contenders.
OKS-SHVSM Vinnitsa (Ukraine) – pictured above
The Ukrainian club won their national title once again earlier this month and will be looking to see if they can emulate the incredible achievements of their compatriots MSC Sumchanka in the women’s competition last weekend.
They earned promotion to the top tier last February when they finished runners-up to Rotweiss Wettingen in Plzeň, meaning there will be a Ukraine team in the top tier for just the second time. The previous one was in 2014 when their predecessor HC Kolos-Sekvoya Vinnitsa ended in seventh place.
As such, for most of the panel this will be a new experience but there is a lot of indoor experience on display. Captain Iurii Moroz has been involved in some sort of EuroHockey event every year for the past decade.
The goals of Oleksande Solomianyi and Volodymyr Kaplinskyi will be key but they may miss the influence of top scorer from 2024 – Maksym Onofriiuk.
Sanse Complutense (Spain) – Men
The Sanse Complutense Hockey Club is the most decorated hockey club in Spain in the indoor category, having won the Spanish Championship 27 times throughout its history, with 11 of those titles achieved in the last 12 years.
The team has competed in the last nine European Cups editions since 2013, with the best results being second place in the 94-95 season and third place in the 2014-15 season.
The team has been preparing for this tournament since December, participating in the Madrid regional tournament and the Spanish Championship.
Juan Muñoz, international player and also the team’s captain, states: “This year, the team has undergone a strong renewal and faces this European Cup with great enthusiasm and a desire to maintain the level shown in previous years.”
David Álvarez Villabol, the most veteran player on the team, is the only player in Spanish history to have won the national indoor hockey championship 11 times and 12 finals in a row. He was also a member of the national team that participated in the latest EuroHockey Championship in Belgium in 2024.
He is one of six players remaining from last year’s side who ended in fourth place in Arminen, meaning many new faces will be making their debut at this year’s event.
