Ohrid makes history - the first European trophy for the city on the lake

Macedonian handball has a new story to remember. GRK Ohrid won the EHF European Cup, beating Hungary's MOL Tatabanya 31:25 in the return leg before a packed "Biljanini Izvori" hall. Kosuke Yasuhira was unstoppable with 9 goals, and goalkeeper Kristijan Pilipovic made 10 saves in the first half alone. For a club reformed only in 2011 and which had played just three European matches before this season, this isn't a surprise - it's a miracle with an address. And it's not alone: Macedonia wins this trophy two years running, after Alkaloid last year. A small country, yet fourth most successful in the competition's history - behind Romania, Germany, and Portugal. Someone in Ohrid did what far richer leagues can't.

Cologne is the center of the world this weekend - a Final Four with no favorite

While Ohrid celebrates, the top of club handball gathers in Cologne for the Champions League Final Four. The four that remain: Aalborg against Barcelona and Fuchse Berlin against defending champions Magdeburg. Names that say it all - Sander Sagosen, Dika Mem, Mathias Gidsel, Gisli Kristjansson. "All the teams are equal. Labels mean nothing at a Final Four," said Mem, and that's no cliche - it's at this tournament that the favorite most often falls. Sagosen, meanwhile, dreams of revenge in the hall where as a child he imagined lifting the trophy. Two matches, one title, no certain winner.

Macedonia learns its road to the World Cup - Magdeburg awaits

The men's handball national team learned its draw for the 2027 World Cup in Germany. Macedonia is in Group H, with matches in Magdeburg, against Iceland, Bahrain, and Japan. The history is mixed: we've played Iceland 16 times (4 wins, 1 draw, 11 losses), while we beat Bahrain and Japan at the 2019 World Cup - 28:23 and 38:29. The top three advance from the group, then the second round brings four new groups before the quarterfinals. The coach knows the first match against Iceland is the most important - that's where peace of mind for the rest is won or lost. The draw is doable, which means there's no excuse if we don't get through.

Iva Mladenovska makes a big move - Dortmund grabbed her

Macedonian women's handball sends another name to the European top. Iva Mladenovska signed for Borussia Dortmund, the German runners-up, after a spell at France's Besancon. "We're getting an ambitious player with international experience," the club announced, having also applied for a special invitation to the Champions League. Mladenovska, recently named most valuable player of the Macedonian Cup final, keeps rising at a moment when Dortmund is building a team for the biggest stage. When one of our players moves to a club with such ambitions, it's not just her transfer - it's an advertisement for the whole school she came out of.

Germany is again the center of handball - and that's no accident

If you follow the addresses, something keeps repeating: the Final Four in Cologne, the World Cup in Magdeburg, our players in Dortmund and Besancon. The German Bundesliga has for years been the economic and sporting center of this sport - that's where the best go, where the biggest matches are made, where the largest halls fill up. For a Balkan player, breaking into Germany is still the surest sign of having arrived. It's not romantic, but it's reality: the handball map of Europe runs through Germany, and more and more Macedonian names are finding a place on it.