Spanish derby opens semi-finals; Bursa aim to extend fairy tale

SEMI-FINALS, FIRST LEG

Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP) vs Club Balonmán Atlético Guardes (ESP)

Sunday 19 April, 12:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• both sides are unbeaten this season: Malaga won all eight matches, Guardes five of their six
• Guardes are coming off another all-Spanish duel in the quarter-finals, when they edged out ATTICGO Bm Elche in two cluse duels — 21:20 and 20:20, respectively
• Malaga cruised to the semis, beating Czech side Hazena Kynzvart twice in an 56:38 aggregate win
• both teams have been finalists of this competition in the past: Malaga beat HC Lokomotiva Zagreb to win the title in 2021 but lost the final against Rocasia Gran Canaria a year later; Guardes lost the 2023 final against Antalya Konyaalti BSK and are in their third semi-final, after 2021 and 2023
• top scorers are Isabelle Dos Santos with 41 goals for Malaga, and Maria Gonzalez with 24 for Guardes

Bursa Büyüksehir BSK (TUR) vs MSK IUVENTA Michalovce (SVK)

Sunday 19 April, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Bursa won the first quarter-final leg against A.C. PAOK from Greece 36:30, but lost the away match 34:29 and advanced only just: 65:64 on aggregate; Michalovce took two clear wins against Dutch side Cabooter Fortes Venlo: 60:46 on aggregate
• the away match against PAOK marked Bursa’s only defeat this season, as they won their other five matches; Michalovce are on a perfect six-from-six
• Bursa are only in their second European season, but it is the 21st international appearance for Michalovce, including their fourth consecutive European Cup semi-final
• the Slovakian side made it to their only final in 2024, which they lost to Elche from Spain
• the top scorers are Emine Godemir and Alena Ikhneva, who scored 26 goals apiece for Bursa, and Martina Popovcová with 33 strikes for Michalovce

Alena Ikhneva dreams of her second trophy with a Turkish club

Bursa Büyüksehir BSK are the third semi-finalists from Türkiye in the EHF European Cup (since 2020/21). In 2021, Yalikavaksports Club failed to reach the finals against Lokomotiva Zagreb; two years later, Antalya Konyaalti BSK first eliminated MSK IUVENTA Michalovce in the semis before beating Club Balonmán Atlético Guardes in the final. Among the trophy winners three years ago was Alena Ikhneva, who is now part of Bursa’s squad.

Biggest international experience

Ikhneva has the biggest international experience in the team of head coach Mehmet Isik: after starting her career at Lada Togliatti in her native Russia, the left back joined Macedonian side ZRK Vardar in 2014 for two seasons, then moved to France (Fleury), back to Russia (Astrakhan), Croatia (Podravka), and Hungary (Kisvárdai), before joining her first club in Türkiye, Kastamonu in 2020. Ikhneva arrived in Bursa in 2024. Francisca Araújo and Joana da Costa from Angola and Agni Zygoura from Greece are the other international players at Bursa, who still include 46-year-old Yeliz Özel as one of their key players, with 22 goals in the competition. Özel played EHF Champions League with Romanian side Oltchim Valcea 15 years ago.

photos courtesy of Costa del Sol Malaga (main) and Bursa Büyüksehir BSK (in-text)