The 2021–22 EHF Champions League was the 62nd edition of Europe's premier club handball tournament and the 29th edition under the current EHF Champions League format, running from 15 September 2021 to 19 June 2022. Barça won the competition, defeating Łomza Vive Kielce on penalties in the final.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, each local health department allowed a different number of spectators.
Format The competition began with a group stage featuring 16 teams divided in two groups. Matches were played in a double round-robin system with home-and-away fixtures. In Groups A and B, the top two teams qualified for the quarterfinals, with teams ranked third to sixth entering the playoffs.
The knockout stage included four rounds: the playoffs, quarterfinals, and a final-four tournament comprising two semifinals and the final. In the playoffs, eight teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches. The four aggregate winners of the playoffs advanced to the quarterfinals, joining the top-two teams of Groups A and B. The eight quarterfinalist teams were paired against each other in two-legged home-and-away matches, with the four aggregate winners qualifying to the final-four tournament.
In the final four tournament, the semifinals and the final were played as single matches at a pre-selected host venue.
Teams
The final list of 16 participants was revealed by the EHF Executive Committee in June 2021. Ten teams were registered according to fixed places, while six were granted wild cards. On 29 June, the final list was revealed. Although, in the final list announcement, the EHF said that if RK Vardar did not pay a fine for failing to play Champions League games in the previous season, they would be disqualified and replaced with RK Gorenje Velenje, who was the standby team. However, this never materialised.
+Participating teams THW Kiel (1st) Paris Saint-Germain (1st) Barça (1st) Pick Szeged (1st) RK Vardar (1st) Łomża Vive Kielce (1st) Aalborg Håndbold (1st) FC Porto (1st) PPD Zagreb (1st) SG Flensburg-Handewitt (2nd) Meshkov Brest (WC) Montpellier Handball (WC) Telekom Veszprém (WC) Elverum Håndball (WC) Dinamo București (WC) Motor (WC)
+Wildcard rejection IK Sävehof GOG Håndbold Orlen Wisła Płock Sporting CP RK Gorenje Velenje Kadetten Schaffhausen
Group stage
The draw took place on 2 July 2021.
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage
Playoffs
Quarterfinals
Final four The final four was held at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on 18 and 19 June 2022.
Bracket
Final
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club GoalsGoalscorers1 Aleix Gómez Barça1042 Dika Mem Barça1003 Petar Nenadić Telekom Veszprém934 Felix Claar Aalborg Håndbold88 Gašper Marguč Telekom Veszprém6 Kamil Syprzak Paris Saint-Germain867 Yahia Omar Telekom Veszprém838 Tobias Grøndahl Elverum Håndball81 Hampus Wanne SG Flensburg-Handewitt10 Arkadiusz Moryto Łomża Vive Kielce79
Awards
The all-star team was announced on 17 June 2022.
Position Player Goalkeeper Niklas Landin Jacobsen (THW Kiel) Right wing Aleix Gómez (Barça) Right back Dika Mem (Barça) Centre back Kentin Mahé (Telekom Veszprém) Left back Petar Nenadić (Telekom Veszprém) Left wing Hampus Wanne (SG Flensburg-Handewitt) Pivot Kamil Syprzak (Paris Saint-Germain) Final four MVP Artsem Karalek (Łomża Vive Kielce) Best defender Hendrik Pekeler (THW Kiel) Best young player Tobias Grøndahl (Elverum Håndball) Best coach Talant Dujshebaev (Łomża Vive Kielce)
Best Coach: Talant Dujshebaev
References
External links Official website