Nantes returns to the Final Four of the Handball Champions League: "This year, we won't be satisfied with fourth place"

Four years have passed since HBC Nantes last visited Cologne (Germany) to play in the last four of the Men's Handball Champions League. This time, there will be no hotel confinement, antigen tests, or empty stands. The Lanxess Arena in the Rhineland city, where the Final Four of the continental competition has been held every year since 2010, will be packed on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June to welcome the Nantes club, its semi-final opponent, Berlin, as well as Magdeburg and Barcelona. "Because of the [Covid-19] pandemic , in 2021, it wasn't the Final Four that everyone has been talking about since I was a kid," says Nantes center-back Aymeric Minne.

By defeating Polish side Wisla Plock in the round of 16, followed by a victory in Lisbon (Portugal) in the quarter-finals, Nantes qualified for their third Final Four in history. In France, only Paris Saint-Germain has done better, with six appearances. But for no victory: winners of the Final Four in Cologne in 2018 , and in 2003, Montpellier remains the only French club to have won the Champions League. "It's a great pride to return there in front of a full house and to take our fans there," rejoiced Nantes coach Grégory Cojean, interviewed by Le Monde . In 2021, the technician was Alberto Entrerrios' assistant.

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