Sesvete's quiet rise through the EHF European League

The young Croatian side, led by former star player Igor Vori — who once again took over the team in September 2025 after Željko Babic's departure — will throw everything on the line on Tuesday evening (25 November at 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV) for the reverse fixture against group F leaders HC Vardar 1961 in the penultimate round in front of their home fans. In round 1, Sesvete lost 34:29 against the two-time EHF Champions League winners.

Last season's debut in Europe tested the nerves. Drawn into a group with SG Flensburg-Handewitt, MOL Tatabanya KC and HBC Karvina, Sesvete finished last with five losses and only one win. They took the most out of it, kept the squad almost intact and protected the team chemistry built on their young talents with added touches of experience.

And so far, this season is proving that hard work, patience and continuity do pay off, especially when taking into account that they were only promoted to the Croatian first division in the 2017/18 season.

One of those experienced players is Ivan Dumencic, the centre back who returned to Sesvete in 2021 after his international journey and is now orchestrating the attack with calm authority, and with 20 assists along 16 goals. Next to him, Nikola Finek has stepped up again, proving instrumental on the left wing as the team's third-best scorer with 18 goals.

eurohandball.com: Sesvete are having a dream start to their second EHF European League Men season – four games, five points and a real chance of progressing further. What would you say has been the key to this success so far?

Finek: The key is definitely the experience we picked up in the European League last season. In some of those matches we simply couldn't get points, and this season, in similar situations, we managed to do it. And that's the most important thing. We had great preparations and the qualification matches against Dugo Selo. We have a young team, a couple of experienced players, and I hope we can continue with good performances in these last two group matches and go through to the next round.

Dumancic: I agree, the most important thing is the experience we gained last season. It means a lot. And the fact that most of the team remained intact, with only two new players. We started to believe that we're not just passers-by in this competition, but that we have something to show. Because if you don't believe, you can't achieve much.

eurohandball.com: In your debut 2024/25 season you finished last in the group with only one point, but showed great fighting spirit throughout. How did that first European season shape you as a team?

Dumancic: The path this club is on is all young, home-grown guys who progress next to a few of us experienced ones, and we do it year by year. And now, when I look back at last season, I would even say it was easier group than this one now. Flensburg were untouchable, but compared to the other teams, I think that group was easier. And back then we took only two points, and this season we already have five. With still two more matches to play. Those situations you get from those games are the reason why we're collecting points this season.

eurohandball.com: The next Highlight Match is a clash on your home court between Sesvete and Vardar — a strong team with familiar faces, who beat you 34:29 at the start of the season. How do you see this upcoming match and what will be crucial compared to that first clash?

Finek: This match will be completely different from the first one. Almost for sure. We're in a good run, and from that first round loss against Vardar in the opening round in Skopje, we haven't lost — neither in the European League nor in the domestic league. Vardar are a team that were European champions, they were at the top, and they have a lot of experienced players. In that first match we kept up in the first half, but in the second we ran out of strength. Maybe they had a bit more rotation, but this match we're playing at home, hopefully again with a full hall. I hope we'll have the same support we had against Toulouse, and we're going for two new points and another win.

eurohandball.com: Sesvete are having a breakthrough year, with everyone knowing their tasks and giving their best. Ivan you are orchestrating attacks, Nikola you barely miss, the line players and the back court is delivering. How satisfied are you with your own performances so far?

Finek: I'm really satisfied individually. It can always be better, especially in defence. You can always make a better decision, but overall I'm satisfied. Not just with myself, but with the whole team. Everyone does what's asked of him. And I have to add, it's much easier when you have a player like Duma [Ivan Dumencic], to praise him a bit, because when we get into some stressful situations, he comes in, or if we play 7 vs 6, he calms the attack down. It's good to have a player like that in the team.

Dumancic: It happened that our 7-vs-6 game worked really well against Toulouse. We played very smart, and I'm the one who organises all of that. I have a lot of trust from the coach and he gives me absolute freedom. And that really makes it easier to play, when you know someone stands behind you. And since 7 vs 6 is that kind of game, the assists came naturally from it. But even that wouldn't be possible without our cohesion. For example, that 7-vs-6 concept with four back players, we hadn't played it since the last time Vori was our coach, probably more than a year ago, we didn't even train it. And when the attack didn't start well, we just switched to it without any training and it worked perfectly. So our togetherness affects things like that and gives us an advantage.

eurohandball.com: Apart from your attack, which is currently the fourth-best attack of the European League with 194 goals, Sesvete are also a very defensive team?

Finek: That's all our coach Igor Vori. He has that attitude he tries to pass on to all of us, that no one is better than us at the start of a match. His approach has really transferred to all the guys, and even when we make mistakes in defence, the boys fight for each other, really give everything, and then everything else comes as a consequence of that.

eurohandball.com: You two also share a strong connection outside Sesvete, and that connection is beach handball. You're reigning World Champions and bronze medallists from last EURO. How much does beach handball influence your chemistry and confidence?

Dumancic: Well, we did have that in-flight goal against Toulouse in the first game.

Finek: We did! Beach handball helps us stay fit during the summer because we're active all the time. And since we've been playing together for a few years now, both in beach handball and here at the club, we've scored that in-flight goal at least a dozen times. Duma and I already know each other so well, we just look at each other and we know what will happen. We have that chemistry for in-flights — even though I'm still waiting for the day when I throw him the ball for an in-flight.

eurohandball.com: Ivan, you returned to Sesvete in 2021 after 15 years, to the club where you began your handball career and later played through the lower divisions. After everything you've experienced since then, how does it feel to see how far the club has come and to be part of this story again?

Dumancic: When I left Sesvete, I thought I was leaving for good. It was a club playing in the county League and I wanted something better for myself and my career. But here I am, this is my fifth season since I came back, and this club has become something wonderful. I still can't believe we have a club like this. During the summer I talked with coach Vori and I told him I'm sorry that when I was around 20, we didn't have a club like this where you can develop. And that today we have three competitive Croatian clubs in Europe, because for many years we only had Nexe and Zagreb. I hope other clubs will join us too. It would be great for Croatian handball if they did.

photos © Frederic Speziale (main); Beyond Foto (first and last in-text); Denis Dukovski (second and third in-text)