The 2024-25 Men’s Bundesliga is coming up. Which teams are favorites? Which teams are in danger of facing relegation? And what about all the teams in between?
Favorites
SC Magdeburg
Key players: Magnus Saugstrup, Felix Claar, Omar Ingi Magnusson
Coach: Bennet Wiegert
Notable signings: Manuel Zehnder (HC Erlangen)
Significant departures: Janus Smarason (Pick Szeged)
Comment: They won the league last season and the squad is looking just as sharp this year. Felix Claar’s injury hurts them but Manuel Zehnder is a great addition.
Füchse Berlin
Key players: Dejan Milosavljev, Lasse Andersson, Mathias Gidsel
Coach: Jaron Siewert
Notable signings: Tobias Reichmann (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)
Significant departures: Hans Lindberg (HÖJ Elite), Marko Kopijar
Comment: It’s a very similar squad to the one that almost took home the title last season. Is this the year that Füchse finally breaks through and wins the league? It could be.
THW Kiel
Key players: Andreas Wolff, Eric Johansson, Elias Ellefsen a Skipagötu
Coach: Filip Jicha
Notable signings: Andreas Wolff (Vive Kielce), Emil Madsen (GOG)
Significant departures: Niclas Ekberg (Ystads IF), Steffen Weinhold (retires)
Comment: Kiel should be better this season than the previous one. Wolff is one of the best keepers around and the young players will probably be better.
In the hunt
SG Flensburg-Handewitt
Key players: Johannes Golla, Simon Pytlick, Jim Gottfridsson
Coach: Nicolej Krickau
Notable signings: Niclas Kirkelökke (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)
Significant departures: Teitur Einarsson (VfL Gummersbach)
Comment: The squad is looking interesting and Krickau is a great coach, but Flensburg is a bit below the 3 teams mentioned above.
MT Melsungen
Key players: Nebojsa Simic, Timo Kastening, Elvar Örn Jonsson
Coach: Roberto Parrondo
Notable signings: Aaron Mensing (GOG), Alexandre Cavalcanti (Nantes)
Significant departures: Ivan Martinovic (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Julius Kühn (HB Ludwigsburg)
Comment: The departure of Martinovic hurts them as Kristopans is not at the same level. Mensing and Cavalcanti are great additions however to an already strong side.
VfL Gummersbach
Key players: Julian Köster, Kentin Mahé, Elldi Snaer Vidarsson
Coach: Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson
Notable signings: Dominik Kuzmanovic (RK Nexe), Kentin Mahé (Telekom Veszpem)
Significant departures: Tibor Ivanisevic (Göppingen), Dominik Mappes (Wetzlar)
Comment: What a job Sigurdsson has done with this team. And this year Gummersbach is looking even more interesting.
No man’s land
Frisch auf Göppingen
Key players: Bart Ravensbergen, Ludvig Hallbäck, Erik Persson
Coach: Markus Baur
Notable signings: Ludvig Hallbäck (Bjerringbro-Silkeborg), Victor Klöve (Aalborg Håndbold), Ymir Örn Gislason (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)
Significant departures: Martin Sego (retires), Sebastian Heymann (Rhein-Neckar Löwen)
Comment: Göppingen should be better than the previous season where they struggled quite a bit. Hallbäck, Klöve, and Gislason are just 3 of the smart signings.
HSV Hamburg
Key players: Johannes Bitter, Casper Mortensen
Coach: Torsten Jansen
Notable signings: Mohamed El-Tayar (HBV Balingen-Weilstetten), Robin Paulsen Haug (Elverum Håndball)
Significant departures: Dani Baijens (PSG)
Comment: What will this Hamburg side look like without Dani Baijens, their most important player in the past few seasons? Not as great, that is for sure. But there are still great players and Hamburg should not be in danger of relegation (if the economy allows them to survive).
TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
Key players: Uladzislau Kulesh, Marian Michalczik, Renärs Uscins
Coach: Christian Prokop
Notable signings: Joel Birlehm (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Thomas Solstad (Bjerringbro-Silkeborg)
Significant departures: Dario Quenstedt (retires)
Comment: Hannover had a bit of a down year last season but the squad this year could be better. Renärs Uscins showed everyone during the Olympics the he had arrived and the right back is now the star of this team.
SC DHFK Leipzig
Key players: Kristian Säverås, Luca Witzke, Viggo Kristjansson
Coach: André Haber
Notable signings: Luka Rogan (RK Vojvodina)
Significant departures: Maciej Gebala (HC Erlangen)
Comment: Witzke and Kristjansson are the 2 most important players for this team. Had a few rough months last season but if they can amp up their stability they should have an acceptable season.
TBV Lemgo
Key players: Urh Kastelic, Niels Versteijnen, Tim Suton
Coach: Florian Kehrmann
Notable signings: Constantin Möstl (Alpha HC Hard)
Significant departures: Lukas Zerbe (THW Kiel)
Comment: Möstl is one of the most promising keepers in the world and the Austrian should be a great complement to the again Kastelic. This is a team that always fights to the end, and that should not, for Lemgo’s sake, change this year.
Rhein-Neckar Löwen
Key players: Mikael Appelgren, Juri Knorr, Olle Forsell Schefvert
Coach: Sebastian Hinze
Notable signings: Sebastian Heymann (Göppingen), Ivan Martinovic (Melsungen)
Significant departures: Uwe Gensheimer (retires), Niclas Kirkelökke (SG Flensburg-Handewitt)
Comment: Heymann and Martinovic are two great signings, two of the best signings ahead of this season. In other words, Löwen should be better this season, that is probably Juri Knorr’s last at the club.
HSG Wetzlar
Key players: Domen Novak, Dominik Mappes
Coach: Frank Carstens
Notable signings: Dominik Mappes (Gummersbach)
Significant departures: Emil Mellegård (HÖJ Elite)
Comment: Not much has happened in Wetzlar and that could be both good or bad. But at least they have some continuity.
Relegation danger
HB Ludwigsburg
Key players: Julius Kühn, Fredrik Genz
Coach: Iker Romero
Notable signings: Julius Kühn (Melsungen)
Significant departures: –
Comment: The newcomers will have a tough season. Sure, Kühn can still scare keepers with his shooting ability and Romero is an interesting coach, but this is a thin side.
ThSV Eisenach
Key players: Silvio Heinevetter, Peter Walz
Coach: Misha Kaufmann
Notable signings: Silvio Heinevetter (Stuttgart)
Significant departures: Manuel Zehnder (SC Magdeburg)
Comment: They charmed everyone last year but they did so with Manuel Zehnder, the top scorer in the Bundesliga, in their team. If Eisenach avoids relegation this season that will be an even bigger achievement than last year.
HC Erlangen
Key players: Klemen Ferlin, Jonathan Svensson, Christoph Steinert
Coach: Johannes Sellin
Notable signings: Sander Överjordet (KIF Kolding), Maciej Gebala (Leipzig)
Significant departures: Manuel Zehnder (SC Magdeburg), Simon Jeppsson (Kolstad), Bertram Obling (Gummersbach)
Comment: Lost Simon Jeppsson and Bertram Obling, two players that have meant much to this team. And Zehnder should have dominated for them this year but was sold. A very thin squad that will need to overperform to avoid battling for relegation.
VfL Potsdam
Key players: Martin Tomovski, Jannek Klein
Coach: Emir Kurtagic
Notable signings: Martin Tomoviski (RK Vardar), Jannek Klein (Füchse Berlin)
Significant departures: Lasse Ludwig (Füchse Berlin)
Comment: The second promoted team has a great partnership with Füchse that has helped them over the years. This is a team that can surprise some people but most likely they will fight at the bottom of the table.
TVB Stuttgart
Key players: Daniel Fernandez, Kai Häfner
Coach: Michael Schweikardt
Notable signings: Lenny Rubin (Wetzlar)
Significant departures: Adam Lönn (PAUC)
Comment: They managed to secure a new contract last season, much in thanks to Adam Lönn. The Swede has left the club, but Lenny Rubin is a great replacement. Still, everything but a fight to avoid relegation would be surprising.