Rhein-Neckar Löwen

Rhein-Neckar Löwen is a professional handball club that started in 2002. The team is based in Mannheim, Germany, and plays in the top league called the German Handball-Bundesliga. They also compete in a big European tournament known as the EHF European League.

The team hosts its games at SAP Arena, a large venue in Mannheim with a seating capacity for 14,500 fans. This makes it a lively place to watch a match.

Rhein-Neckar Löwen has achieved great success, winning the German championship two times. The team reached the top under the guidance of coach Nikolaj Jacobsen, claiming the title in both 2016 and 2017. These victories show how strong and talented the players are.

History

The Rhein-Neckar Löwen handball club was started on July 1, 2002, after two teams joined together. They played their first games in a place called Rhein-Neckar-Halle. The next year, they moved up to the top league in Germany. But then they dropped down again before coming back strong.

In 2005, they moved into a new big arena called SAP Arena in Mannheim. Over the years, they played in many important matches and sometimes came very close to winning big prizes but just missed out. In 2013, they won their first big European prize. A few years later, in 2016, they won the German league for the first time, and then won it again the following year. In 2014, they set a world record with lots of fans watching one of their games.

Accomplishments

The Rhein-Neckar Löwen team has won many important prizes. They won the Handball-Bundesliga in the seasons 2015–16 and 2016–17. They also won the DHB-Pokal in 2017–18 and 2022–23, and the DHB-Supercup in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Additionally, they won the EHF Cup in the 2012–13 season.

Team

Transfers

Transfers for the 2026–27 season

Notable former players

• Uwe Gensheimer (2003–2016,2019–2024)
• Henning Fritz (2007–2012)
• Christian Schwarzer (2007–2009)
• Michael Haaß (2006–2007)
• Oliver Roggisch (2007–2014)
• Christian Zeitz (2002–2003)
• Michael Müller (2009–2012)
• Stefan Kneer (2014–2016)
• Hendrik Pekeler (2015–2018)
• Steffen Fäth (2018–2020)
• Marius Steinhauser (2012–2017)
• Juri Knorr (2021–2025)
• Nikolas Katsigiannis (2020–2022)
• Mikael Appelgren (2015–2025)
• Kim Ekdahl du Rietz (2012–2018, 2021)
• Tomas Svensson (2011–2012)
• Andreas Palicka (2016–2021)
• Albin Lagergren (2020–2023)
• Jesper Nielsen (2018–2021)
• Jerry Tollbring (2017–2021)
• Lukas Nilsson (2020–2023)
• Olle Forsell Schefvert (2022–2025)
• Ólafur Stefánsson (2009–2011)
• Róbert Gunnarsson (2010–2012)
• Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson (2008–2011, 2016–2019)
• Stefán Rafn Sigurmannsson (2012–2016)
• Alexander Petersson (2012–2021)
• Snorri Guðjónsson (2009–2010)
• Ýmir Örn Gíslason (2020–2024)
• Mariusz Jurasik (2003–2009)
• Sławomir Szmal (2005–2010)
• Karol Bielecki (2007–2012)
• Krzysztof Lijewski (2011–2012)
• Žarko Šešum (2010–2014)
• Darko Stanić (2015)
• Bogdan Radivojević (2017–2019)
• Ilija Abutović (2018–2022)
• Børge Lund (2010–2012)
• Bjarte Myrhol (2009–2015)
• Harald Reinkind (2014–2018)
• Niklas Landin Jacobsen (2012–2015)
• Mads Mensah Larsen (2014–2020)
• Niclas Kirkeløkke (2019–2024)
• Gedeón Guardiola (2014–2020)
• Isaías Guardiola (2012–2014)
• Rafael Baena González (2015–2018, 2020)
• Borko Ristovski (2015–2016)
• Dejan Manaskov (2016–2017)
• Filip Taleski (2017–2019)
• Richard Štochl (2015)
• Maroš Kolpak (1997–2007)
• Dmitri Torgovanov (2005–2007)
• Sergei Gorbok (2007–2010, 2013–2014)
• Jackson Richardson (2009)
• Romain Lagarde (2019–2021)
• Gábor Ancsin (2009–2011)
• Dániel Buday (2007–2008)
• Andy Schmid (2010–2022)
• Ivan Čupić (2010–2012)
• Jan Filip (2008–2009)
• Mait Patrail (2020–2022)
• Andrej Klimovets (2005–2010)
• Oleg Velyky (2005–2008)

Notable former coaches

• Nikolaj Jacobsen
• Michael Roth
• Christian Schwarzer
• Frédéric Volle
• Yuri Shevtsov
• Ola Lindgren
• Guðmundur Guðmundsson

Goalkeepers 20 Mike Jensen 29 David Späth Left wingers 08 Tim Nothdurft 15 David Móré Right wingers 14 Gino Steenaerts 24 Patrick Groetzki Line players 09 Steven Plucnar Jacobsen 80 Jannik Kohlbacher

Left backs 07 Robert Timmermeister 13 Sebastian Heymann 45 Halil Jaganjac Central backs 04 Mathias Larson 25 Haukur Þrastarson 71 Lennart Karrenbauer 77 Dani Baijens Right backs 11 Lukas Sandell 78 Edwin Aspenbäck

Joining Niclas Mierzwa (LW) (from Pfadi Winterthur) Jacob Lassen (RB) (from Handball Sport Verein Hamburg) Marius Steinhauser (RW) (from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf) Aron Seesing (LP) (from Bergischer HC)

Leaving David Móré (LW) (to ThSV Eisenach) Lukas Sandell (RB) (to OTP Bank-Pick Szeged) Patrick Groetzki (RW) (retires) Steven Plucnar Jacobsen (LP) (to GOG Håndbold)