Spartak are going to represent Russian handball in the upcoming, 9th season of the SEHA – Gazprom League. This will be the first time that we have one Russian team competing in the League. 

The Russian gem has some great accomplishments when it comes to the domestic court. The previous season was remarkable for the young team from Moscow. After being the best in the regular part of the season, they managed to secure second place in both the Russian Super League and Russian Cup. 

Spartak will start their SEHA journey in the Group A. Right off the bat, they will have a chance to play against reigning SEHA – Gazprom League champions and EHF Champions League winners, Vardar. Besides them, Spartak will also meet with the Croatian vice-champions Nexe, Slovakian Tatran Presov and Serbian Vojvodina. Ukrainian Motor Zaporozhye were also placed in that group so Spartak won't be the only newcomers there. 

Besides standard duties on the domestic court and the new SEHA adventures, Spartak will also be a part of the EHF Cup. They were placed in the first qualification round where they will play against team from Sweden, Malmo. This will be a new chance to make a good achievement and improve their result from the previous season when they got to the second qualification round. 

Two amazing players, Inal Aflitulin and Alexander Dereven will have important roles as they were already a part of the SEHA League previously in their careers. Aflitulin was on the SEHA court in the 2016/2017 season with Telekom Veszprem, and Dereven even managed to secure the SEHA trophy with Vardar in 2017. Besides them, another key player will be thirty-seven year old Dmitry Kovalev, top scorer on the domestic court from the previous season. 

Alongside the amazing forces in their roster, Spartak will also have Igor Levshin on the coaching position. Experienced former goalie will lead his team in their first ever SEHA experience. There is no doubt, the 9th edition of the SEHA – Gazprom League will put a lot of challenges in front of Spartak, but also bring a lot of excitement. With the support of their fans, the team from Moscow can hope for the best.

Photo credit: HC Spartak official web site