One of the biggest surprises of the last season in Champions League was indisputably the fact that Russian Rostov Don did not manage to qualify to the Final4 in Budapest after they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by no one else than the future trophy winners from CSM Bucuresti. The team is made of the half of Russain national team ( which since then become Olympic champions..).
For the new season, Rostov Don’s management had no smaller goals, they still want to qualify to the Final4 and come closest possible to the trophy.
The Danish headcoach Jan Leslie obviously wants to have not only a stronger but a much faster team as well, at least the transfers made during the summer break tend to show and demonstrate this theory. Some of the players left the team, Anna Punko moved to Hungary, Ekaterina Davidenko and Regina Shimkute are taking a break due to happy circumstances, being pregnant. Goalkeeper Anna Sedoykina was forced out due to a serious injury she got during the Olympic Games (ACL-rupture followed by a surgery and recovery period).
Rodriguez left CSM Bucuresti for HC Odense, then moved to Russia / photo: Björn Kenneth Muggerud
During the Olympics there were rumours about Katrine Lunde heading back to Norway but those proved to be only rumours.
Even if these players will be absent in the next period, at Rostov Don is still contoured a consistent team, with a variable squad.
The team has finished in the second place in the Russian League, without rights to directly qualify to the Champions League groups, but one of the qualification spots has been given without further explanation to Rostov Don, that’s how they got the spot in the most difficult group with CSM Bucuresti, Győri Audi ETO KC and FC Midtjylland.
Left the team: Anna Punko (DVSC-Hungary), Ekaterina Davidenko, Rehina Shimkute (maternity leave), Elena Avdekova (Dinamo-Sinara)), Marina Sudakova (Kuban Krasnodar), Elena Skladchikova (Stavropolye-SKF), Anna Sedoykina-injured
Newcomers: Alexandrina Cabral (Fleury), Ana Paula Rodrigues (HC Odense), Anna Vyakhireva (Astrahanochka), Siraba Dembele (HC Vardar), Olga Chernoivanneko (HC Vardar), Maria Basarab (back from loan-Kuban)
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Katrine Lunde (NOR), Maria Basarab, Galina Mekhdieva
Playmakers: Ekaterina Ilina, Ana Paula Rodriguez (BRA), Lotte Griegel (DEN)
Leftbacks: Vladlena Bobrovnikova, Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa (ESP), Anna Sen , Elena Slvinskaya
Rightbacks: Anna Vyakhireva
Lineplayer: Ksenia Makeeva, Alexandra Stepanova, Maya Petrova
Leftwings: Siraba Dembele (FRA), Viktoryia Borschenko (UKR)
Leftwings: Yulia Managarova, Olga Chernoivanneko
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