Vlah and Celje ready for Match of the Week

RK Celje Pivovarna Laško made their return to the Machineseeker EHF Champions League in the 2022/23 season after a one-year absence. Former player Alem Toksic took over at the helm as coach at the start of the 2021/22 season with two clear goals: developing the young team and reclaiming the title of Slovenian champions.

The Slovenian side achieved the latter goal and secured their 27th season in Europe's top tier – and they have the youngest squad in 2022/23. Aleks Vlah, the competition's current top scorer, is one of the brightest stars in the team. The centre back started his career in Koper and played for Croatian champions HC PPD Zagreb before joining Celje in February 2021.

Vlah gained his first Champions League experience playing for PPD Zagreb, where he spent two and a half years. This is his first top-tier season with Celje, his third in total, and he is finally showing what he is capable of.

"Everything fell into place in Celje. I hope I will continue to play like this and that the whole team will show what we are capable of in Europe," said Aleks Vlah.

The Slovenian champions were drawn in a strong group B in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. However, the young Slovenian team has produced good performances in the first four rounds of the competition. A four-goal loss against Aalborg in was a good introduction for Celje before their surprise victory in round 2. Aleks Vlah led his teammates to a historic 38:36 win over THW Kiel, netting 10 times and earning the MVP title of round 2.

"When you win against an opponent like Kiel, it's a great feeling. It boosted our confidence and I believe that is shown on the court, too. After Kiel, we played good against Velenje in the domestic league and in the following matches of the EHF Champions League Men, we were keeping up with one of the best teams in Europe," continued Vlah.

Even though Celje lost to Aalborg, Barça and HBC Nantes, they gave their opponents a good run for their money. Despite the win over Kiel earning them their only points this season, Celje can only progress more as time passes by.

"I believe if our opponents underestimate us, that is our chance, especially on our home court with our fans' support. I hope we will have good support from the stands in the upcoming matches. With fans, we can surprise maybe someone else in the competition or at least show this young team of Celje can do great things," said Aleks Vlah.

Aleks Vlah is ahead of Mikkel Hansen, Rasmus Lauge, Kamil Syprzak and Dika Mem in the ranking of the top scorers. In four matches. Vlah has scored a total of 33 goals — one more than in his two and a half years with PPD Zagreb — with a 67 per cent efficiency. When you add 16 assists, putting him in fourth place in the competition, Vlah's centre back magic cannot escape the spotlight.

"Looking at the table of the top scorers in the competition, it feels good to see your name at the top. However, I wouldn't be there if it was not for my teammates. We support each other and our play is a result of that. I am never satisfied with my performance; I always believe I can do better. That is what is pushing me forward, to be even better. To be honest, I would like it more that we win a few more matches rather than me being the top scorer," said Vlah on his current EHF Champions League success.

In round 5, Celje Pivovarna Lasko will welcome Lomza Industria Kielce for Match of the Week on Thursday 27 October at 18:45 CEST (live on EHFTV). It will be a clash between two former EHF Champions League winners, a young, courageous team against one of the most experienced teams. It is interesting that from eight encounters so far, the last one being in 2018, Celje have won six and have never lost at home to Kielce.

"Kielce is a favourite, of course, as a team always aiming for the EHF FINAL4. However, we are not going into the match with a white flag. We will prepare good and play as best as we can so we and our fans can be satisfied with the performance. Even if they must take the points, we want to make sure they don't get them easily," added Vlah ahead of the Match of the Week.

Talking about this season's goals, Vlah's main wish is to continue with top performances in the EHF Champions League, showing Europe that Celje are back and the team to watch in the future. And they want to secure that by winning yet another Slovenian championship.

"We want to be back-to-back champions in Slovenia and defend the title we brought back last season. In Europe, the main focus is to show how much we are progressing as a young team, to show our qualities. We don't want to talk about goals and make them a burden. We have to play relaxed just like we know. If we progress further from a group phase, it will be a huge success. If not, we want to know we gave our maximum and feel no regret," concluded Vlah.