Leopold: “We’re on a journey and we're halfway there”

It is a special match in a special season for Leopold, who arrived at Nantes in the summer of 2024, experienced the Champions League for the first time that year and made it all the way to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4. Last season, the 23-year-old contributed 31 goals to Nantes’ third-place finish. In 2025/26, he has already scored 44, making him the team’s joint-top scorer alongside centre back Aymeric Minne. 

Leopold is no stranger to a high goal tally. The season before his move to Nantes, he was the clear top scorer of the Swiss league, netting 273 goals to place him 34 clear of the next player on the list. Playing for Pfadi Winterthur, he was their top scorer in the EHF European League 2023/24, with 60 strikes in just eight games — including one 14-goal outing.

Speaking to eurohandball.com the day after Nantes’ round 9 defeat to Aalborg (31:24), Leopold looks at the upcoming match versus Kielce, the experience of the Champions League and the French side’s season so far, which sees them sitting fifth in group A.

eurohandball.com: A tough loss last night, but a sound Champions League season for Nantes so far. How do you see the season overall at this point? 

Noam Leopold: I think we had some pretty amazing games this season already in Champions League. Two important wins in Lisbon and Kielce — those are four points that do a lot of good on our journey. But then, of course we have had some difficulties, like yesterday against a really great team from Aalborg. And also, at home against Berlin, we weren't able to keep up 60 minutes against the best of the best. 

So, I think we’re on track. We are where we want to be. We want to qualify for the next round. That's the most important thing for us in the Champions League, and just be able to continue competing against the best. I think if we can manage to work on us a little bit more and be more precise in some moments and do less stupid mistakes, we can also win against the biggest clubs in Europe. So, all in all, I think we are on track. We're pretty satisfied, but we know we can do better than what we did until now. 

eurohandball.com: Four wins and five losses so far, but last year at this point Nantes’ record was almost the same and you ended up in Cologne. How does the confidence of knowing how last season turned out impact you now?

Noam Leopold: Of course, it gives you confidence if you know that you are capable of going to the FINAL4 — being a part of the four best teams in Europe. But in the Champions League, a lot can happen. Every team deserves to be here, and every team has its strengths and is capable of, let's say, killing a team in a game on a given day, depending on how things go, so you always have to bring your best and try to compete.

Of course, we still have mostly the same team as last year, so we know what we are capable of. But nothing is given in the Champions League. All over again, you have to prove that you can compete and play against the best and also win, of course, so that's what we try to do in the Champions League. Looking forward from now, we're going to try to win as many games as we can and then, of course, qualify for the knockout stage and then everything starts from zero again.

eurohandball.com: Last year we saw that the group phase ultimately didn’t mean much when it came to who reached the semi-finals. What do you think about that element of how the season unfolds? 

Noam Leopold: You learn from every defeat, from every loss. That's the most important thing. But in the end, me as a player, I want to win every game. I want to compete against the best. I want to play in the Champions League and compete there and try to help my team win every single game. But of course, you have in mind that the journey is long in the Champions League and that a lot of things can happen. Like last year, we saw with Magdeburg, they had a difficult journey, and in the end, they're still champions of Europe. 

So, everything is possible, and I think it's about taking game by game. Trying just to get better every single game as a team and try to improve and grow also as a group, so that you can be really ready for the knockout stage when, like I said before, everything starts from zero and everybody wants to win the same thing. I mean everybody who's playing the Champions League right now, in the end, wants to be on top in the middle of June, so that's what everybody is dreaming of and working on too. I think we’re on a journey and we're halfway there. There's still a lot to do, a lot to learn and a lot to grow for. We're looking forward to it.

eurohandball.com: You have a much bigger role for Nantes this season. What can you say about your own development? 

Noam Leopold: I have a much more important role this season than last year. Last year, I came to this club as a little Swiss guy and had to establish myself on the biggest stage. I mean, I was living my dream — the first time ever in the Champions League; first time competing against the best in the world. And now it's more of establishing myself even more — not being the little Swiss guy anymore and being part of the best in the world. That's what I'm trying to do every single day — trying to improve; trying to be able to help my team achieve their goals. What I love the most is playing this Champions League and competing against the best. Every single Champions League night, I'm excited to play, and I'm just trying to figure things out and get better every single time I step on the court. 

eurohandball.com: You played your first championship with Switzerland earlier this year and now look ahead to your first EHF EURO. What are your thoughts on your national team journey?

Noam Leopold: It was hard in the beginning because I thought I deserve to be part of this team earlier, but there were some politics involved. But in the end, with Andy [Schmid] coming as coach, everything changed and I think I got my place in this team. I love to be part of this Swiss national team, and I think we can really achieve big things. It's just about believing in them and having enough guys who really believe that we can do such great things with this national team, and not think too small.

Of course, we have a lot to grow, a lot to learn, and we're still a young team. We still do a lot of mistakes that other great teams maybe won't do, but I think we have a lot of quality, and we have to believe that we can do, like I said, great things with this team. That's what I try to bring to this team, and try to help my team just go as far as possible. So, really excited for this European Championship at first and we're going to give everything to put Switzerland on the map even more. 

eurohandball.com: Coming to the MOTW against Kielce, what do you think of this game? 

Noam Leopold: I'm excited. It's my first time I'm going to play in the XXL Arena in Nantes. Last year I was injured through this month, so, looking forward to also experience a new arena at my home court. Playing in front of 10, 000 people is going to be a big fight. Every time Kielce comes, it's going to be a fight. They have a lot of quality. We're going to prepare the best we can and then just walk out there and do our thing and hopefully get out with the win.

photos © Mihai Neacsu (main); Tomasz Fanara (2nd in gallery); Henrik Hansen (3rd in text), HBC Nantes (all other images)