May 4, 2022 - Nexe Našice and GOG drew 37:37 in the return match of the EHF European League quarterfinals and is the first Croatian club to advance to the Final 4 of the prestigious European handball club competition!

Nexe thus wrote the history of Našice, Slavonia, and Croatian handball, achieving this phenomenal success. NEXE drew against the Danish club GOG in the full Phönix Tag Arena in Gudme, and defended the advantage from the first meeting a week ago when they celebrated 32:27.

Nexe played a brilliant 20 minutes, and then missed a lot of opportunities in the last ten or so in the first half. Instead of a convincing lead, they were -2 after 30 minutes of play. Fortunately, this did not leave a mark on their game, which was mostly thanks to the young Dominik Kuzmanović who singlehandedly shattered Gudme's dreams of qualifying for the final tournament. 

Nexe Našice opened the match well, easily led 1:3, gained confidence, and controlled the match almost without major difficulties. When Branko Tamše's team took the lead for the first time with three goals, the home coach was forced to ask for a timeout. The first quarter of the match was not yet over. 

Nexe had the answer to GOG's game. Whether it was a quick transition, an attack on full defense, or a threat to take the ball away for a passive attack. The first half had three heroes. Mihailo Radovanović managed to defend against seven home attacks. Halil Jaganjac and Predrag Vejin played with GOG's defense and scored from all possible positions.

Nexe was up by 4 in the 21st minute (13:17). GOG equalized with a 4:0 series in less than four minutes and at the end of the first half was up 22:20. It was the first serious warning for Nexe that the end is still far away.

The second great crisis arose at the beginning of the second half. In less than five minutes, GOG was up by 4 (26:22) and had an attack for five points. Dominik Kuzmanović quickly shattered all hopes, and Nexe had a 0:6 series and returned for the 26:28 advantage.

In the 48th minute, they were up by 4 again (27:31) and ended at 37:37, which means that Nexe secured a spot in the EHF European League Final 4!

Simon Bogetoft Pytlik was brilliant for GOG with 11 goals. Halil Jaganjac scored 12 goals from 16 attempts, which is fantastic for an outside player. Predrag Vejin scored 7, and Marin Jelinić 6 out of 6 attempts.

The EHF European League Final 4 is played on May 28 and 29. The host will be known in the next ten days, as the EHF is waiting to see who will make it to the final tournament. Nexe is also a candidate to host the final tournament.

Source: HRS

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October 5, 2021 - Handball club NEXE from Našice will play in the EHF European League Group C!

Although the impressions have not yet subsided after the NEXE handball team made up for 6 goals against the Danish club Bjerringbro Silkeborg and qualified for the European League, the future is already being planned in Našice. The European League groups have been drawn in Vienna.

Slobodan Kadic

NEXE was in the last pot this time. Regardless, the draw could have been better. The Našice club is in group C with the German team Magdeburg, French PAUC, Swedish Savehof, Spanish Logron la Rioja, and Slovenian Gorenje from Velenje. Coach Branko Tamše was most pleased with the latter. Born in Velenje, he became a player at Gorenje and later started a very successful coaching career.

Slobodan Kadic

"We knew that all groups would be strong, but ours is very difficult with six different styles of play and therefore attractive. There will be everything; I am already looking forward to new matches. And now, slowly, game by game, we will prepare well for as many points as possible. I think the easiest is group D, and group B is like ours. It is what it is!" pointed out Tamše, who, together with his players, will enjoy the victory for a few more days.

Slobodan Kadic

NEXE begins in the European League Group C on October 19, visiting Provence in Aix against PAUC. Then, they will play at home against Savehof on October 26, a slightly more challenging opponent than last year's Alingsas, which NEXE defeated twice in the European League group last year. Savehof is the current Swedish champion.

NEXE will then make their fourth visit to Magdeburg (November 16). The draw put them in the same group for the second year in a row. Magdeburg went to the very end last season, so they will try to defend their title as European League champs.

Slobodan Kadic

A week later, NEXE will visit Logrono La Rioja in Spain. They are nominally the third-best club in Spain, behind the European champions Barcelona and Bidasoe Irun, and were knocked out by NEXE last year on their way to the European League.

The first round will close on November 30 against Velenje in Našice, and a week later, NEXE will play in Tamše's hometown, where the team prepared this summer.

Four teams from each group will advance to the round of 16. 

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September 27, 2021 - It will be NEXE against Bjerringbro in the second match of the second round of the EHF European League qualifiers in Našice on Tuesday. 

To be or not to be? That is the question. This is the simplest way to describe tomorrow's scenario of the EHF European League match between RK Nexe and Danish club Bjerringbro from Silkeborg, which will be played at 6:45 pm. To go further and achieve a real feat, Našice would have to make up for six goals. The NEXE handball players had two minus goals at halftime in Silkeborg. In the first attack, Mario Tomić reduced the lead to 16:15. After that, it was only -1, and less than half an hour later, the scoreboard showed 33:27 for the hosts.

With this result, the first match of the second qualifying round ended. Bjerringbro Silkeborg recorded a big six-goal difference ahead of the return match, played in Našice on Tuesday (September 28) at 6:45 pm. It is pretty clear that the NEXE has a difficult mission ahead, but not an impossible one. Some things need to be kept, like great goalie releases; first of all, Moreno Car kept NEXE in the game for 45 minutes. Halil Jaganjac was excellent again. Ten goals scored against the Danish runner-up were yet another one of his great performances. This confirmed that he is no longer just national team potential but already a player that coach Hrvoje Horvat and NEXE's Branko Tamše can rely on. The problem with Jaganjac was already two exclusions in the early phase of the game, in the first half. In general, playing with a player less and conceding goals on an empty goal was crucial in the first game against the Danes.

Slobodan Kadic

"I'm still talking with a hothead, but I think that they made less difference with our player. We fouled on two or three clean shots, hit the post, and instead of connecting, our shutdowns happened as well. Instead of scoring, we conceded goals on an empty goal three or four times. These gifts were not just given that way. They turned it into goals, and of course, morale, no matter how strong, must fall. We conceded too many goals. It is difficult when the Danish machine flies around the court," said NEXE coach Branko Tamše, who will not agree that the first half was good.

Slobodan Kadic

"The game is played for 30 minutes, and we were not great all 30 minutes. We were good as long as we had concentration and did what we agreed in both attack and defense. The goalkeeper also helped us then, but we didn't use it. First of all, in our transition, we were aggressive too few times, especially after good defense. And what now? Hope dies last. This is not a result that cannot be compensated. That is to be believed. And we believe that the NEXE players started believing in that as soon as they boarded the plane to return to Croatia."

He believes in a great turnaround.

"I already told the guys that we would be very, very prepared for the return match in a week. If they did it and beat six differences, then so can we. I firmly believe in that. Let us now realize all those posts and what went next to the goal. We hope to have a bit more breadth, but 16 who run against Silkeborg have to do everything to enter the EHF European League."

Tamše and his players are already inviting the audience.

"In Denmark, it smelled like victory, but as the match progressed, something was not good. We lost, but now we have to fix it and enter the group stage. Certainly, for every good goalkeeping defense, the defense is also important, i.e., teammates, so for me and my colleagues Radovanović and Kuzmanović it is imperative because then we are also good in our defenses," said Goalkeeper Moreno Car, adding that he counts on spectators and invites all fans to Našice because they also saw in Denmark how much the support from the stands meant to the hosts.

A real refreshment in NEXE's ranks is goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović from Dugo Selo, multiple Croatian champion at the cadet level and winner of the Dražen Petrović award as a member of the Croatian cadet national team that won gold at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku.

"I feel like I have been in NEXE for several years, my teammates have accepted me very well, and I am satisfied with Našice as a peaceful town. Although the summer was very successful for me, we won European silver at the cadet championships in Varaždin and Koprivnica. It remains a pity that we didn't get gold, but we will have two more competitions in the younger categories to be able to correct it," said Kuzmanović.

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September 27, 2021 - A new NEXE website, vision, and strategy for the Našice handball club was announced for the upcoming period. 

During the pandemic, but also otherwise, clubs rarely organize gatherings with journalists. Members of the "seventh force" are often considered a necessary evil, but the real shift in these relations was made by the leadership of RK Nexe from Našice. A gathering was organized in Feričanci, and a new vision and strategy of RK NEXE for the upcoming period were presented.

Slobodan Kadic 

Welcomed with the sparkling wine "Nice To See You," the facilities and the new cellar were toured, wine was tasted, and new projects were presented, especially the plans for the construction of the new Nexe handball Arena in Našice. Josip Ergović, president of RK NEXE, briefly explained the club's vision, strategy and goals, and organizational structure. Among the planned new projects, he pointed out working with young people - the launch of NEXE Academy 2.0 and the Mini Handball League, in which children from two Našice and seven regional primary schools should participate.

Slobodan Kadic 

J. Ergović was pleased to announce good news regarding infrastructure. Namely, following the plan and estimates, as many as three sports halls should be built in the next five years. This is a hall in Feričanci that would be used mainly by athletes and recreationists from the area of the Municipality of Feričanci. At the same time, the development of handball in that area would be encouraged. The construction of the hall should be financed by European funds from measure 7.4.1.

Slobodan Kadic 

In Našice, the plan is to build a smaller training hall for training purposes, which sports clubs would mainly use for the needs of their younger teams, and the construction will be financed by NEXE d.d.

Slobodan Kadic 

The largest and most significant investment would be the construction of the NEXE Arena, a modern arena-style sports hall with a capacity of 4,000 seats, which would provide the opportunity to hold competitions at the highest level. The construction company NEXE d.d., jointly financed with the City of Našice, Osijek-Baranja County, and state funds, and whether some other accompanying facilities will be built next to the hall has not been fully defined yet. The hall must be functional and beautiful, but, Ergović continues, there should be space for fitness, cafe, or restaurant so that people can gather and socialize there, said J. Ergović, emphasizing that they still thought about the pool. However, it is difficult to do because it makes the project very expensive.

Slobodan Kadic 

The new RK NEXE website was also presented, which was discussed by Milan Zdjelar from the German company COBE, which was hired to create the site and is also one of the club's sponsors. The site also contains a webshop where you can buy RK Nexe jerseys and T-shirts at affordable prices and souvenirs and match tickets. The joint gathering of journalists and representatives continued at the Goveđa glava site with a reception and tasting of Enosophia wine.

Slobodan Kadic 

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May 20, 2021 - As expected, RK NEXE defeated second division team Slatina with a convincing 25:41 and advanced to the semifinal of the Croatian Handball Cup.

The final tournament will be played in Poreč from June 18 to 20, and in addition to RK NEXE, two other semifinalists are known - PPD Zagreb, which defeated Vinkovci's Spačva, and Sesvete, who celebrated away in Poreč. The fourth participant in the final tournament will be the winner of the duel Balić-Metličić - Dubrava.

Last night's visit to Slatina was supposed to be a handball holiday, but the pandemic still took its toll, so this game was played in front of empty stands. The beginning belonged to NEXE, which led 4-0 in the first four minutes and actually showed the hosts how the game would go. Despite the huge difference in quality, a very good young home team skillfully used all the opportunities given to them and managed to score 15 goals by the break (15:24).

Coach Branko Tamše rotated the players again on several occasions, making changes to the complete lineups. In the continuation of a similar story, the physical superiority of Našice and the young rhythm of Slatina could not match. If we consider that apart from competing in the Cup, they are not competing, the resistance they offered to the Croatian runner-up was more than solid.

Slobodan Kadic

The match ended with a convincing 25:41, and the set goal was achieved - placement in the Cup final, but coach Branko Tamše was still very dissatisfied with the approach and commitment of some of his players.

"Last night, the local handball players finished their very good performance in this season's Croatian Cup, they have to wait for the decision on the continuation of the competition in the Second Croatian Handball League - East. As their coach Viktor Freihaut pointed out, for years, they have been at the top with direct aspirations for placement in the First Croatian Handball League."

NEXE will briefly put aside the Croatian Cup competition and return to the final of the domestic championship. In the 4th round of the Package24 of the Premier League - Champions League on Saturday, NEXE will play in Varaždin. The match against Dabrovo will be played starting at 7 pm with a live TV broadcast on Planet Sport.

Source: RK NEXE

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March 24, 2021 - The Nexe Našice handball team was defeated in the first match of the EHF European League last 16 at home against German side Rhein-Neckar Löwen 27:25 (13:14).

The Našice club held their own against the favored German side and even had an advantage 15 minutes before the end for 22:21.

Slobodan Kadic

Slobodan Kadic

Nexe kept the score even until the last five minutes when Löwen turned the game around and ultimately claimed the victory. 

Slobodan Kadic

Halil Jaganjac scored seven goals for Nexe, while the best for Löwen was Swede Jerry Tollbring who also scored seven goals. Both goalkeepers were excellent, with Moreno Car recording 12 saves and Andreas Palicka 11.

Slobodan Kadic

The return match is played in a week in Germany. 

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March 18, 2021 - The Nexe handball team recorded a 36:32 victory at home in Našice against Macedonian club Vardar in the 5th round of the SEHA League Group B. 

Motor leads the table with 9 points from three games, followed by Nexe with nine points from five games, and Vardar with six points from four games. In last is Vojvodina who recorded four defeats in four matches.

Slobodan Kadic

Slobodan Kadic

In the clash of these two teams in Skopje, the hosts celebrated 27:26, so Wednesday's victory in Našice could prove crucial in the fight for second place in the group.

Slobodan Kadic

Halil Jaganjac and Janko Kević scored eight goals each, and the great goalkeeper Moreno Car recorded 16 saves. Timur Dibirov scored nine goals for Vardar. 

Slobodan Kadic

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February  24, 2021 - The Nexe Našice handball team achieved their fourth consecutive victory in the EHF European League, defeating CSKA Moscow 32-31 (14-14) on Tuesday in Našice.

The victory was confirmed by Mario Tomić with a goal seven seconds before the end when he sent the ball into the undefended net.

Slobodan Kadić

With this Nexe victory and the expected defeat of the Swedish team Alingsas away to the leading Magdeburg (36-21), Nexe theoretically secured their spot in the last 16 of the EHF European League's first season.

Slobodan Kadić

Nexe played a very even match against the Moscow team, who they lost to in November by 11 goals (29-18).

Halil Jaganjac and Janko Kević scored six goals each for the home team, Fran Mileta scored five times, and Dorian Markušić scored four goals. Goalkeeper Moreno Car had 15 saves, and Mihailo Radovanović had two. Ilchenko, Astrashapkin, and Fokin scored five goals each for the Russian side.

Slobodan Kadić

One round before the end, Nexe is in fourth place with 10 points. CSKA and Montpellier have 10 points each, but with a better goal differential. In first is Magdeburg with 14 points. Alingsas has four points, and the Turkish club Besiktas, which lost all nine games, will not advance to the next round. 

Nexe will play in Montpellier on March 2 in the last round of the group stage.

Sportklub.hr

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