PARIS
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PGE VIVE Kielce in brief
Founded in 1965 as part of the Iskra Kielce sports club, the team's first seasons included workers from the Iskra factory.
In the spring of 1973, the city's two main sports clubs, SHL and Iskra, merged to become Korona Kielce. This merger will last until 1991, when the Polish club will return to its original name. Since 2002, the club has been known as VIVE Kielce, a name that continues to this day.
PGE VIVE Kielce is a leading club in Polish handball and has won 17 Polish championships, 16 national cups and one EHF Champions League title in 2016.
On November 18, 2021, the club ended almost 6 years of FC Barcelona invincibility in the European Cup in their Palau Blaugrana, winning 32 - 30. The last team to achieve the feat was none other than... VIVE Kielce, in 2015!
The Parisians against Kielce
If it is usually during the quarter-finals or even Final 4 that the roads of Paris Saint-Germain and Kielce cross in the EHF Champions League, both teams were crossing path among Group B, including FC Porto, Flensburg, Veszprem, FC Barcelona, Zaporozhye and Buracest. The club finished 1st, above Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Their last double-header against each other was an unbelievable scenario. The Parisian side, who lost the first leg of their quarter-final in Kielce by ten goals, almost managed to close the gap in the second leg. In a crazy atmosphere in Coubertin, the Parisians came very close with a 35-26 win.
On October 22, 2020, the Parisians were defeated in Poland 35 - 33, despite a great performance from Mikkel Hansen. The Parisians took their revenge at home by winning on February 23, 2021 with a score of 37-26. Luc Steins and Mikkel Hansen had an excellent game, scoring 6 goals each.,
Players to follow Duel
Born on August 17, 1991 in Barcelona, David Balaguer started out in the club of his city of origin, the FC Barcelona, before joining from the season 2015/16 the HBC Nantes. He became an emblematic player of the H over the years, participating in a EHF Champions League final with Nantes in 2018. With his teammate Valero Rivera, the Catalan winger participated fully in the evolution of HBCN, making this club one of the main rivals of Paris Saint-Germain in the Liqui Moly Starligue. After 7 years spent in the club, David Balaguer joined the club of the capital in the summer 2022.
Born in Paris and trained at Paris Saint-Germain, Dylan Nahi is an example of precocity at the highest level, having played his first pro game at the age of 15 with the Red and Blue. In October 2017, he also became the youngest player called up to the French national team during the Golden League, at only 17 years old. Elected best hope the of 2020-21 Champions League for his last season with PSG, he joined Kielce in the summer of 2021 for a period of 4 years. On October 17th, 2021, against his former teammates in the group stages of the Champions League 2021-22, he finished as the joint top scorer of his team, a great architect of the victory of Kielce against the Parisians.
ul. Leszka Drogosza 2, 25-116 Kielce
The PGE VIVE Kielce has been evolving in the Hala Legionow since its inauguration on August 25, 2006. In their home ground, the yellow and blue teams can count on the support of 4,200 spectators. The Hala Legionow is a modern multi-purpose facility and hosts various sports, including volleyball and combat sports.
Located in the south of the city near the forest park "Stadion Lesny", the Football and Athletics Stadiums, the hall is accessible in 30 minutes walking from the central station. From Kielce Airport it is only 20 minutes by car.
