As the reigning Macedonian Cup champions, HC Alkaloid has begun the second phase of preparations for its third Super League season.

At the Mavrovo camp, the groundwork is being laid for the team’s form, which will continue to develop in the run-up to the competitive season. There, the players and coach Kiril Lazarov have the optimal conditions and are making the most of every moment to reach the desired performance level. The team will remain in Mavrovo for 10 days before heading back to Skopje to coordinate their remaining summer activities.

The squad will play several control matches, mostly against international opponents. The first game will be against HC Vranje, followed by participation in the Krstе Andonovski memorial tournament in Ohrid from August 20 to 24. Preparations will then continue in Skopje, with the possibility of additional control matches.

The Macedonian Super Cup’s first official match is scheduled for early September.

HC Alkaloid has moved from its Avtokomanda home base to a training camp in Mavrovo, where they will undergo ten days of preparation. This camp will provide the groundwork for achieving the competitive form necessary for battles on four fronts, starting with the Macedonian Super Cup.

This season, coach Kiril Lazarov brought in four new players during the summer transfer window to strengthen and balance the team. They are already integrated into the training process and adapting well to HC Alkaloid’s system. Their ambitions are clear, and expectations are high.

KIRIL LAZAROV:

“Ever since the club was founded, our focus has been on giving Macedonian players significant opportunities. Our goal, strategy, and aspiration are to nurture homegrown talent. Building a team while aiming for victory is a difficult endeavor that calls for patience, especially when the team has a winning mindset.

We are about to begin our third consecutive Super League season, and I believe we are improving in every aspect with each season. Naturally, players come and go over time, which is part of the process. I hope this season we will be even stronger with the addition of four new players to our squad.

With Marko Kizic, a regular on the national team, joining Galevski and Trajkovski, two more excellent players, we have greatly reinforced our goalkeeping position. In the right-wing position, we added the experienced Nikola Kosteski, which was necessary since we only had young players there. Mihail Ivanovski, as a promising young talent, has earned the right to wear the Alkaloid jersey. There is also our new Portuguese addition, Francisco Oliveira da Silva, a versatile full-back whose skills were something we may have lacked. I’m optimistic he will adapt quickly and add real value to our roster.

We will take things one step at a time, fully aware of the challenging competition that lies ahead. It’s positive that our competitors are becoming more formidable and that the Macedonian championship is growing better since our squad needs a tough league to develop. The EHF European Cup will be a new experience for us; last year, we participated in the EHF European League, where we tasted both victory and a draw. This season, we are competing for four trophies—the Super Cup, the Macedonian Cup, the championship, and the EHF Cup—but we won’t rush. Many challenges await us this season, and our main focus will be to improve continuously” said Lazarov.

NIKOLA KOSTESKI:

“Returning to Macedonia after so many years spent abroad is a wonderful feeling. I have been away for eight years, and it’s great to be back, especially with a project like Alkaloid. We have a strong young team, and as one of the more seasoned players, I am here to help in any way that I can. We know the club’s objectives, and we are focused on moving forward while following coach Lazarov’s plans. We are hoping for a successful year.

I am familiar with most of the players from the national team, and they are all dedicated to being successful on the court. It’s great that we will be playing together for the Macedonian national team, as we already know each other, and I believe this team will make significant progress in the future. We’ll also be competing in the EHF Cup, and I hope we’ll be well-prepared going in, with our goals clear—we always aim for victory”

FRANCISCO OLIVEIRA DA SILVA:

“I am thrilled to be here in Skopje. I have joined a club full of young players and great potential, and I hope to contribute to Alkaloid’s success and produce some impressive outcomes. Before arriving, I had the chance to watch a few of the team’s games and saw a lot of promise. I am also excited to play in a city that has a deep passion for handball and regards it as a royal sport. I am eager to compete in the upcoming matches and am looking forward to getting started.”

MARKO KIZIC:

“I am excited to take on the new challenge of Alkaloid as a new club member. I have known most of the players since childhood, having played and competed together, which will make my adjustment period much quicker. We have started our preparations, and I am optimistic that solid training will lead to success both domestically and abroad. Despite being a young team, we have the skills to match any rival.

As for the three goalkeepers, healthy competition is always beneficial. I see it as a plus, as it forces us to challenge one another to improve with every match and ensure strong coverage this season”

MIHAIL IVANOVSKI:

“Last season was difficult due to an injury, but I made the most of the second half-season. I hope to help Alkaloid succeed this season and surpass last year’s accomplishments as a team. My goal is to defend the Cup trophy and, if given the opportunity, contend for the top spot in the domestic championship. We will also be playing in the EHF Cup, and I expect us to go far, becoming better every time we play.”

In addition to competing in the international EHF Cup, HC Alkaloid is the defending Macedonian Cup champion and has started getting ready for its third Super League season. The squad met for the first time in the Avtokomanda arena, and will be training in Skopje until August 3rd.

 They will then head to Mavrovo for ten days of preparations and play their first control match against the Vranje team on August 17.

HC Alkaloid will participate in a tournament in Ohrid from August 20 to August 24, putting on four matches. The first match takes place on August 20 at 16:30h against Dinamo Pancevo, followed by a game with Olympiakos Athens on August 22 at 21:00h. The third match is scheduled for August 23 at 16:30h against Lovcen from Montenegro. Placement matches will be held on the final day of the tournament. Setting up additional control matches is also possible.

In addition to competing in the European EHF Cup as Macedonia’s representative, HC Alkaloid has started preparing for their third season in the Super League.

The team changed several players ahead of the new season, with four new handball players joining the roster.

Nikola Kosteski, an experienced Macedonian national team player, will bolster the position of the right wing. Kosteski, who is 31 years old, is making his way back to Macedonia after a seven-year international career. During this time, he played for the teams of Selka Eskisehir from Turkey, Tatran Presov from Slovakia, Linz and Hollabrunn from Austria and, most recently, Talent Plzen from the Czech Republic.

This year, our defense will be greatly strengthened with the arrival of Marko Kizic, a 23-year-old goalkeeper for the Macedonian national team. He is well-known for his unquestionable skills and solid experience.

Additionally, right back Mihail Ivanoski is joining the HC Alkaloid squad after making significant progress and putting up outstanding performances with HC Multi Essence in the previous season.

Francisco Oliveira da Silva, a 25-year-old Portuguese player who excels in both left and center positions, is the fourth reinforcement. He rounds up our full-back lineup. From 2011 until 2020, Da Silva was a member of the handball club Braga. He then relocated to Vitoria, where he played for the Spanish team Guadalajara in 2022, and the Hungarian team Eger in 2023, before joining HC Alkaloid.

HC Alkaloid will play in the European EHF Cup, a knockout competition that starts with 84 teams split into two rounds, as Macedonia’s representative in its second season in Europe. The teams got their opponents for the initial elimination matches today.

HC Alkaloid, the top-ranked Macedonian team in this competition, is slated to start in the second round and was given a seeding in today’s draw. Their first opponent in the upcoming European season will be Lithuania’s Dragunas Klaipeda.

Dragunas (Dragons), the second highest-ranking Lithuanian club since the country’s independence, ended Granitas Kaunas’s 17-title streak in 19 years in 2010. Their own championship run lasted until the 2020 season, which was disrupted by Covid, and during that decade, they secured nine titles. The team of Sviesa emerged as a dominant force in 2021 and has been the Lithuanian champion for the past three seasons. During the last season, Sviesa defeated Dragunas with a score of 3-1 in the final. Throughout its history, Dragunas has also claimed the Baltic League championship cup (2021). Currently, three Dragunas players are shortlisted for the Lithuanian national team, while four positions are occupied by foreign players from Ukraine, including a goalkeeper, a pivot, and two left backs.

The second-round matches of the EHF Cup are scheduled between October 19/20 and October 26/27 for the return legs, with HC Alkaloid hosting the first match in Skopje.

HC Alkaloid won first place in the third Marko Bozhinovski memorial tournament held in Skopje. There were eight teams competing in this year’s cadet competition, three of which were international. Our team competed against HC Butel Skopje (34-25), HC Struga (29-22), and HC Mornar from Montenegro (25-23).

Following three victories, HC Alkaloid moved on to the finals where they faced Konjuh’s team from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who had defeated E. Pelister, Vardar, and Romanian Odorheiu in previous matches. Throughout the final, we maintained control over the score, although our opponents remained close. With just 20 seconds left, the score stood at 27-27. We scored a decisive goal, followed by a strong defensive play, clinching victory with a final score of 28-27. This marks HC Alkaloid’s second cup in this event, having also claimed the title in last year’s second tournament.