German professional handball club
Rhein-Neckar Lowen
is a professional
handball
club founded in 2002, based in
Mannheim
, Germany. The club competes in the
German Handball-Bundesliga
and continentally in
EHF European League
. Rhein-Neckar Lowen play their home games in
SAP Arena
, with a
seating capacity
of 14,500.
The club won the German championship twice under the leadership of
Nikolaj Jacobsen
, in 2016 and in 2017.
[2]
History
[
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]
On 1 July 2002, the club was founded, originally named
SG Kronau/Ostringen
, following a merger between two clubs, TSG Kronau and TSV Baden Ostringen. Their home ground was
Rhein-Neckar-Halle
. In their first season, 2002?03, the club succeeded to achieve promoting from the
2. Bundesliga
to the top tier of the German handball, the
Handball-Bundesliga
. A season after, in 2003?04, they were relegated from the 16th position, but they returned again to the first Bundesliga in 2004?05 season, after finishing the season in the 2nd place of the 2. Bundesliga. In 2005?06 season, SG Kronau/Ostringen home games were moved from the old Rhein-Neckar-Halle to the newly built
SAP Arena
in
Mannheim
. In this season, they reached the final of
DHB Cup
. They lost 25?26 to
HSV Hamburg
, and finished 6th in the Handball-Bundesliga. In the following season, they lost again in DHB Cup final, with a 33?31 to
THW Kiel
, and finished 8th in the Handball-Bundesliga.
In the beginning of 2007?08 season, the club's name renamed to
Rhein-Neckar Lowen
.
[3]
This season, they lost in the final of
EHF Cup Winners' Cup
to
MKB Veszprem
.
[4]
The Hungarians secured the title after a 60:65 win on aggregate over Rhein-Neckar Lowen. In this season, Lowen's youth team won the German championship for the first time in the history of the club. The 2008?09 season was Rhein-Neckar Lowen's best season by then, finishing 3rd in Bundesliga, and reaching the semi-final of
EHF Champions League
, in their first time in this competition. In
2009?10
, Rhein-Neckar Lowen reached the
German Cup
final again. It was their third appearance in the cup final, but again they finished as runners-up, this time after a 33?34 loss to
HSV Hamburg
.
The club won its first title on 19 May 2013, after beating
HBC Nantes
(26?24) in the
Final Four
of
EHF Cup
, on its first year as EHF Cup, a merge between
EHF European Cup
and
EHF Cup Winners' Cup
.
[5]
In
2013?14
, Rhein-Neckar Lowen reached the
DHB Cup
Final Four for the seventh time in its history, but defeated by
SG Flensburg
(26?30) in the semi-final. In the
EHF Champions League
, Lowen reached the quarterfinals, and won
FC Barcelona
(38?31) at home, but in
Palau Blaugrana
they lost, 24?31, and were eliminated from EHF Champions League because of the away goals. In the
Bundesliga
, Lowen headed to the final game of the season as table leaders, with the same total of points like
THW Kiel
. Although they won
VfL Gummersbach
(40?35), they lost the championship to THW Kiel, who won
Fuchse Berlin
, with a better result, 37?23. THW Kiel finished the season with a better goals difference and won the championship. Lowen finished only second.
A season after, in
2014?15
, Rhein-Neckar Lowen appointed
Nikolaj Jacobsen
as their new head coach. He led Lowen again to the second place, and they finished as runners-up to THW Kiel for the second season in a row. But in
2015?16
, Jacobsen was the first head coach to lead Lowen to a national championship, as they beat SG Flensburg by a one point. They also won the
DHB-Supercup
after a 27?24 win over
SC Magdeburg
. A season after, in
2016?17
, they defended the title and achieved their second Bundesliga championship in their history.
[6]
Kits
[
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Accomplishments
[
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]
Team
[
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- Squad for the 2023?24 season
- Goalkeepers
- Left wingers
- Right wingers
- Line players
|
- Left backs
- Central backs
- Right backs
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Transfers
[
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- Transfers for the 2024?25 season
- Joining
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- Leaving
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- Transfers for the 2025?26 season
- Joining
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- Leaving
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Notable former players
[
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Notable former coaches
[
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References
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External links
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History / statistics
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Home facilities
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Seasons
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IHF Cup
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EHF Cup
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EHF European League
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