From across the continent they have come, united by a singular goal. Three days ago, underdog French squad Saint-Denis Us 93 hoisted the Women's Europe Cup in Novi Sad, Serbia. Now, the action moves a mere five-hour drive to the east, as the gentlemen have their turn to play. Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., local time, the Tamanneftegas Europe Cup Men's Final gets underway in Varaždin, Croatia. Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 E.V. of Germany leads the seeding of the 13 teams in group stage action tomorrow and Thursday. The top two in each group will proceed to the quarterfinals this weekend, leading in logical progression to the championship on Sunday. World #44 Daniel Habesohn of Austria (pictured) captains the Mühlhausen squad, with plenty of star power backing him up. His teammate Ovidiu Ionescu of Romania, ranked 60th in the world, sees a difficult but doable path to the continental championship ahead of them. "Our goal here is to win the title, but it will not come easy," says Ionescu. "Pontoise Cergy, Enfireex Ostrava and Top Spin Messina are the favorites as well. We did not have an opportunity to play against these clubs, but we know the players." Surveying the field, captain Habesohn also likes his team's chances. "I think that our team has the most leveled line up, concerning quality," he asserts. "On all positions we have very strong players and we will have an opportunity to make variations and a lot of combinations with the draw and to choose players who has best response to the adversaries on the other side." The master strategist is not coy about stating his goals. "We are here not only to participate, we are here to win the tournament," said Habesohn. In the Women's Europe Cup, Saint-Denis Us 93 upset the seeding to claim the championship. While Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 E.V. look to avoid any such surprises in Varaždin, their 12 rivals surely draw inspiration from recent events.

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