Article by Adrian Jitea – Published Monday, June 01, 2026, 3:27 p.m. / Updated Monday, June 01, 2026, 3:28 p.m.
On June 6 and 7, in Budapest, CSM Bucharest will try to get the second Champions League trophy, 10 years after the performance of the generation led by Isabelle Gullden.
- This year's Champions League semi-finals are scheduled for June 6: Metz – CSM Bucharest (4:00 p.m.) and Brest – Gyor (19:00);
- The final will be played on June 7, from 19:00.
CSM Bucharest was present in three editions of the Final Four, between 2015 and 2018. It won the competition in the first participation, then settled for the bronze medals.
After a long break, the students trained by Bojana Popovic and Iulia Curea are again in the elite. The latter, currently the second coach, was also part of the gold team. He was accompanied by Aurelia Brădeanu, the current manager of CSM Bucharest, but also Alina Iordache, now the goalkeeping coach of the Romanian vice-champion.
What is the “golden generation” from CSM Bucharest doing today?
What are the other protagonists of 2016 doing? Five of them are still active, you will learn about the others in the following lines:
- Jelena Grubisic (39 years old) – retired in 2022, no longer active in handball. He devoted himself to family life in Croatia
- Mayssa Pessoa (41 years old) – performed in the 2025/2026 season in the first French league, at Saint-Amand Handball
- Alina Iordache (44 years old) – goalkeeper coach from CSM Bucharest
- Isabelle Gullden (36 years old) – head coach at IK Savehof
- Iulia Curea (44 years old) – second coach at CSM Bucharest
- Ana Paula Rodrigues (38 years old) – returned to Brazil, registered at Esporte Clube Pinheiros. It is also involved in several national handball promotion programs
- Line Jorgensen (36 years old) – retired from handball, mother, flirted with the profession of physiotherapist, also having a diploma in the field
- Cristina Vărzaru (46 years old) – the manager of the handball section at CS Rapid
- Bianca Bazaliu (28 years old) – newly crowned champion of Romania with Gloria Bistrița. From next season, he will perform at Corona Brașov
- Aurelia Brădeanu (47 years old) – the manager of the handball section at CSM Bucharest
- Maria Cristina Nan (36 years old) – disappeared from the landscape of Romanian handball
- Ekaterina Vetkova (39 years old) – still plays handball, at Athinaikos, in the first league in Greece
- Carmen Martin (37 years old) – retired from handball, most recent public appearance was at Gala Neagu
- Oana Manea (41 years old) – withdrawn from the phenomenon, dedicated to family life. She runs a business with her husband, an ice factory
- Maria Fisker (35 years old) – from next season, she will be a player-coach at Eiðis Bóltfelag, a team from the Faroe Islands. In the current season he played for Viborg
- Linnea Torstensson (43 years old) – withdrawn from the phenomenon.
CSM Bucharest, champion despite all calculations
In the 2015/2016 season, CSM Bucharest produced the biggest surprise in the recent history of women's handball. On his first participation in the Champions League, he managed to lift the trophy.
The format of the competition was different at that time. There were preliminary groups. CSM finished in 2nd place in group D, below Buducnost, but above Savehof and MKS Lublin.
In the main group, the Romanian team ranked 4th, the last position that ensured qualification to the quarter-finals, with a record of 4 wins, a draw and 5 defeats.
In the next stage, there was a double leg with Rostov Don, the only unbeaten team in the League at that time. The Tigresses won both legs by a margin, 26-25 at home and 29-28 in Russia.
The Final Four was scheduled on 7 and 8 May 2016 in the “László Papp” hall in Budapest.
CSM Bucharest advanced to the semifinals with 27-21 over Vardar Skopje. The heroine of the game was goalkeeper Jelena Grubisic. The Croatian intervened as a rescuer in 20 rows.
Do you know what our secret was? We enjoyed the moment. We were considered outsiders and no one thought we would reach the Final 4 from fourth place in the group, but we did it.
We went there knowing that anything is possible, we were relaxed, no pressure, a great atmosphere and extremely motivated to show that we can do it. And I did it!
– Jelena Grubisic, for GSP.ro
in the final CSM Bucharest against the great favorite Gyor. A carousel of emotions, many overturns, the fantastic Isabelle Gullden (15 of the team's 22 goals) and two goalkeepers on grace day. Grubisic defended 18 balls, and Pessoa mesmerized his opponents with the throws from 7 meters.
It was 22-22 after 60 minutes, 25-25 at the end of overtime and 4-1 in penalty kicks.
