SC Magdeburg seal first ever EHF FINAL4 berth
In 2002, SC Magdeburg lifted the EHF Champions League trophy for the first time, beating Fotex KC Vszprém in the final. Four years later, the German side played the competition for the last time, reaching the Last 16 before being defeated by FC Barcelona.
Almost 17 years later, SC Magdeburg made their comeback in the leadingt European club competition – and made the best out of the occasion, as they qualified for their first EHF FINAL4.
Magdeburg finished second in a tough group featuring PSG, Telekom Veszprém HC, GOG, and CS Dinamo Bucuresti. And in the quarter-finals, despite missing several key players, Bennet Wiegert’s team edged out Orlen Wisla Plock: 22:22 in Poland, 30:28 at home. To do it without injured leading players Ómar Ingi Magnússon and Gísli Thorgeir Kristjánsson, but with a 14-goal outing from right back Kay Smits, makes the achievement even more remarkable.
Barça looking to make it three in a row
In the history of the EHF Champions League, only two sides – both Spanish – have won the competition twice in a row: Barça and Ciudad Real. Well, Barça won it even five times in a row, from 1996-2000.
Last season, Barça became the first team to win the EHF FINAL4 (since 2010) for two consecutive years, having beaten Aalborg Håndbold in the 2021 final and Kielce – after a shootout – in 2022.
From the current Barça squad, 12 players were already part of the last two triumphs. For Emil Nielsen, Hampus Wanne, and Jonathan Carlsbogard, lifting the trophy with Barça would mark their first EHF Champions League victory.
