SUMMARY: Eve of throw-off at TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4
The time has come to decide the title of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2023/24 — this weekend, THW Kiel, Aalborg Håndbold, SC Magdeburg and Barça will battle for the trophy in LANXESS arena, Cologne with two action-packed days promised. The semi-finals take place on Saturday, and the finals will be held on Sunday.
On Thursday, the teams arrived in Cologne. On Friday, they took part in media calls and attended the opening party at LANXESS arena, as well as undergoing their last preparation for the semi-finals.
LANXESS arena to host EHF FINAL4 until 2029
18:23
The opening party is now underway at LANXESS arena and the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 has officially begun!
As we look ahead to tomorrow, find out where you can watch the matches in your country below. All will be streamed live on EHFTV.
17:27
In just over 30 minutes, the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 will start with the official opening party at LANXESS arena. As we look forward to what's coming up, enjoy a taste of the past below, with some of the top saves in the history of the event.
16:53
What exactly will it take to win the trophy this weekend? Winning matches during the season is one thing, but the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 is a completely different ball game, with all teams starting on completely equal footing and two big games each in two days.
Our journalist Kevin Domas spoke to all four coaches — THW Kiel's Filip Jicha, SC Magdeburg's Bennet Wiegert, Barça's Carlos Ortega and Aalborg's Stefan Madsen — to get their perspective on how to handle the final weekend and what factors they expect to be key. Read the feature below.
When you play for Kiel, you want to win every game you play, so of course we want to win this weekend. The [EHF] FINAL4 is always a little bit special, different from the rest of the season, so we will forget the rest and just focus on the semi-final.
Just because we are there twice in a row does not make us favourites. Of course, we’re title holders, but that does not change much. Are we bigger favourites than the other three teams here? I don’t think so.
When you are wearing the Barça jersey, you have to win it. It’s part of the contract, part of the deal. We know we don’t come to Cologne to finish third. But I think it’s been the same for years. It’s nothing new. Most of the players in my squad have been there for a few seasons now, so they are used to it and I guess it won’t be a problem for them this weekend.
The conditions are completely different. There will be fans with us this time. We have tried it once, the [EHF] FINAL4. It was a great experience, but tomorrow will be completely different. We have a lot more experience within the team and also as a team, and we know what we have to do to win: Bring an amazing performance.
11:39
For those interested in following along with The Spin, coming to you live from the media calls in Cologne, the rough schedule for the teams will be as follows:
- 12:15–12:45 CEST Aalborg Håndbold
- 12:45–13:15 CEST Barça
- 13:15–13:45 CEST SC Magdeburg
- 13:45–14:15 CEST THW Kiel
11:25
Keen to hear what the teams have to say on the eve of throw-off? The EHF podcast The Spin will be streaming live from the media call, with hosts Bengt Kunkel and Marcio Menino, who will be joined by different players from all four semi-finalist teams.
Watch live on the Home of Handball YouTube.
10:45
Good morning and welcome to a big day in Cologne, which will see us really get in the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 mood as we look ahead to throw-off on Saturday.
Today, join us here on the live blog as we hear directly from the participants on the eve of the semi-finals. Starting around midday, the teams will take part in media calls, from where we will bringing you interviews with the players’ and coaches’ and some special stories to read, plus there will be lots of social media content to scroll at your leisure.
Later, the semi-finalists will appear at the opening party at LANXESS arena and take part in a meet and greet with fans.
Naturally, the day for Aalborg, Kiel, Magdeburg and Barça will also include an intense focus on their upcoming games.
Lots coming up on this last day before the action begins!
22:22
Barça, Kiel, Magdeburg, Aalborg — all four semi-finalists have now arrived at the team hotel and the anticipation for the weekend can now really start to build.
21:50
Barça count two players in their squad in the running for quite a record at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4: a fifth trophy won at the event. Both Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Aitor Arino have the chance to take the title for the fifth time.
Overall, they are near the top of the list of multiple Champions League winners. Their coach, Carlos Ortega, won six titles as a player and counts seven overall following Barça's victory in his first season at the helm in 2021/22.
21:14
Barça's arrival in Cologne is imminent and with that, all semi-finalists will be on site ready for the last day of preparation before the big two days of matches on Saturday and Sunday.
The record EHF Champions League Men title holders enjoyed the clearest aggregate win of any in the quarter-finals, defeating PSG 62:53 overall (30:22 at home, then 32:31 in Paris). With that, Barça secured their fifth straight appearance in Cologne.
The last time Barça missed the EHF FINAL4 was in 2018, the "French year", when Nantes, PSG and Montpellier were joined by Vardar in Cologne. Since the implementation of the EHF FINAL4, Barça have missed the event only three times.
This year, Barça booked direct passage to the quarter-finals as the second-ranked team in group B, behind Magdeburg. In the group phase, they recorded 11 victories and three defeats. The losses came against Veszprém in October, then at the conclusion of the group phase, versus Magdeburg and Montpellier.
20:17
Want to win a jersey of one of the semi-finalists? See how to do so below!
And while you're at it, make sure you're following the EHF Champions League social media channels (Instagram, X and Facebook), as well as the Home of Handball YouTube channel.
19:51
"Boarding" is almost complete at the team hotel in Cologne, where THW Kiel have just arrived, leaving only Barça still to finish their journey.
Kiel had arguably the most memorable qualification for Cologne, as they overcame a nine-goal deficit from the first-leg quarter-final against Montpellier to pull off a miracle and book their berth on the final weekend.
Kiel had reached the quarter-finals as the winners of group A, following a campaign that included 10 wins in the group phase, plus two draws and two defeats. One of their defeats was against fellow TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 side Aalborg, and the other was versus Kolstad, who were one of the four teams to bow out after the group phase and miss the knockout stage.
19:38
A remarkable tradition has been developing at the EHF FINAL4 Men in recent years, with the last two editions and the 2024 event featuring several coaches who have won the trophy themselves as players. This year, three of the coaches have won the title as both player and coach: Barça's Carlos Ortega, Magdeburg's Bennet Wiegert and Kiel's Filip Jicha — and all three won as players with the club they now coach.
Last year, Wiegert and Ortega were both part of the EHF FINAL4, joined by Kielce's Talant Dujshebaev and PSG's Raul Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a player but never won the Champions League, while Dujshebaev did.
The year before, in 2021/22, the EHF FINAL4 Men line-up was Barça, Kielce, Kiel and Veszprém. That meant Ortega, Dujshebaev and Jicha were on the bench in LANXESS arena again, and this time joined by Momir Ilic, who had also won the title as a player — but has yet to do so as a coach.
