O’Sullivan: "You need a bit of luck to be successful twice"

"I don’t care about this fact, it is my attitude to give everything – and to be honest, one of the red cards last year was quite unlucky. Okay, I made a certain history, but it does not play any role for me, when are back at Cologne," Magdeburg’s team captain says. 

Since 2016, O’Sullivan has played for SC Magdeburg, which is only the third club in the long career of the 33-year-old. He started playing for Bækkelagets SK in Oslo, then in 2014 moved to Swedish side IFK Kristianstad and two seasons later joined SC Magdeburg. He has just extended his contract until 2026 to complete 10 seasons with the German club. 

On Saturday 14 June at 18:00 CEST (live on EHFTV), he will lead his side onto the court of the LANXESS arena for another semi-final duel with record winners Barça – a repeat of their meeting at the same stage two years ago.

"The 2025 semi-final will be a completely different match compared to 2023, with different players on both sides. We can have in mind that we beat them after extra-time and penalty shootout, but that’s all," O’Sullivan says. 

Last Sunday, SC Magdeburg finished the thrilling German league season as runners-up, only one point below new champions Füchse Berlin, the second German team to have made it to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025. Therefore, winning the Machineseeker EHF Champions League is the last chance for SC Magdeburg to lift a trophy this season.

“We have a chance to make it to the final, we beat Barça several times in the previous years, we have a good team, but we also know the quality of the three other contenders. We know how it feels to stand on the winners’ podium in Cologne – and we want to do it again,” says the Norwegian.

For O’Sullivan, it is always something special to be in the LANXESS arena.

“It is a great weekend with an extraordinary atmosphere and the best teams of Europe. And you know that you can win something really great there and to show what you are able to. Simply, I am absolutely happy to be at Cologne again – together with our great fans, who contributed a lot to the fact that we made it to the EHF FINAL4.” 

The way to Cologne was quite winding for the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2022/23 winners, with no consistency at the start of the group phase. But when the year 2025 started, Magdeburg were back on track, beating Dinamo Bucuresti twice in the play-offs, followed by two exhilarating quarter-finals against One Veszprém. After a fortunate 26:26 draw at home, SCM were behind for almost the whole return leg in Hungary, before Gisli Kristjansson booked the ticket to Cologne with a buzzer-beater for a 28:27 victory.

"We had to face a lot of long-term injuries, but we managed to deal with it, and we are back at Cologne after this thrilling highlight in Veszprém. Now everything can happen, but if there is any favourite then it is Barça,” says O’Sullivan. “They play their seventh straight FINAL4, so you see the huge gap of experience compared to all other participants."

After winning the trophy in 2023 as underdogs, Magdeburg arrived as defending champions in 2024, but failed twice.

"I do not think that we could learn that much from 2024. Every match in Cologne is very close, and you need a bit of luck to be successful twice in 24 hours. We have experienced many final weekends, in the European League, in the Champions League or in the German cup, but all four teams which made it to Cologne, have a similar or even longer experience," says the Magdeburg captain.

To have the captaincy role in Cologne is not much different to being captain in other matches, O'Sullivan believes.

"Many of my teammates had played semi-finals at World or European Championships or at final weekends of club competitions, so they know what to expect. The only thing you have to mention is that you do not make those matches at Cologne bigger than they are. Simply enjoy them and try to do your best."

Photos: Marc Graupera; www.pekaroland.hu; kolektiff images