Champions League: Mathias Gidsel and the Füchse Berlin are disenchanted by SCM

Bennet Wiegert threw his hands over his face in disbelief long before the end of the game, and by the final whistle, the coach of the new Champions League champions was also in a state of ecstasy: The mental monsters of SC Magdeburg have won the Champions League and, with remarkable coolness, prevented another historic triumph for their rivals Füchse Berlin . Coach Wiegert's team demolished the German champions, led by world handball player Mathias Gidsel, with a 32-26 (16-12) victory in the final in Cologne , securing the European crown for the third time after 2002 and 2023.

DHB President Michelmann speaks of a historic day

In the first Champions League final between two Bundesliga clubs in eleven years, Gisli Kristjansson (8 goals) was Magdeburg's top scorer. In front of 20,074 spectators at the Lanxess Arena on Sunday, the runners-up made few mistakes and, above all, prevented Berlin 's notorious offense from flourishing. Even a red card against Gidsel's guard Antonio Serradilla Cuenca (34th minute) didn't deter Magdeburg and their strong goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez. "This June 15th is a historic day for German handball," said DHB President Andreas Michelmann: "I congratulate both teams for their fantastic contribution." SCM's triumph was "impressive."

Coach Wiegert was there as a player 23 years ago and has now won his second Champions League title as a coach in three years. For the Füchse, however, their first defeat since February dashed their hopes of a second first-place title in eight days. The previous week, the capital club had won the German championship for the first time in its history, relegating Magdeburg to second place.

Now, SCM, which had defeated defending champions and record winners FC Barcelona (31:30) in a thrilling semifinal on Saturday with a goal just before the final whistle, took revenge on the European stage and brought a season full of adversity to a happy ending. For the ninth time since the competition's inception 32 years ago, the winner comes from the Bundesliga.

On what Wiegert called a "celebratory day for German handball," SCM gained an advantage after a shaky opening phase. Wiegert's team maintained a solid defense and initially managed to neutralize Gidsel. Offensively, the team from Saxony-Anhalt significantly reduced its error rate as the game progressed.

Unlike in the decisive semifinal against HBC Nantes (34:24), when Gidsel received an early red card, the Berlin team could hardly rely on their goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev this time. After about 20 minutes without a save, Siewert replaced the Serbian goalkeeper with youngster Lasse Ludwig. Initially, this time, the game was ineffective.

Füchse Berlin make too many mistakes

SCM was getting better and better. The lead grew to four goals for the first time at 15:11 in the 26th minute thanks to Kristjansson, who had reported fit just in time for the Final Four after a shoulder injury. Berlin seemed to be lacking ideas offensively. In addition, SCM goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez was increasingly deactivating the ball.

After the break, the game gained new momentum, not least due to the sending off of Serradilla, who had defended strongly against Gidsel until then, but then caught Mijajlo Marsenic in the face during a defensive move. The game now picked up pace. Gidsel scored twice and was now more in the game, but SCM kept their foot on the gas and even took a six-goal lead at 23:17 in the 43rd minute through Lukas Mertens. The Berlin team made too many errors, especially in attack.