Füchse Berlin advance to the Champions League final and face Barcelona

Key players: Gidsel scores, Milosavljev stands tall

The match remained tight after the break. Matthias Musche converted to make it 32:31 (47th minute), after Ómar Ingi Magnússon had earlier slotted home the penalty to spark celebrations with the 29:29 equalizer (44th minute). Magdeburg edged ahead 32:31 in the 48th minute, but the Füchse hit back: in the 55th minute they were back up by three (36:33), and with three minutes to go it was 38:33. The Füchse then pulled away in the final minutes (33:38/57th minute).

Berlin's top scorer was Mathias Gidsel, the backcourt player crowned World Handball Player of the Year, with nine goals. For Magdeburg, Gisli Kristjánsson produced an outstanding performance with excellent vision. The team coached by Bennet Wiegert thus missed out on defending its Champions League title.

Situation: Defending champions and arch-rival eliminated

The situation ahead of the semifinal was about as difficult as it could be from a Berlin perspective: German champions SC Magdeburg were the defending holders, and Berlin had taken nothing from the two previous Bundesliga meetings between the sides. In 2025, the Berliners, who have never won the trophy, had lost the final against Magdeburg with Herburger in the squad. In the third-place match, the Magdeburg players will face the loser of the second semifinal on Sunday.

In the second semifinal, FC Barcelona advanced 37:32 after extra time against Aalborg Håndbold of Denmark, whose squad includes German national team player Juri Knorr. Record winners Barcelona thus await the Füchse as Sunday's final opponents.

Final opponent: Record winners Barcelona await

For Berlin, it was the second consecutive final appearance, with the cup winners from the capital aiming for the first European title in the club's history. ÖHB team player Lukas Herburger is also back in the CL final. The Vorarlberg native, who plays for German runners-up Füchse Berlin, stressed after the win that the toughest task is still to come.

Reactions: Hanning, Claar and Freihöfer

Füchse managing director Bob Hanning, 58, pointed to the special dynamics of a Final Four weekend: „Nicht die beste Mannschaft muss das Final Four gewinnen, sondern die, die über 48 Stunden das beste Momentum hat. Wir hatten bisher ein sehr gutes Momentum“. He said Berlin had taken the next step after 2024, when the Füchse lost the final as runners-up, but must deliver once again on Sunday.

Magdeburg backcourt player Felix Claar struggled with the way the match went after the defeat, but pledged to fight for third place: „Wir haben jetzt keine Wahl mehr, es ist jetzt so. Wir werden alles dafür tun, um Dritter zu werden. Heute war Berlins Tag. Ich habe das Gefühl, dass sie bei jedem Angriff getroffen haben“.

Tim Freihöfer, who featured at left wing for the Füchse, had already turned his focus to the final: „Nach einem geilen Spiel ist nichts gewonnen. Ich will mir nicht zum zweiten Mal die Silbermedaille umhängen“.