As if the evening were following a higher power, the punch line was reserved for the main actor. So Mathias Gidsel took the final penalty throw, converted safely and sank to his knees with clenched hands like an exhausted warrior after a heroic deed. It is also still to be determined whether Füchse managing director Bob Hanning himself co-wrote the script for this crime thriller, but in any case the final phase couldn’t have been more nerve-wracking. The strong Hungarian series champion Veszprem had forced the German champions to throw seven meters, which culminated in a 35:33 victory thanks to the outstanding Dejan Milosavljev in goal and world handball player Gidsel. “He loves situations like this, he likes to take responsibility, he loves drama,” said Hanning, explaining his protagonist’s outstanding performance.
The Berliners have thus qualified for the Final Four, which will take place in Cologne on the second weekend in June. And so a revenge is also possible in a purely German final, in which Berlin lost to rival SC Magdeburg 26:32 at the same place last year. The Füchse had won the national championship title a week before the tournament, and the Magdeburgers will soon secure this title in the current season. It is difficult to imagine that Saxony-Anhalt will let this triumph be taken away from them with a seven-point lead with five games remaining. The current condition of the Primus also speaks against this theory, who has found his usual class again after a minor dip in performance with two defeats in the group phase of the Champions League and the cup exit in the semi-finals against Bergischer HC.
The two clear victories in the quarter-finals against the Hungarian top club Pick Szeged with no chance are evidence of this. The 45:37 victory on Wednesday evening in our own hall in particular turned out to be a demonstration of power. The power of the backcourt axis around the Icelandic national players Gisli Kristjansson (five goals) and Omar Ingi Magnusson, who also scored the best of the evening with eight goals, as well as the Swedish playmaker Felix Claar, with whom they work on the opposing defense, is simply too great for many opponents. “That was one of our best games this year, we made few mistakes and kept up the pace. The team showed a fantastic performance,” said coach Bennet Wiegert about the fourth place in the premier class finals in a row: “That’s not normal either.”
In this situation, the defending champion becomes a contender for the title, which the Berliners would like to prevent. Füchse boss Hanning speaks very respectfully about the national competitor, who loves this rivalry: “They need what this team has achieved in recent years for their self-image, and I take my hat off to that.” Nevertheless, he doesn’t know “why we shouldn’t win the tournament,” for which his world handball player in top form is essential: “Sure, he’s our go-to guy, he’s made us all better.” However, Hanning also remembers the semi-finals of last year, when Gidsel was shown the red card in the eighth minute: “We clearly won against Nantes without him and made it to the final.”
In addition to the two top German teams, the draw for the semi-finals next Tuesday includes balls from Spanish champions Barcelona and Danish champions Aalborg, where national player Juri Knorr is pulling the strings. All of them also have “legitimate claims to the title,” says Hanning.
The coming season could be difficult for Berlin: Lasse Andersson is leaving – and Simon Pytlick isn’t coming until 2027
However, getting into the current knockout tournament was very difficult because in Veszprem Berlin met an opponent who has been investing a lot of money and effort for this goal for years. The Hungarians had an equal ensemble of top international players on the field – as well as an extremely robust defense that mainly affected the Berliners in positional play. So it was the Füchse tempo game, triggered by the saves of the Serbian national goalkeeper Milosavljev in the goal, which the best throwers Gidsel (eleven goals) and national player Tim Freihöfer on the left wing (eight) were able to make decisive use of. In the backcourt, Lasse Andersson earned top marks thanks to his powerful six goals, but the Danish world champion and Milosavljev will leave the Foxes – only too happy with the Champions League title.
Precautions have long been taken to ensure that this does not cause too much worry. In 2027, the Danish world champion Simon Pytlick and the exceptional French left-hander Dika Mem will come. Swedish keeper Andreas Palicka will be joining the Foxes next season, and Hanning also has remaining hope that Andersson will stay for another season – should his new Danish club Höj be relegated.
If this doesn’t happen, there will be a “difficult next season,” Hanning suspects. The injured Fabian Wiede returns, but he is left-handed. Homegrown player Matthes Langhoff is probably not yet ready to fill the gap offensively, which is why the Füchse boss is also exploring the market. But first the focus is on Cologne, which could bring a very special Champions League weekend for Hanning: The Füchse managing director is also in the final four of the Youth Club Trophy as coach of the A-juniors, and the young talent will choose the European title winner before the professionals. So there are “two little pictures,” says Hanning, “that I’m still missing from my Panini album.”