Füchse Berlin secured their fifth semi-finals berth at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, capping off a dramatic semi-final against FC Barcelona, with a 35:34 win, after extra-time, after they were down by two goals with three minutes to go and after two minutes in extra-time.

Barcelona have now missed the chance to win the title for the third time in a row, missing out on the title they won five times so far.

SEMI-FINAL
FC Barcelona (ESP) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 34:35 a.e.t. (16:16; 29:29)

The clash between Barcelona and Füchse tends to become a vintage one at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, a true classic between two European powerhouses, as this semi-final was the fourth time the two teams met in the competition. Two matches were previously secured by Barca, while the German Bundesliga leaders sealed one win and aimed to balance the head-to-head record.

And it was Füchse which dictated the tempo in the start of the match, constantly harassing Barca’s defence with their fast-paced style, an excellent performance from their back line, which had Danish pair Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson, shining, with each scoring five goals in the first half.

In fact, this was Füchse’s only shortcoming in the first 30 minutes, as the German side had only four scorers on the board, with Gidsel and Andersson being joined by left wing Jerry Tollbring, who scored five goals, and right wing Hans Lindberg, who scored once.

Nevertheless, Füchse created a four-goal gap after 15 minutes, 12:8, which prompted Barca’s coach, Antonio Carlos Ortega, to call a time-out and tweak his team’s defence, which morphed from a traditional 6-0 to a 5-1 and even 4-2, trying to stop the build-up between Gidsel, Andersson and centre back Nils Lichtlein.

Indeed, that worked like a charm, and Barca embarked on a 4:0 run to tie the match, 12:12, also fueled by goalkeeper Emil Nielsen, who saved nine shots for a 37.5% saving efficiency, as Barca conceded only four goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half.

A Nielsen last-gasp open-goal shot did not go in in the last second of the first part of the match, but Barca got the better of Füchse in the start of the second half, taking their first lead of the match, 18:16, with a 2:0 salvo in the first 90 seconds, two goals scored by left back Timothey N’Guessan.

This was always going to be a question of depth and even if Barcelona did not have the same one from the previous seasons, Füchse had even less, with only 15 players, and plenty inexperienced at this level to face such a tough opponent.

But it was Gidsel who continued to shine, keeping the German side in the game, with his 10 goals, which took his overall tally at the 2023 IHF Men’s Super Globe to 36 goals, securing his first place in the standings.

While the pace might have slowed down, Füchse were still going strong on fast breaks, with the German side cancelling a three-goal lead for Barca to tie the match, 25:25, with 11 minutes to go, prompting a time-out from the Spanish team.

Once again, Barca took a two-goal lead and were trying to protect that difference with three minutes to go, 29:27, yet the twists and turns of this epic match were not over, with Füchse tying the score, 29:29, with 68 seconds left on the clock, as they still had only five scorers in the match by that time.

Yet this was not the end, as Hampus Wanne missed a penalty with six seconds left on the clock to win it for Barca, with the match going to extra-time, as the German side still found their strength to stop Barca’s attacks.

There, it was all Füchse in the final part of the match. First, they cancelled a two-goal lead from Barca once again, while Mathias Gidsel and Hans Lindberg went excellent in attack, combining at the end of the match for 18 of Füchse’s 35 goals, to help their side take an emphatic 35:34 win.

For Füchse, this is their fifth final of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, while Barcelona will have to settle for the bronze medal game, losing the chance to win the title for the third time in a row and missed the final for the first time since 2015.

hummel Player of the Match: Hans Lindberg (Füchse Berlin)