The first edition of the IHF Men’s Super Globe with 12 teams at the start concluded on Sunday evening in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with an instant classic, as German champions SC Magdeburg retained their title. They won 41:39 against Barça in a match that required two halves of extra time.

Magdeburg became only the third team in history to win back-to-back editions of the Super Globe, after Barça and fellow German side Füchse Berlin. They did that in style with an even more impressive win against the Spanish powerhouse, after taking a 33:28 victory against Barça in 2021.

The German side recorded their eighth Super Globe win in a row in a roller-coaster match, which saw them create a six-goal lead in the second half, only for Barça to mount an impressive comeback and tie the game, sending it to extra time with a penalty converted by Swedish left wing Hampus Wanne, when there were only five seconds left in the regular time.

But the four penalties missed by Barça were crucial in the match's outcome, as the Spanish side took the lead, 37:36, after 64 minutes, only to score twice in the next six minutes.

When Wanne missed another penalty, it was game over, as Magdeburg clinched a 41:39 win. Icelandic right back Omar Ingi Magnusson, the top goal scorer of the previous season in the Bundesliga and at the EHF EURO 2022, delivered a masterclass with 12 goals, while fellow Icelandic back, Gisli Kristjansson, scored six goals and dished eight assists.

Magdeburg are now the second most successful team in the history of the IHF Men’s Super Globe, tying Füchse Berlin and Ciudad Real at the number of trophies won. At the same time, Barça are still the most decorated team in history, with five trophies, two second places and one bronze medal.

The final was also the largest-scoring ever in the history of the Super Globe, beating the previous record set in 2019, when Barça took a 34:32 win against THW Kiel by no less than 14 goals. In total, only four finals had at least 60 goals scored in the competition's history.

Al-Ahly and Khaleej spring surprises in Dammam

The bronze medal was sealed by Lomza Industria Kielce, which clinched a 35:26 win against Egyptian side Al-Ahly SC. The Polish champions have now finished third in both editions of the Super Globe they played in 2016 and 2022, with their loss against Barça in the semi-finals, 28:39, being only the fifth game lost by the Polish side by 10 goals or more in the last decade.

Ahly also became one of the five non-European sides who have won against a European team in the competition, with their 29:28 win against SL Benfica in the preliminary round. The Egyptian powerhouse finished fourth, their second-best result in history after they finished second in 2007 when the IHF Men’s Super Globe had a round-robin format.

Another surprise was Saudi side Khaleej, who loaned three Egyptian stalwarts, backs Hassan Kaddah and Ahmed Elahmar and goalkeeper Karim Hendawy for this tournament. The Saudi side finished sixth after conceding a last-second 30:31 loss against Esperance de Tunis in the 5/6 Placement Match .

Records galore at the 2022 IHF Men’s Super Globe

Kaddah, who will join Kielce in the summer of 2023, was arguably the tournament star, delivering the best-ever performance by a single player in the tournament, with 45 goals in four matches, three more goals than the record set by Amine Bannour in 2012.

Both Kaddah and Al-Kuwait SC’s Ali Saleh recorded a new top performance by a single player in a match at the Super Globe, each scoring 16 goals on the final day, Kaddah in the game against Esperance de Tunis, while Saleh dominated the one against Mudhar.

Kaddah (45 goals), Saleh (40 goals) and Magdeburg’s Omar Ingi Magnusson (28 goals) were the top scorers of a tournament that wrote a record in itself.

This was the highest-scoring Super Globe in history, with an average of 63.6 goals scored per game, beating the previous record set in 2011, with an average of 61.8 goals.

Final standings 2022 IHF Men’s Super Globe:

1. SC Magdeburg (GER)

2. Barça (ESP)

3. Lomza Industria Kielce (POL)

4. Al-Ahly SC (EGY), 5. Esperance de Tunis (TUN), 6. Khaleej (KSA), 7. SL Benfica (POR), 8. Handebol Taubaté (BRA), 9. Al-Kuwait SC (KUW), 10. Mudhar (KSA), 11. Sydney-Uni (AUS), 12. Club Ministros (MEX)