For the third time in history and for the second time in the last three years, SC Magdeburg were crowned kings of Europe, after securing the Machineseeker EHF Champions League Men title in a packed Lanxess Arena in Cologne, with a 32:26 win against fellow German side Füchse Berlin in the final of the competition.

SC Magdeburg subsequently secured the European spot available for the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, a competition which they won three times, in 2021, 2022 and 2023, coming as runners-up in the previous edition.

Magdeburg’s season was marred by injuries to key players, such as Felix Claar, Gisli Kristjansson, Christian O'Sullivan, Omar Ingi Magnusson or Matthias Musche, but they still emerged as contenders in the European premium club competition, despite finishing fourth in the preliminary round, tied on points with OTP Bank-Pick Szeged, after winning their last match, 31:24, against Szeged.

In the play-offs, they eliminated Dinamo București, 65:55 on aggregate, before clinching an aggregate 54:53 win against Veszprém HC in the quarter-finals, securing a place in the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 and avenging their loss in the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship final against the Hungarian side.

In the semi-final in Cologne, Magdeburg faced familiar foes FC Barcelona, providing yet another fantastic match with plenty of twists and turns. The Spanish side led throughout most of the first half, even boasting a four-goal lead, 16:12, but the two sides ended in a deadlock, 18:18.

Omar Ingi Magnusson scored 11 goals, but it was still Barcelona up ahead by three goals, 24:21, with 19 minutes to go, yet Magdeburg took advantage of the Spanish side’s woes, with Thiagus Petrus, Jonathan Carlsborgard and Aitor Arino conceding red cards throughout the match.

Depleted, Barcelona could not match Magdeburg’s strength, and with two players more on the court for the final attack, the German side passed the ball to right wing Tim Hornke, who scored his seventh goal at the buzzer, to clinch a 31:30 win and secure a place in the final for Magdeburg.

Back in the EHF FINAL4 after more than a decade, Füchse Berlin had to overcome a red card in the ninth minute conceded by the 2023 and 2024 IHF World Male Player of the Year, Mathias Gidsel, who had already scored two goals by that point against HBC Nantes.

Nevertheless, Füchse Berlin delivered a pitch perfect delivered match against Nantes and secured a 34:24, quickly becoming the hot favourites to win the EHF Champions League Men title, after they had already won the German Bundesliga.

But Magdeburg, a team renowned for their resilience, never took a step back and dominated the final, after a slow start. The German side provided a fantastic defensive display, with goalkeeper Sergey Hernandez Ferrer having one of the best matches in his career, with 18 saves for a 43% saving efficiency.

By half-time, Magdeburg had a 16:12 lead, but this time around it was Gisli Kristjansson, who had injured his shoulder three weeks ago and was questionable for this EHF FINAL4, who led the charge.

The Icelandic centre back, named the MVP of the EHF FINAL4, had eight goals, scoring from all positions, to lift Magdeburg to the win, as the second half saw Füchse Berlin trying to cut the gap, but failing to hit easy shots, as Hernandez registered two consecutive one-on-one saves twice.

In the end, Magdeburg secured a 32:26 win, in their third consecutive EHF FINAL4 appearance, lifting the title for the third time, after the wins in 2002 and 2023. Füchse finished second, losing their first final, while Nantes completed the podium with a 30:25 win over Barca in the bronze medal match.

Mathias Gidsel finished as the top scorer of the competition, with 135 goals, currently being the top goal scorer of the last editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship, the Olympic Games, the EHF EURO and the EHF Champions League Men.

Magdeburg will now play in the 2025 IHF Men's Club World Championship, qualifying as the second European team, after the reigning champions Veszprém HC.

Credit photo: EHF / kolektiff / Jozo Cabraja