Kiel are back on the European throne, celebrating a 33:28 victory in the final against Barça at the eleventh edition of the VELUX EHF FINAL4, which was staged without spectators on 28/29 December 2020. After 2000 and 2010, it has been the third time for the two teams appear in an EHF Champions League final and, just like ten years ago, it was the German side who took the win at the Lanxess arena in Cologne, Germany. 

After a three-year absence of German team at the VELUX EHF FINAL4, THW Kiel are not only back on the podium but even claimed the coveted trophy. “The first thing I tell my team is that I am the happiest coach on earth right now,” said Kiel coach Filip Jicha. He became the third person who won the EHF Champions league as a player and a coach – alongside Talant Dujshebaev and Roberto Parrondo. 

THW Kiel were the underdogs in their 300th EHF Champions League match, facing the strong Spanish side Barca who remained unbeaten for 22 matches in the competition. Apart from an early lead in the match (3:2), the Spaniards were a few goals behind most of the time, although Dika Mem equalised once at 15:15. A time-out taken by Jicha a few minutes before the half-time break proved effective as Kiel took a 19:16 lead into half-time. 
 

In a very tactical match, the German side played seven-against-six in attack most of the second half. With Niklas Landin, they had a strong goalkeeper between the posts, who saved 14 shots in total. However, record EHF Champions League winners Barça fought back, almost closing the gap at 23:26 and 26:29 by their best scorer on the field (10 goals), Aleix Gomez. However, the momentum was on Kiel’s side, as the goals from right wing Niclas Ekberg and line player Patrick Wiencek were followed by two goals from left wing Rune Dahmke, marking the 33:28 victory. 

“It is very hard to put the feelings into words. Of course, we missed our fans at the arena, but we are so happy that we won the title. We worked so hard for it for two days and we put everything into it,” said Wiencek after the final. 

The timing for the defeat could not have been worse for Barça after their flawless performance in the Champions League since September 2019. As in 2010 (Kiel) and 2013 (Hamburg), they were beaten by a German team in the final. 

Prior to the final Paris Saint-Germain HB (PSG) and Telekom Veszprèm played the 3/4 placement match. While PSG were defeated by Barcelona 32:37 in the first semi-final, Veszprèm lost 35:36 to Kiel after extra time in a roller-coaster match. Thus, history repeated itself as both PSG and Veszprèm are still waiting to ultimately lift the VELUX EHF FINAL4 trophy. 
 

In the bronze-medal match, the Hungarian side had a better start, leading 6:3. But after a change in defence and a strong goalkeeper’s performance, PSG took over and were in control of the match, beating Vespzrèm clearly 31:26. 

In the end, it was THW Kiel who dominated this extraordinary VELUX EHF FINAL4, not only winning the trophy but with Niclas Ekberg being the top scorer of the 2019/20 EHF Champions League season with 85 goals – the first Swede to top the rankings – and line player Hendrik Pekeler being named Most Valuable Player of the VELUX EHF FINAL4. 

All there is to know about the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 can be found on the official website.

Photos: EHF/kolektiff