Surprising winners and powerhouses crowned domestic champions throughout the world
13 Jun. 2025
After a long season, the curtain has fallen on the men's domestic leagues played throughout the world, with some surprising champions, as well as known faces being crowned. While some of the winners were truly surprising, securing their maiden titles, some other powerhouses confirmed their iron-clad grip on the domestic leagues they take part in.
Historic win for Füchse Berlin in Germany
In what is considered the most balanced domestic league in the world, Füchse Berlin secured their maiden title in the German Bundesliga, with an arresting show of consistency, winning 27 of their 34 matches, drawing four other and conceding three losses. The club from the German capital, two-time winners of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, signalled their intentions three years ago, when they signed the MVP of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Mathias Gidsel
Gidsel was surrounded by a great cast of players, as Füchse Berlin slowly became relevant in the Bundesliga, finished second in the previous season and now providing a fantastic finish, as their last loss came on 16 December, against SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 37:38. Füchse ended the season with 16 wins and a single draw, to clinch their maiden title, with a single point over runners-up SC Magdeburg.
In the last match of the season, Füchse struggled in the last match against Rhein-Neckar Löwen, being down 17:20 at the break. They bounced back, on the back of a 10-goal performance from Gidsel, and secured a 38:33 win and the title. “It's all still completely indescribable. I told the players that we cannot end the season like this and throw everything away,” said coach Jaron Siewert after the win which confirmed the title for Füchse.
Aalborg seal another title in Denmark
For the second time in a row and for the eighth time in history, Aalborg Håndbold were crowned Danish champions, securing the title after two wins against Skjern in the play-offs final. Aalborg, which had a coaching change last summer, as Stefan Madsen departed and was replaced by Simon Dahl, and also lost star player Mikkel Hansen, who retired, finished the regular season of the Danish league with 22 wins in 26 matches, clinching the top seed in the play-offs, with an eight-point lead over GOG.
The play-offs saw the eight top sides in the regular season divided into two groups of four teams, and Aalborg won their group with five wins and one draw, followed by Skjern, which finished eighth in the regular season. In the other group, GOG finished first, followed by Team Tvis Holstebro. The top four sides then progressed to the semi-finals, where Aalborg dispatched of Team Tvis Holstebro with a 28:23 and a 37:31 win, while GOG were surprisingly eliminated by Skjern, which brushed off a 19:25 loss in the first match, only to clinch a 38:27 win in the second and a 28:26 win in the third match.
With a fantastic cast of players, such as Sander Sagosen, Aleks Vlah or Niklas Landin, Aalborg eventually clinched their eighth title, with two wins in the final, 26:22 and 29:26, winning the title for the fifth time in the last seven seasons in the Danish league.
Veszprém clinch title in Pascual's first battle against Szeged
In Hungary, the battle between One Veszprém KC and OTP Bank-Pick Szeged, the sides which won the title in the men’s domestic league in every season since 2001, had another fantastic episode, with twists and turns, as the title eventually landed in Veszprém’s back yard, after an intense final.
Veszprém, the current IHF Men’s Club World Championship reigning champions, were eliminated by SC Magdeburg in the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Men, and everything but a title-winning campaign in Hungary would have been deemed a failure in Xavi Pascual’s maiden season on the Hungarian side’s bench.
After the regular season, Veszprém were leading the pack, with 50 points from 52 possible, a six-point lead over Szeged, which defeated Veszprém once, but lost four matches throughout the season. That meant that in the league final, which was played in the best out of three matches format, Veszprém potentially had two matches at home, taking full credit of the advantage.
Veszprém took a 34:32 win in the first match of the final, with left wing Hugo Descat scoring 12 goals, but Szeged bounced back with a 32:28 win on their home court, forcing the final into the decisive match. There, Veszprém provided a 34:31 win, with line player Ludovic Fabregas and left back Mark Kosorotov scoring seven goals each, to clinch their 29th title in history and their third in a row.
Plock emerge champions after another "Holy War" against Kielce
The Polish league also saw two teams go toe-to-toe until the end, as giants ORLEN Wisła Płock and Industria Kielce were battling for the title from the start of the season. In the regular season, the two teams traded wins, with Płock taking a 29:25 win on their home court, while Kielce took a 25:24 win. Therefore, in the play-offs, the advantage stayed with Plock, as winners of the regular season, thanks to their head-to-head record.
In the play-offs, Plock eliminated Kalisz and Gornik Zabrze, with a 2:0 scoreline, as did Kielce against Gwardia Opole and Ostrow Wielkopolski, setting up another “Holy War” in the final between the top two Polish sides. This time around, Plock won both matches, 30:29 with a last-gasp winner from right wing Michal Daszek in the first leg, and a 25:24 win on penalties in the second match, after Kielce led 10:7 at the break on their home court.
This was Plock’s ninth title in history and the first time in 20 years when they secure back-to-back titles in the Polish league, while Kielce have to wait yet another season for a title, in yet another injury-marred campaign for Talant Dujshebaev’s side.
PSG stave off Nantes to win 11th title in a row
Paris Saint-Germain Handball won their 12th domestic title in history and the 11th in a row in the French league, with a good performance throughout the season, which saw a fiery battle engaged for the coveted trophy, only for the team from the Capital to secure the first place.
Losing Nikola Karabatic was surely a blow by PSG, in this transitional season, the last for coach Raul Gonzalez, and the French side, which failed to make the EHF FINAL4 this season, conceded two draws and a loss, 31:34, against HBC Nantes. However, their challengers could not maintain the same rhythm, and eventually PSG took the title with a four-point lead over Nantes, with Montpellier Handball finishing third.
Thibaud Briet was named the MVP of the league, while the top scorer was Dunkerque’s Tom Pelayo.
Sporting seal another title in Portugal
In Portugal, Sporting CP clinched the second title in a row and the 23rd in their history, with a superb outing, which saw them concede only one loss in 26 matches. They won the regular season, tied on points with FC Porto, as both sides won 20 matches from the 22 played. But in the play-offs, Sporting delivered a perfect finish, with six wins in six matches, including a 35:32 win and a 39:36 win against Porto, to clinch the title.
Despite finishing the regular season on the second place, one point behind Elverum Handball, Kolstad Håndball made it three out of three since the team was taken over by Christian Berge. But in the play-offs, the two sides met in the final, and Kolstad sealed two wins, 31:25 and 31:28, to lift their third title in a row.
With Swedish legend Kim Andersson still in the squad at 42 years old, Ystads IF HF secured their fourth title in history, after a dominating performance. The Swedish side won the regular season, with 20 wins in 26 matches, then eliminated IF Hallby (3:0) in the quarter-finals and IK Savehof (3:1) in the semi-finals, setting up a final against Hammarby IF, the seventh-placed side in the regular season. With three wins in four matches, Ystads IF were crowned champions.
Zorman works his magic at Slovan
In the first season of Uroš Zorman’s tenure at RD Slovan Ljubljana, the Slovenian side won their maiden title, after taking the first place in the regular season and then winning the semi-final against Trimo Trebnje, 2:0. In the final, Slovan took two wins, 30:24 and 29:26, against Gorenje Velenje, to clinch their maiden title. Trebnje finished third, while Celje ended up on the fourth place.
RK Zagreb won their 33rd title in the Croatian league, extending their domination as they have won the competition in each of its 33 seasons, with two wins over RK Nexe in the final, 33:23 and 30:27.
In Romania, Dinamo București conceded two losses in the last two matches, but still had a comfortable margin over Potaissa Turda, securing 23 wins in 26 matches, as their six-points advantage over the second-placed side. This was Dinamo’s ninth win in a row.
Kadetten Schaffhausen clinched the Swiss league for the fourth time in a row and for the 15th time in history, after dropping three matches in the regular season, but none in the play-offs. With wins over Thun (3:0), Suhr (3:0) and Bern (3:0), Kadetten provided a flawless end of the season to clinch yet another title and extend their dominance in Switzerland.
Al-Ahly, Khaleej and Esperance de Tunis also clinch domestic titles
A historic season for Al-Ahly, which saw the Egyptian side led by Stefan Madsen to clinch trophy after trophy, also saw them secure the domestic league for the third time in a row. With a single loss, Al-Ahly secured the title ahead of rivals Zamalek SC.
In Tunisia, Esperance de Tunis lifted their 37th domestic league title in history, after a 33:29 win in the final over Étoile du Sahel, clinching their 11th title in the last 14 seasons. Khaleej Club, led by Greek coach Dimitris Dimitroulias, won the title again in Saudi Arabia, with a 30:24 win in the decisive match against Al-Safa.
Photo credit: Füchse Berlin