Thüringer HC made history on Sunday evening in Graz, securing their maiden European trophy in their history, with a 34:32 win against Ikast Håndbold in the final of the EHF European League Women, the second-tier European club competition. 

The German side, where Herbert Müller has been coaching since 2010, had previously lost the EHF Challenge Cup Women, against Nimes, in the 2008/09 season, and finished fourth in the EHF European League Women in the 2022/23 season, but now had an absolutely fantastic performance to lift the trophy.

They finished second in the group phase, with two losses in six matches, behind Romanian side HC Dunărea Brăila, but eliminated another Romanian side in the quarter-finals, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, 65:61 on aggregate, to make it to the EHF Finals, which took place in Graz on 3 and 4 May.

Four teams lined up at the start of the business end of the competition, with two German sides - Thüringer HC and HSG Blomberg-Lippe – and one team from Denmark – Ikast – and France – JDA Bourgogne Dijon – each.

In the first semi-final, Ikast, which were the favourites to secure the trophy, delivered a flawless performance, taking a 28:18 win, with five goals from Julie Scaglione, the top scorer of the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, who was back after a lengthy lay-off due to an injury.

In the second semi-final, Thüringer HC had an outstanding attacking display against Dijon, taking a 35:29 win, with a monster 16-goal performance from Austrian back Johanna Reichert, who was also the top scorer of the competition, being also awarded the MVP title.

Therefore, a final between Ikast – a three-time winner of the competition in 2002, 2011 and 2023 – and Thüringer was on the cards, and at half-time, in the last match of the season, Ikast had a 16:15 lead.

But Thüringer HC looked like no pushovers and it was once again Reichert taking control of the match, with a 13-goal performance, as she finished the season again in double digits, after in the quarter-finals against Vâlcea she scored 15 and 11 goals respectively.

As goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle put in a clinical performance, with 13 saves, Thüringer HC came back and delivered a 34:32 win, securing their maiden European trophy in their history.

Reichert, who scored 110 goals this season, the first player to hit triple digits in a single season in the EHF European League Women, was also named the MVP, having eight matches from 10 played in double digits.

This is the second time in history when a German side wins the second-tier European competition, after SG BBM Bietigheim – currently named HB Ludwigsburg – won the trophy in the 2021/22 season.

In the bronze medal match, Dijon beat Blomberg-Lippe, 32:27.

Photo credit: EHF / Kolektiff / Anze Malovrh