Same place, familiar faces but different time: the 2019/20 VELUX EHF FINAL4 will take place on 28/29 December in Cologne, Germany, featuring Barça, Paris Saint-Germain HB, THW Kiel and Telekom Veszprém HC. Record EHF Champions League winners Barça from Spain will play the first semi-final against French club Paris Saint-Germain HB. German side THW Kiel will take on four-time finalists Telekom Veszprem from Hungary in the second semi-final.

While the Spaniards won the title nine times and THW Kiel three times, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Telekom Veszprém still dream of lifting the trophy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019/20 season was interrupted between the group phase and the Last 16. Therefore, the European Handball Federation (EHF) took the decision that the two leading teams from Groups A and B qualify directly for the final stage, the FINAL4, which was postponed from June to December. 

Apart from a 28:31 defeat at the hands of MOL-Pick Szeged at the first match in the 2019/20 Champions League group phase, Barça showed a flawless performance with 13 consecutive victories and have continued their winning streak in the 2020/21 Champions League season, remaining unbeaten in their eight matches played, thus being undefeated in this competition for more than a year. 

Barça, led by coach Xavier Fuertes, as well as PSG convinced with a strong and fast attack. The two teams will meet for the first time on the final stage. Paris are still missing French star player Nikola Karabatic, who is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury, which will not make it easier to overcome Barça in the semi-final. PSG's Dainis Kristopans remains upbeat, though, as he told eurohandball.com: “Barça have crazy statistics in the Champions League, so it’s an extra motivation for us to play such a great team. But in Cologne, it’s no use to talk about favourites, as every year, the predictions always come out wrong.”

After a three-year absence of a German club at the FINAL4, THW Kiel return to Cologne, facing Telekom Veszprém – again. At Kiel’s last appearance in 2015/16, they played against Veszprém in the semi-final as well and suffered a 28:31 defeat after extra time. The opponents know each other very well: they have met 22 times so far, with the Hungarian side having a slight edge in the head-to-head record as they managed to take home 11 wins, while Kiel count 10 victories. In November 2020, the two teams recorded their first draw (31:31).

In the 2019/20 Champions League season, both encounters between the teams were won by Kiel. However, after the draw in November, Veszprém celebrated a big victory on 2 December, winning 41:33 against Kiel on home ground. In this match, playmaker Rasmus Lauge injured his knee and will be out of competition for several months. No matter the outcome, either Kiel’s Sander Sagosen or Veszprém’s Rodrigo Corrales will face their former club PSG on the final day in the 3/4 placement match or the final, as they both left the club this summer.

It has been a few years that THW Kiel (2012) and Barça (2015) last won the EHF Champions League and with Paris and Veszprém, they will meet two teams that never have made the experience of winning the title. Exciting matches await the handball fans as all teams have one goal: to lift the coveted trophy.

Match schedule
All times local 

Monday, 28 December 2020
18:00    Semi-final 1: Barça vs Paris Saint-Germain Handball
20:30    Semi-final 2: THW Kiel vs Telekom Veszprém HC

Tuesday, 29 December 2020
18:00    3/4 Placement match
20:30    Final

More information on the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2020 can be found on the official website.

Image: EHF Champions League