Champions League – Handball: Bennet Wiegert and the best years of SC Magdeburg

When the final siren sounded, Bennet doesn’t have to think long about who he would now fall around his neck. The coach of SC Magdeburg approached Yves Grafenhorst and heard his assistant and childhood friend with a vehemence that you had to worry about the co-trainer briefly. Then the two put their heads together and looked deep into the eyes, from which clearly thicker tears of joy rolled.

Unilaterally

It was a emotional outbreak, as was rarely seen in the two men who have been steering the sporty fortunes of the Magdeburg handball players for almost ten years. On the other hand, the reaction was only appropriate: after all, the SCM had just won the title in the Champions League for the third time after 2002 and 2023. 32:26 (16:12) it was said on Sunday evening in Cologne after a surprisingly one-sided 60 final minute against the Foxes Berlin. The fact that the victory against the newly elected German champion and old favorite rivals, who had made the Magdeburgers in the national title race, barely referred to second place, made the success all the sweeter.

“I have to pronounce a giant compliment to my team and everyone involved. Behind us was a season with scarce defeats in the Supercup, in the World Cup and in the master finals. That is why this is now balm on our souls, “said Wiegert and added:” It could have been a strange season-now it’s a great season. “And on top of that, the continuation of the most successful era in the history of the club: Since 2022, the Magdeburgers have twice the German championship, once the DHB Cup and now also twice the most important title of club handball-an impressive Balance that will be associated with a name forever: Bennet Wiegert.

Used day

In the first German-German Champions League final since 2014-then Flensburg won against Kiel-both teams began to be nervous. In the initial phase, an unusually large number of technical errors that knew how to use the foxes in the initial phase. After ten minutes, Berlin’s left wing Tim Freihofer scored the first two-goal tour that evening.

As a result, the Magdeburgers came into play better because they had a clear advantage in the most influential position in handball: in the goal. In contrast to the semi-finals on Saturday against Nantes, when Füchse keeper Dejan Milosavljev had held outstanding, the Serb caught an extremely used day in the final. At the break there were exactly zero parades in his proof of work. As a result, the Berliners could not open their usual speed game.

On the other hand, Sergey Hernandez brought the Berliners in rows to despair. What the Spanish goalkeeper prepared at the back continued his colleagues on the offensive: the Magdeburgers led at the break with 16:12. Even after the change of sides, Wiegert’s team managed to tame the offensive power of the Berliners. The foxes had achieved more than 35 goals per game in the Bundesliga on average, on Sunday it was 26. It was not least because the Magdeburgers managed to limit Mathias Gidsel’s circles. The world handball player, who had been dissecting every coverage network for months, worked against the defensive of the SCM as humanly as it has not been for a long time.

Magdeburg Rausch

The Magdeburger’s lead at no time was seriously in danger because they acted two even more efficiently in the attack at halftime. Driven by the strong Gisli Kristjansson, who, despite a shoulder injury suffered a few weeks ago and was in the final with eight goals, the best thrower, the SCM played into a frenzy and increasingly took the belief in the belief in Berlin. At the latest after the converted seven meter at 31:26 by the second Icelander in the SCM jersey, Omar Ingi Magnusson, the decision had finally been made in front of more than 20,000 spectators-and the celebrations for the Magdeburgers could begin.

A little later, Wiegert could not properly foresee what they would look like. It was only clear that he delegated the responsibility for the upcoming party. “I have had to make so many decisions for so many months,” said the Magdeburg coach. “From now on I am looking forward to that I just have to run afterwards.”