Tired, drained but happy, captain Christian O’Sullivan lifted the shiny gold World Cup for the best club team. The German handball champions SC Magdeburg defended their title at the Club World Cup in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, in an almost deserted hall.
Coach Bennet Wiegert’s team won the final against FC Barcelona 41:39 (35:35/21:17) after extra time. The best Magdeburg throwers were Omar Ingi Magnusson with twelve goals and Lukas Mertens, Gisli Kristjansson and Daniel Pettersson with six goals each.
The SCM started the game well, but also missed a few chances. Nevertheless, the Elbe city-dwellers initially always presented two goals. After goalkeeper Nikola Portner defused two seven-meters in a row, the first three-goal lead (12:9/19.) The Catalans fought back, but the SCM skillfully fought for the balls again and again in defense and was able to thanks Lukas Mertens pull away to 14:11 (22nd). When Portner fended off two hundred percent again, circle player Magnus Saugstrup managed a four-goal lead for the first time (16:12/24.), which the SCM defended until half-time.
After the change, the SCM played out its speed advantages and its variability in the game structure and held the comfortable five-goal lead until the 38th minute. When Tim Hornke increased to 26:20, Barcelona took a time out and switched to a more offensive 5:1 defence. That had an effect, Barcelona shortened to two goals (25:27/44.) and scored the 28:28 equalizer because Danish Barca keeper Emil Nielsen suddenly saved everything. So the final phase was exciting again. Even when he was outnumbered, Tim Hornke showed himself to be accurate and then ensured the 33:31 lead with two goals in a row before Kristjansson increased from the seven-meter point to 34:31.
Portner saves seven meters
Barca fought back to 34:34, then Mertens increased it to 35:34 43 seconds before the final whistle, before former Flensburg player Hampus Wanne equalized from the penalty spot three seconds before the end. In the ten-minute overtime it was initially totally balanced until Portner saved a seven-meter throw from Wanne and Magnusson marked the final score of 41:39. That was enough to win.
Last year, the Wiegert team had surprisingly clearly won against the eleven-time Champions League winner with 33:28. It was already the third participation in the Super Globe for the Elbe city-dwellers. THW Kiel (2011) and Füchse Berlin (2015, 2016) had previously won the Club World Cup as German representatives. The Catalans, who have been coached by former Hannover-Burgdorf coach Antonio Carlos Ortega since last year, have won the Super Globe in their club’s history in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
