German squads endure agonizing Premier League semifinals.
Developing disappointment for German handball: Magdeburg and Kiel falter in the Champions League semi-finals. On the one side, shattered dreams of a quadruple, on the other, missed chances for a surprise. The players express "disappointed and sad."
Firstly, defending champion SC Magdeburg found their hopes for the historic quadruple shattered, while THW Kiel's aspirations for their fifth Kings Cup triumph were dashed. The German handball duo will only battle for the consolation prize at the Champions League Finals in Cologne on Sunday (3 p.m./DAZN and Dyn).
The German champions and cup winners, Magdeburg, failed to reclaim a spot in the final against the Danish champs Aalborg HB due to a thrilling semi-final loss by 26:28 (11:11). Subsequently, Kielers couldn't contain the Spanish serial champions FC Barcelona with a 18:30 (9:15) defeat.
"The season was outstanding. Yet, we couldn't perform at our maximum level at the peak. This hurts. We need to allocate time for this sports pain now," said Magdeburg coach Bennet Wiegert about their loss against Aalborg.
"Extremely disappointed and saddened"
The players were downcast following this heartbreaking display of handball with no fairytale ending. "I'm immensely disappointed and saddened that we weren't better here. They were superb as they have the best decision-makers in the world," said the circle defender Magnus Saugstrup.
His teammate Gisli Kristjansson added, "We expected more from this weekend, but we didn't have the energy we needed in this match." Top scorer for Magdeburg, who likewise won the Club World Championship this season, was the Icelander Omar Ingi Magnusson with ten goals.
In the opening match between the two teams, Magdeburg faltered against Aalborg's powerful defense. The Bundesliga side struggled to execute their fearsome tempo handball. Time and again, they got bogged down by Aalborg's tightly packed defense. In the end, the tide swung for the Danes with Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin, their strongest players.
Kiel, on the other hand, had no chance against the reigning Kings Cup champion from Barcelona. Jicha's Spanish contingent had an extraordinary campaign only to finish the Bundesliga season with bitter disappointment in fourth place. The Kielers began the match aimlessly, and within minutes found themselves down 1:4. Although they recovered with a 4:0 scoring streak, this was only a brief respite. Kiel gifted away too many opportunities. Time and again, they were undone by Barcelona's impressive keeper, Emil Nielsen.
The scoreboard showed a four-goal deficit at 1:5, and this burden weighed heavy, especially with Barcelona's lead mounting to six goals by half time. Even after an overhaul, the north-Germans' complacency led to a devastating blow in the end.
The German champions and cup winners, Magdeburg, experienced a shattered dream, while their counterparts Kiel felt the loss of a potential upset on the horizon. With mixed emotions, the players shared their disappointment.
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Despite their outstanding season, Magdeburg's handball team fell short in the Champions League semi-finals against Aalborg HB, missing out on a chance to defend their title and complete a quadruple. Meanwhile, Kiel's handball squad faced a similar disappointment against FC Barcelona in the Champions League, failing to secure an upset and finishing the competition early.
In the wake of their Champions League semi-final defeats, both Magdeburg and Kiel, the German handball titans, will now focus their energies on the consolation finals, aiming for a respectable conclusion to their European campaign.
