Füchse Berlin once again missed out on the trophy when the team led by World Handball Player Mathias Gidsel lost the final against record champions FC Barcelona 34-37 (16-20) and thus are still waiting for their first Champions League title in club history.
In front of more than 20,000 fans at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Berlin made too many mistakes on offense and found hardly any answers at the back against Barcelona’s star-studded lineup.
Goalkeeper Emil Nielsen repeatedly stopped Gidsel and the Berlin attacks with 14 saves as the record champions, unbeaten in 54 consecutive matches, claimed their 12th Champions League title. And for the first time since the format was introduced in 2010, a German team lost an international final.
After the crowd was well fired up with a laser show and cover versions of “The Show Must Go On,” Barcelona got off to a better start as Berlin, for all their attacking firepower, struggled up front. Gidsel missed three times, and the Catalans pulled ahead by three goals (9-6 after 11 minutes) while Barcelona’s goalkeeper Nielsen had pulled off six saves (50 percent save rate) by the 15th minute.
In his first timeout (18th minute), Füchse coach Nicolej Krickau called for more width and said: “No doubts up front, just go through.” It hardly worked as Gidsel uncharacteristically made several passing errors, allowing Barcelona to extend their lead to five goals (14-9 after 22 minutes). Gidsel scored for the first time in the 25th minute, and with the halftime buzzer, he made it 16-20.
The start of the second half gave Berlin hope. They stopped Barcelona’s first two attacks and closed the gap to 18-20 after 33 minutes. But then Nielsen stepped up again, and Barcelona rebuilt their lead (leading 25-19 after 38 minutes).
After a red card for Ludovic Fabregas (46th minute), Berlin woke up again. Gidsel cut the deficit to 30-32 (after 53 minutes), but shortly after, Füchse captain Max Darj also saw red, and Berlin’s comeback ultimately fell short.