21 years after their first and by now only Champions League triumph - the first ever of a German team - SCM can become the fourth German winner in the LANXESS arena - after Kiel (2010, 2012, 2020), Hamburg (2013) and Flensburg (2014). Before that, however, Magdeburg has to cross the biggest possible hurdle: defending champions and record winners FC Barcelona are waiting in the first semifinal on Saturday (15:15 CEST).

In the second semi-final at 18:00 CEST., last year’s finalist Barlinek Industria Kielce and German national team goalkeeper Andreas Wolff face Paris Saint-Germain, who eliminated the newly crowned German champions THW Kiel in the quarter-finals. At the sixth attempt, PSG aim to win the title for the first time, while Kielce (also for the sixth time in Cologne) were already at the top of the podium in 2016.

For the eleventh time since 2010, Barcelona are fighting for the crown in Cologne, winning the title in 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2022 - and thus becoming the first team ever to defend their title in the LANXESS arena. The ten-times Champions League winners have been unbeaten for 25 Champions League games since November 2021, won 23 times and drew twice, including in this year's group phase at THW Kiel.

"The series says everything about how dominant Barcelona has been in the past two years, but we have a chance," says Magdeburg's Icelander Gisli Kristjansson. Only four weeks after his ankle fracture and one week after his sensational HBL comeback in Stuttgart, he is highly motivated: "After my injury in mid-May, the dream of Cologne seemed to have burst, now I can play, it's incredible, my dream is coming true. And a lot can happen in Cologne,” says Kristjansson.

Magdeburg's optimism lies in the desert: in 2021 and 2022, SCM won both finals of the IHF Super Globe in Saudi Arabia against Barcelona and were the only team to have beaten the Catalans in all competitions in the 2022/23 season. And in April, Magdeburg experienced what it feels like to play in front of 20,000 fans in the "cathedral of handball" when they lost the final of the REWE Final4 against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen in an extremely unfortunate manner after a penalty throw.

"Barcelona are one of the toughest teams to face. They have world-class players in all positions and are the big favorites for the title. But that doesn't matter, we would have faced a difficult opponent in any case," said captain Christian O'Sullivan after the draw: "We worked hard to have the chance to win the trophy again after 21 years. It's a big one It's for the club and the fans, it's going to be an exciting game."

Magdeburg could write another story in the event of a semi-final success: After 2021 (winner against Füchse Berlin) and 2022 (loser against Benfica Lisbon) in the European League, it would be the third European final in a row, no German team has managed that yet. And the Magdeburgers also count on their fans: "It's great how they support us away from home. We have it in our hands to make them happy,” says Kristjansson. Two of his teammates already know the feeling of a victory in Cologne: goalkeeper Nikola Portner won the Champions League in 2018 with Montpellier, defence specialist Piotr Chrapkowski in 2016 with Kielce.

Champions League final tournament schedule:

Saturday, 17 June, semifinals (live on DAZN):

15:15 CEST: SC Magdeburg – FC Barcelona
18:00 CEST: Paris Saint-Germain Handball - Barlinek Industria Kielce

Sunday 18 June, final day (live on DAZN):

15:15 CEST: Placement match 3-4
18:00 CEST: final

Photo: Popova