The quarter-finals are already secured with two group games remaining, but against FC Barcelona, SC Magdeburg is aiming for the top of the table and prestige.
After two days off at the beginning of the week to recharge their mental energy, the handball players of SC Magdeburg have a real top duel in front of them: against FC Barcelona in the Champions League it’s all about winning the group. For coach Bennet Wiegert, the home game next Sunday is even more important.
The Magdeburgers have so far survived the group phase of the Champions League almost unscathed. The Green-Reds won the first leg in Barcelona 22:21. Only in the previous week 29:29 Away against their Polish rivals Wisla Plock, the Elbstadt team dropped points for the first time. All in all, the defending champions have qualified for the game against Barcelona on Thursday evening (8:45 p.m. in the audio live stream & SpiO ticker) secured a match point for group victory. If it were successful, the SCM would no longer be able to catch up.
Star ensemble invites you to a prestigious duel
For Bennet Wiegert it is “fantastic to play for the group win”, also because it is “a question of prestige against Barcelona”. The Catalans have been series champions in the domestic ASOBAL league since 2011, with 29 victories they are record Spanish cup winners and have also secured themselves on the European stage Blaugrana has already won the title eleven times, most recently in 2024.
The dominance is not surprising when you take a look at the star ensemble of the Spaniards: Emil Nielsen is in goal, making him a Danish European champion, Aleix Gómez, one of the most accurate wings in the competition, plays on the right wing, the Spaniard converts almost 80 percent of his throws and the 1.98 tall giant Ludovic Fabregas is also no stranger to the circle.
Dika Mem in the semi-finals of the 2025 Champions League against SCM.
However, Dika Mem particularly stands out. The French left-hander has already won everything in his career and is one of the best backcourt players in the world. It was only at the beginning of the year that Füchse Berlin announced the signing of the world star in the summer of 2027.
Hanover is more important than Barcelona
For SCM coach Wiegert, however, the top duel for group victory is ranked below the league. The fight for the German championship against Hannover-Burgdorf continues on Sunday: “No matter how things go against Barcelona. The Bundesliga is our daily bread, in which we then have to qualify for games like against Barcelona. Hannover is ranked higher than Barcelona in terms of value.” At least the people of Magdeburg are spared the stress of traveling this time. The SCM welcomes both opponents in front of their home crowd.
Paul Comb
