After the successful defense of the World Cup title, the SC Magdeburg handball players really let it rip. And the party goes on when the Green-Reds arrive home. But the Wiegert team can’t celebrate too much, because things will get serious again on Thursday (October 27th). Then the next Champions League group game will take place in Veszprem.
The rushing cup handover in the confetti rain from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) was followed by a wild cabin party – and then on Monday the fan reception in front of the local Getec Arena: After their renewed title coup at the Club World Cup, the handball players from SC Magdeburg turned really up.
“We did it again,” wrote national player Philipp Weber on Instagram after successfully defending the title. And coach Bennet Wiegert proudly posted a photo of his party beasts including the World Cup on Monday morning and commented on it with the words: “Great performance boys.”
The heroes returned to Magdeburg on Monday evening and were celebrated accordingly by their fans. “I’m just happy that we inspire people so much that we can maybe make this city a little bit proud with our way of playing handball and with our sporting success,” said head coach Wiegert.
SCM keeper Nikola Portner, who only switched to SCM in the summer, “couldn’t have wished for better” and is proud to be able to call himself “club world champion”.
Congratulations and many congratulations
Great performance was almost an understatement for what the German champions conjured up against Spanish Champions League winners FC Barcelona late on Sunday evening. In the new edition of last year’s final (then 33:28) it was said after a dramatic game it ended 41:39 after extra time. And so Wiegert and Co. could hardly save themselves from congratulations. The congratulators also included national coach Alfred Gislason, the league association and Bundesliga competitor THW Kiel.
Royal reward
In addition to the sporting prestige and a lot of tailwind for the big tasks in the league and the premier class, the Magdeburg team also received a prize money of 400,000 US dollars through their final victory – which is a proud sum for handball standards.
Initial spark for the whole season
Even before the exhausting trip to the Middle East, SCM Managing Director Marc-Henrik Schmedt emphasized in an MDR interview: “We’re going down there to achieve the maximum, of course.” Last year, the club boss recalled, the successful Club World Cup was “to a certain extent the initial spark for the whole season”. In the end, one remembers, the result was no less than the first Magdeburg championship title in 21 years. The renewed coup at the Super Globe should now be the beginning of a similarly successful season, as one wishes at SCM.
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