The Füchse Berlin lost the final of the Champions League. The team showed great morale against FC Barcelona, but ran behind from the start.
- Füchse Berlin lose the Champions League final against Barcelona
- At 34:37, the Berliners were behind, especially in the first half
- It is the second final defeat in a row
FC Barcelona had already won the Handball Champions League twelve times, five times in a row between 1996 and 2000 and most recently in 2024. And yet the experts were sure before this final that it would be a duel on equal terms.
However, there was little to see in the first half. Even the beginning looked modest for them Foxes from Berlin. The team played their superstar Mathias Gidsel wonderfully freely around the circle after a few seconds. But his compatriot in the Barcelona goal, Emil Nielsen, parried the three-time world handball player’s throw seemingly effortlessly. And then a few more Berlin attempts.
Barcelona better in every way
On the other hand, Barcelona surprised with an approach that had actually been expected from the Foxes and which is rather unusual for the Spaniards: tempo play. Again and again it only took a few seconds to complete. The Catalans scored seemingly effortlessly. Also because Füchse goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev initially saved next to nothing. After twelve minutes of play, Barca’s Nielsen had already recorded five successful defensive actions, Milosavljev had two.
And while Barcelona made everything look pretty easy, the Berliners seemed to struggle with every attack. Only six of the first twelve Füchse throws found the goal. Also because many of the attempts seemed more like an embarrassment. Berlin coach Nicolej Krickau also complained that there was not enough width in the game during his first time out. Width, which was mainly missing, was needed to give Gidsel the much-needed space in the middle. This is one of the reasons why the Foxes reacted after 20 minutes, took the goalkeeper out of the game and brought in a seventh field player. But the plan didn’t work either. Instead, there were two slight turnovers and goals conceded and a return to attacking play with six men.
Berlin is fighting back
Things didn’t get much better after that. Because Gidsel played perhaps the worst half of the season and only scored for the first time in the 25th minute. And because Barcelona simply continued to perform at a world-class level. From their point of view, the fact that the Berliners went into the half-time break “only” four goals behind was the best news so far.
At the beginning of the second half, the game seemed to turn completely around. The Foxes came out significantly improved and immediately reduced the lead to 18:20. They finally played free to Gidsel, who now scored with the usual ease. But then Barcelona goalkeeper Nielsen appeared again, made outstanding saves several times in a row and stole the Berliner’s famous momentum. They left no stone unturned and used an unusual three-on-three defense. The surprise seemed to succeed, especially since goalkeeper Milosavljev made two outstanding saves. And yet the deficit was still five goals at 21:26.
Even a red card doesn’t help
But hope was to arise one last time in the Berlin camp. After a foul by Ludovic Fabregas on Gidsel, Barcelona’s best defender did not see the red card. Things were going much better for the foxes. Gidsel in particular played freely. But the Berliners never got more than two goals. Also because Barcelona simply didn’t make any serious mistakes and continued to score. So the foxes only have the silver medal in their second final appearance in a row. But as we all know, all good things come in threes.
Broadcast: rbb|24, June 14, 2026, 7:55 p.m
Video: rbb|24, June 14, 2026, Lukas Witte
