Longing destination Cologne: THW Kiel and SG Flensburg in front of hard exams

The goal is clear: If the final tournament of the handball champions League is played in Cologne on June 18 and 19, the THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt also want to be there. But before the time comes, hard quarter-final exams are waiting for the two North German Bundesliga clubs. The THW will compete in Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg on Wednesday (8:45 p.m./DAZN and Servustv). Immediately before (6.45 p.m./DAZN), the SG receives defending champion FC Barcelona. The decisive second legs will then be on the program on May 19.

• sagosen fit again
• worries about tub

For the German record champions and four times the Champions League winner from Kiel, dealing with the star ensemble from the French capital is the new edition of the quarter-finals from last season. A year ago, Paris prevailed, which was still annoyed by THW captain Domagoj Duvnjak. "We have been waiting for this game for so long and can't wait for it to finally start," said the Croatian.

sagosen fit again

The zebras, who want to reach Final4 in the cathedral city for the eighth time, skipped the play-offs as second in preliminary round group A. The self-confidence among the players of THW coach Filip Jicha is correspondingly great. "We train every day for this kind of games," said Harald Reinkind. "We know that it will be a really difficult task, because PSG has a world-class team. But we want to show that we are the better team." A trump card for Kiel could be that Reinkind's Norwegian compatriot Sander Sagosen is fit again after his back bruise for the games against his ex-club from Paris.

worries about tub

The personnel situation at SG Flensburg-Handewitt, on the other hand, is tense. For the injured back players Magnus Röd, Franz Semper and and Aaron Mensing could also join Hampus tub. The Swede had already missed the league paper in Hanover on the weekend because of an ankle injury. "I am not very optimistic," said coach Maik Machulla, for whom it is a key to progress: "We need two perfect games."

In the preliminary round, the SG, who had saved itself in the play-offs as the sixth of Group B and prevailed against Pick Szeged from Hungary, lost both encounters against the Catalans. Barça keeper Gonzalo Perez de Vargas was a big factor in these games. "We have to go full throttle for 60 minutes so that it can be distinguished as little as possible," said Machulla. The Flensburgers have so far been able to qualify for the final tournament, but won the title in 2014 by winning the THW Kiel.

While the Final4 in its first seven editions with four German winners (twice Kiel, Hamburg and Flensburg), a domain of the Bundesliga have recently changed significantly. In the past five years, only the THW has booked the ticket to Cologne, but won his fourth title in 2020. After all, Kiel and Flensburg can concentrate on their international tasks these days. There is no game in the Bundesliga between the two quarter-finals. Three days after the second leg, the 106th Schleswig-Holstein derby is waiting for the two clubs.