Johansson: Cologne was our goal and my dream

After losing the first leg of the quarter-finals 30:39 in France, THW Kiel caused one of the major sensations of recent years in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League. Johansson, the 23-year-old Swedish left back, was one of the heroes of that magic night, as the top scorer netted eight times after scoring the same number of goals in Montpellier. With 60 goals this season, he is Kiel’s second-best EHF Champions League scorer below his countryman Niclas Ekberg (83 strikes).

"It was a magic night, my dream of making it to the EHF FINAL4 became reality. Before the match, we knew that everything is still possible – and finally this amazing atmosphere helped us to make this miracle come true," Johansson looks back on clinching the berth for Cologne – the first time for him personally.

Besides his eight strikes and the strong performance of goalkeeper Tomas Mrkva, for Johansson the mental strength of his side was crucial for the sensation against Montpellier.

“I am sure that the key for everything was that we always believed in ourselves, even in this period of the second half, when we were stuck on a five or six-goal advantage. Still, we had this belief, we knew we still can make it. And then we scored and scored – and made it. We had the plan to win every 10 minutes by two goals, we stuck to this plan."

To win the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 is the last chance for THW Kiel to avoid a season without a trophy, after their early elimination in the German cup and being out of the race for the title in the Bundesliga, where they are currently fourth.

“In contrast to the domestic competitions, the EHF Champions League this season is definitely our most successful competition. We finished on top of our group, leaving strong rivals such as Paris, Kielce and Aalborg behind, topped by Kiel’s first away win at Paris in eight years. And finally, we made it to Cologne, this was our goal and this was my dream," Johansson says.

In 2022, Johansson arrived from Norwegian side Elverum after starting his professional career at his home club Eskilstuna in Sweden. His strong performances for Elverum in the EHF Champions League raised the interest of many top clubs, before he decided to join THW, like many Swedish players before him.

Since 2021, the Men's 18 EHF EURO 2018 champion has been part of the senior national team. He won the EHF EURO 2022 gold medal after beating Spain in the final at Budapest, and in January he added bronze at the EHF EURO 2024 in Germany to his tally. Around four months later, Johansson returns to the LANXESS arena, now at club level.

“Since January, Cologne has been a special place for me. We won the bronze medal at the EHF EURO in this arena, although we had hoped to make it to the final, but unluckily lost against France. Now, at the EHF FINAL4, I will meet many other Swedish players. I am used to it now, almost every top club in Europe counts on Swedish players, like our semi-final opponents Barça with Jonathan Carlsbogard and Hampus Wanne," he points out.

For the third time in the history of the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, the two teams with the highest number of EHF Champions League trophies (Barça with 10, and Kiel with four) face each other in the LANXESS arena. In 2010 and 2020, Kiel won the final; in 2022, Barça struck back in the semis.

“Everybody knows that in Cologne everything can happen, the semi-final against Barça can go either way. Kiel have beaten them twice at Cologne, but lost in 2022. For sure, Barça have one of the strongest squads in the world, and they have such extraordinary experience as they are at Cologne almost every year. But I am sure we have a chance,” says Johansson.

One key for Kiel’s eighth participation at Cologne, including the trophies in 2010, 2012 and 2020, is the wide range of top shooters in the centre and left back positions such as Domagoj Duvnjak, Nikola Bilyk, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu and of course Johansson.

“We can switch constantly, with different styles of play. For sure, we have a lot of world class players in the back court,” Johansson says, although he sees himself more as a shooter than as a playmaker. “Especially when we play seven-vs-six, my aim is to break through and score. But I also decide to pass depending the situation,” he explains.

And finally, THW have a huge goal to fulfil in Cologne: to say farewell in style to the all-time top scorer for the club, Niclas Ekberg. After 12 years at THW, the Swede is returning to his home country and will join Ystad this summer. His last ever matches in the THW jersey will come at the EHF FINAL4.

“It is a great gift for Niclas that we made it to Cologne and that he can finish there. But when you are at Cologne, you aim for more than just being there. To make it to the final or even more would be the perfect gift for this club legend,” concludes Johansson.

Photos © Sascha Klahn/saschaklahn.com