TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 flash quotes: Saturday 13 June
COLOGNE — Comments from players and coaches after the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 semi-finals at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 on Saturday 13 June.
Aalborg Håndbold vs Barça 32:37 (11:15, 28:28)
Aalborg Håndbold
Simon Dahl (DEN) — head coach
On how seven against six helped Aalborg come back:
“Maybe we should have tried a little bit earlier, I think that we needed more open shots as Barça defend really well. We tried to find some solutions, playing seven against six was one of them. Sadly for us, it was also our death as Barça managed to score in the empty goal in the overtime.”
Juri Knorr (GER) — left back
On the game:
“It just hurts to lose this one, this is just one of those games in Cologne. We did not play well, we really could have been better in many areas of the game. But we have to accept this, to grow after this disappointment, and hopefully we will come back.
Simon Hald (DEN) — line player
On losing in the semi-final:
“It hurts because we gave a very good performance, I think, for 60 minutes. Of course, Barça led for most of the time, but they never shook us off. We managed to remain in the game and to come back at the last minute. Sadly, we could not score in the last action, and then we made too many mistakes in overtime. It hurts because it feels like we were really close to the final, but in the end, we were not.”
On whether they might have taken their foot off the pedal once they snatched the overtime:
“No, honestly, I don’t think so. We just made some mistakes. When you are in the position to qualify for the final of the Champions League, you don’t relax when you have made the score even. Honestly, it hurts that the season almost ends this way.”
On playing against Magdeburg tomorrow in the 3/4 placement game:
“It’s kind of far away from me at the moment. The disappointment is huge, but we will have to swallow it and try to bounce back tomorrow. The night is going to be a short one, and hopefully we can all get our heads straight for tomorrow.”
Sander Sagosen (NOR) — centre back
On the outcome of the semi-final:
“I have a strange feeling that we did a lot of things right, especially in the second half, but still did not manage to win. Our seven against six was really good, and we could feel like they struggled to defend against us. But then, the same things that worked started not working in the overtime. It is really frustrating indeed.”
On what they missed to be in the game, especially in the first half:
“I think Barça played better, that’s all. Their defence in particular gave us a lot of problems, and it took us time to come up with solutions. It’s kind of boring, because, well, once we found the key, we definitely had the upper hand. But we definitely missed too many things on the other hand, to hope for a victory.”
Barça
Antonio Carlos Ortega (ESP) — head coach
On his feelings:
“The feeling is positive, of course, in the end, you have to be happy. We had two different halves; the first one was much better, and we knew that they could play with seven players in the second half. Aalborg also changed in the defence, they gave us a lot of problems. Our attack not so fluid like in the first half. But in overtime, our defence was much better, we were able to score three goals in a row and that made the difference.”
Domen Makuc (SLO) — centre back
On playing his final game with Barça in the final:
“It’s something special, the best possible ending for me. I really want us to be locked in, more confident in attack, playing a tough defence, good handball. All of this will decide who is going to be the winner. We have to rest now.”
Ludovic Fabregas (FRA) — line player
On Aalborg’s comeback almost ruining Barça’s efforts:
“I am very happy we qualified, but I am a little bit frustrated because I honestly think we would have qualified earlier. We made silly mistakes, they gave us some problems with their seven against six offence, and yeah, we almost ruined it all. We never thought that this game would be easy, but I still think we should have played a little bit better and that we should have put the nail in the coffin earlier.”
On how Barça handled the overtime:
“Their seven against six offence gave us some trouble, but we also knew that it could play against them and that then we could score easy goals. And that is exactly what happened during overtime. Also, Emil made a couple of very important saves. Everyone pushed in the same direction, maybe we were a little bit fresher than they were in overtime.”
On playing the EHF FINAL4 final after two years of absence:
“Of course, I am happy, happy to be back in Cologne and also to be able to win the title. It’s the proof that we work well as a team, that we push in the right direction. Regarding the season, I think it’s kind of logical to be in the final, but you don’t win titles on logic, you have to fight for them. And that is exactly what we did today.
Timothey N’Guessan (FRA) — left back
On the qualification for the final:
“We really scared ourselves, we made some stupid mistakes in the money-time, and we almost ruined it all. I mean, the ball that I lost on the last offence is ridiculous. Thankfully, we managed to keep our composure and to turn things around again. But yeah, really to have qualified, but I would have been happy with another scenario.”
On what made the difference during overtime:
“We knew what we were doing, we never lost focus. We have a lot of experience, we have been through so much here, at the FINAL4, that honestly, we just remained cold-blooded. And yeah, our defence and Emil between did a great job as well.”
On playing against Berlin in the final:
“It’s going to be hard, but it would have been hard against Magdeburg as well so…We have not played them this season yet, so I don’t quite know what to expect. Now, we are just 60 minutes away from the title, so we just have not to think about anything too much and just put our foot to the pedal.”
SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 35:40 (17:19)
Füchse Berlin
Nicolej Krickau (DEN) — head coach
On where his team took the energy to finish the game so great:
“I think today was a good advert for handball. It was an amazing game. Both teams were that close and were executing very well. The only thing we needed was 10 minutes of a good goalkeeper performance. Luckily, tonight it was on our side. Gidsel put away the in-flight attempt when we were one man down. We played well in the key moment. Both teams were looking for goalkeeper saves and I think that the big difference tonight was that Dejan [Milosavljev] made some very important ones in the last 10 minutes.”
Max Darj (SWE) — line player
On his feelings:
“It’s great going to the final. It’s great to beat Magdeburg as well, because we kind of struggled against them lately. I think we played really good, especially offensively. Milo [Dejan Milosavljev] did some important saves at the end of the game and that made everything turn our way. We said to ourselves we wanted another chance at the trophy after last year’s defeat and now here we are.”
On how he felt when Magdeburg came back into the game:
“I sensed that it would happen and that in that moment we should not panic. We just took action after action, defence after defence, and that was a success. There are always tough moments in those games, when the opponent comes back and you have to keep focused. We really managed to do that tonight.”
On who he would rather play against in the final tomorrow:
“Honestly, it’s going to be equally as tough, no matter who we play against. Now is the time to rest, a little bit of video and then full gas. There are 60 minutes left to play this season, but they are the most important ones.”
Nils Lichtlein (GER) — centre back
On his feelings:
“Amazing to be in the final. Amazing to win like this. I think we played a great game, especially offensively. We found a lot of solutions and managed to score a lot of goals in fast breaks. Sure, they came back in the second half, but we kind of expected this at half-time. The most important thing was to stick to our guns, remain focused and keep playing the way we want to play.”
On how he handled the responsibilities as a centre back:
“It’s not that hard, especially since I do that all season long. It’s like usual but in a bigger arena. This is what you train for all season long and I know that I am surrounded by very experienced players — that makes everything easier, I guess.”
Tim Freihöfer (GER) — left wing
On what to take from this game into tomorrow’s final:
“Maybe the tempo we played with. W played a lot of attacks, we ran a lot, but that is our game. We kept a cool head. All the guys on the court played 60 minutes, but we remained cool and lucid. Dejan [Milosavljev] and the way we played in the last 10 minutes is something we will need tomorrow.”
SC Magdeburg
Bennet Wiegert (GER) — head coach
“I think that Berlin had a very-well deserved victory today. It’s not a big surprise that we are really unhappy with the result but that is part of our sport. Every team works so hard the whole season to be part of the [EHF] FINAL4. We know it because we made our way here four times in a row. On this weekend, everything can happen. Sometimes it feels like the game is 50:50 chances for each team.
"But Nico [Nicolej Krickau] found the right words to motivate his players, and the small details turned Berlin’s way. At the end, Dejan [Milosavljev] made some important saves. It was a high scoring game. Both teams struggled with saves. Berlin got them and found a way to the final. All the best to Berlin now.”
Felix Claar (SWE) — centre back
On wanting to focus again before tomorrow’s game:
“We don’t have the choice now we are there. We will do everything to finish third. Today was Berlin’s day. Congratulations Berlin. I have the feeling that they scored on every single attack. They were so good on fast breaks. We just could not handle it today. We struggled defensively and that is the main reason why we lost.”
Ómar Ingi Magnússon (ISL) — right back
On his feelings:
“Not great, as you can imagine. When you come to the [EHF] FINAL4, you don’t come to lose the semi-finals. So, of course, it’s a little bit bitter right now.”
On why Magdeburg lost the semi-final:
“I think we never managed to stop their offence. We never really managed to make quite a few stops in a row in defence. They scored a lot of goals on fast breaks. They put a lot of rhythm. Berlin played really well and we missed a couple of things in the key moments of the game. I always say that these games are decided on details and this is how it feels today.”
Sergey Hernández (ESP) — goalkeeper
On his feelings after losing the semi-final:
“Sometimes, just like last year, you can be hero and sometimes, it is not as easy. Tonight, we are on the other side of history, not on the good one, and it does not feel nice. Of course, this is not what we wanted, not what we expected, but I guess Berlin were a little bit better than us tonight.”
On the reasons why Magdeburg struggled to make defensive stops:
“Hard to tell right now, but we took 40 goals, which is too much to hope for a final. Otherwise, we should have scored 41 and that is a big lot. We struggled for 60 minutes and even when we thought that we had finally the upper hand, they managed to make some stops and score fast breaks. I guess it comes down to a lot of small things.”
On bouncing back to win tomorrow’s 3/4 placement game:
“It’s far away right now, but we owe it to the fans, who have been pushing us during the whole game again. For me, on a personal level, it is really important to leave the club with a win, but first, we need to digest the disappointment of the defeat.”
Photos © kolektiff images/Anze Malovrh
