Füchse beat Kadetten Schaffhausen in the play-offs – and then tied 33:33 at home against HBC Nantes in the first leg of the quarter-finals. "We were under a certain pressure when we travelled to Nantes, as everybody knows, how hard it is to take the points there. And then we even had to replace our defence boss Mijajlo Marsenic – but we showed an extraordinary team performance, one of the best this season."
Thanks to the 37:30 away win in the lion’s den, Berlin again qualified for the EHF Finals Men, as one of three German teams (besides Rhein-Neckar Löwen and SG Flensburg-Handewitt), along with Dinamo Bucuresti. For Wiede, "there is no favourite this year. All four teams managed to leave great teams behind to make it to Hamburg, all four deserve it, and all want to win. But of course, it is our aim to defend the trophy."
Wiede & Co. will face their domestic rivals and 2013 EHF Cup winners Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the semi-final on 25 May (18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV) – the same pairing as in the 2021 semis, when Füchse beat Löwen at their arena, but lost the final against SC Magdeburg. "Of course, we know Rhein-Neckar Löwen very well and we had them under control in the previous domestic encounters and in the 2021 semi-final. But those previous results do not mean anything, when it comes to a final tournament. Löwen have eliminated Sporting – a team, which beat us twice – and it is only one match. We all know that everything can happen at such tournaments."
One core player for Füchse is current IHF Player of the Year, Mathias Gidsel, the top scorer at EHF EURO 2024 and the 2023 World Championship. "Everybody knows about the abilities of Mathias, he is an extraordinary player, maybe currently the best in the world. But we have seven players on court, every one contributes his part of the match. But of course, we are extremely happy to have him in our squad."
Before the EHF Finals, Füchse have to accomplish their mission in the German Bundesliga. For a long time, they were leading the table, but then were passed by SC Magdeburg some weeks ago. "I do not think that we can win the Bundesliga trophy, but still, we need to win all matches to remain in the second position and to qualify for the EHF Champions League. In total, we have five matches in two competitions ahead. If we win all of them, we have one trophy and one ticket to the EHF Champions League,” Wiede concludes.