Handball Bundesliga: Füchse Berlin in the master rush: “We are not finished”

This handball party was special even for Berlin standards. Beer spilled into the sky every minute, Ballermann anthem boomed over the Spree and a bathing ship turned into a fluctuating rabid. The Foxes Berlin celebrated their historical championship title such as a mixture of carnival, hit festival and school trip.

Around 2,000 fans danced through the night with their handball heroes, while the fireworks exploded over their heads. In the headlight, the master shell, drowned into beer, glittered. “Anton from Tirol” boomed out of the boxes, then back room player Matthes Langhoff started beatboxing.

District runner Mijajlo Marsenic finally got the chaos to the point. “It is difficult to say because we are all drunk,” he roared into the microphone. Anyone who looked into the faces on the stage knew that the Serb was right.

Season finale such as “60 minutes on the dentist chair at full operation”

The cabin party after the nerve-wracking 38:33 victory at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen and the wet return flight left the first traces. “Today the boys can do what they want,” announced Jaron Siewert and even promised his protégés free days. “It depends on how I feel tomorrow,” said the youngest master coach in HBL history at the age of 31. He promptly received a beer from Marsenic.

After one of the most exciting seasons ever, the capitals were only one point ahead of SC Magdeburg. In the season finale and an interim five-goal deficit, it looked long after a total failure. “It was like 60 minutes on the dentist’s chair at full surgery without injection,” recapitulated fox boss BOB Hanning.

Gidsel: “Now we are there”

Anyone who talks about the completion of the Berlin life dream cannot avoid world handball players Mathias Gidsel. The exceptional player who describes himself as a “simple boy from Denmark”. “Of course he is the player of the season. He makes us all better,” enthusiastic Hanning about his externally inconspicuous guarantee of success.

Gidsel knows how good he is. The many praise of his colleagues is uncomfortable for him. The lanky Dane prefers to talk about the qualities of his young teammates. “I am proud of them as on myself. These boys are incredible and they are also the best players in the world,” said the Olympic champion.

Gidsel came to Berlin in 2022. During his contract extension in winter to 2029, the Berliners had given their superstar the promise to form the team into a title team in the next few years. “I did not think that it works so quickly. Now we are there,” said the Scandinavian and suspected: “Now everything is getting easier.”

A sticker in the paninial bum is still missing

What Gidsel says: the pressure is gone. At the right time, because on weekends the next possible triumph will be waving in the Champions League. Berlin meets HBC Nantes in the semifinals, Magdeburg is dealing with the record winner FC Barcelona. “Then the focus is to complete the Panini album. There is still no sticker,” said Hanning.

Why not put on Europe’s handball crown? “In the form we are in, we are the best team in the world,” said Routinier Fabian Wiede in the direction of the three competitors. And Marsenic is also certain: “We are not yet finished.”

Hanning realized his life’s work with the historical HBL title. The former Vice President of the German Handball Association has been moving the threads in Berlin for two decades and shaped the second division into the currently best German handball team – with a mixture of world stars and talented owners.

According to sports director Stefan Kretzschmar, seven Berlin players from their own academy on the floor were against the lions – from Nils Lichtlein to Matthes Langhoff to Tim Freöfer. They are already one of the best players in their position. A scary signal for the competition. A factor for the foxes that promises title -rich years. Hanning is also convinced: “Because the boys don’t get worse. They get much better.”