Simply Flensational

If passengers meet twice on their outgoing and incoming flight, they might have a lot to talk about. On Thursday afternoon SG Flensburg-Handewitt and THW Kiel had been in the same plane on their flight Hamburg to Cologne for the VELUX EHF FINAL4, on Monday both sides met again in the same plane – after they had faced on court at the final in the LANXESS arena, won by SG 30:28 to become EHF Champions League winner for the first time ever.

“It’s much greater to leave the plane with the trophy then to watch the opponent carrying the trophy through the airport,” said Dierk Schmäschke, Flensburg’s manager, when arriving at Hamburg airport. Again both sides sat in different rows of the plane. “There was no common celebration,” said Schmäschke.

The Flensburg players obviously did not have that much sleep the night before They had celebrated their Cinderella story at a club in Cologne and had created a new word for what had happened in Cologne: “Flensation” A T-Shirt showing this new slogan was sold more than 500 times within only one hour in Flensburg.

The party which had started right after the final whistle in Cologne went on at home and everything had to be completely spontaneous.

“We were considered as the big underdogs in Cologne and we considered ourselves as the big underdogs – so nothing was planned, no party, no celebration. But those spontaneous events are the best events,” said Schmäschke.

The Flensburg team presented the trophy to 5,000 fans on the market square “Südermarkt”, also providing the spectators with 1,000 litres of free beer.

Even the regional Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein – the state where both VELUX EHF FINAL4 finalists are from - arrived at the square after he had missed the final on Sunday: “I got stuck in a traffic jam for six hours, then turned around to watch the match on TV,” Albig (known as a fan of THW Kiel) said, adding “the heart of European handball beats in Northern Germany.”

Before the VELUX EHF FINAL4, SG Flensburg-Handewitt had been the “semi-final kings” after reaching the final of the German Cup four straight times, but then lost all four finals, now they are the newly crowned kings of Europe and belong to the very rare number of clubs to have won three different EHF European Cup competitions: the EHF Cup in 1997 and the Cup Winners’ Cup twice in 2001 und 2012.

“It was an incredible journey this season,” said coach Ljubomir Vranjes without much of a voice at the celebration on Südermarkt, while Serbian right wing Bogdan Radivojevic tried to sing a song, but failed, as he had also lost his voice in the party night in Cologne.

The celebration in Flensburg was the last act for Danish line player Michael Knudsen in the club’s shirt after nine years in Flensburg. “This title, the biggest you can win, was an incredible farewell gift. Before I move to Silkeborg now, I will celebrate for one month,” Knudsen said, raising the trophy on the balcony on top of the market square.

And in the middle of the celebrations young Swede Jim Gottfridsson took the microphone to announce that he “just” had extended his contract until 2017 – followed by a huge round of applause from the fans and a beer shower by Danish wing Anders Eggert.

After this party the SG Flensburg-Handewitt team went to the City Hall to sign the Golden Book of Flensburg for the third time after 2004 (German champions for the one and only time) and 2012 (Cup Winners’ Cup winner).