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SG Flensburg-Handewitt

SG Flensburg-Handewitt is a professional handball club from Flensburg and Handewitt in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and EHF European League. They play home matches at Flens-Arena. Since forming in 1990, the club has been one of Germany's most successful teams domestically and in European tournaments. The club is best known for winning the EHF Champions League in 2014 by defeating arch-rivals THW Kiel in the final 30–28.

History

SG Flensburg-Handewitt was created in 1990 following a merger of the handball divisions of TSB Flensburg and Handewitter SV. The first season of the club (1990–1991) took place in the 2. Handball-Bundesliga, with SG finishing in fourth position under Zvonimir Serdarušić. In 1992, they were promoted to the top division as SG Flensburg-Handewitt for the first time, winning every league fixture. In their first season in the top-flight, SG finished sixteenth, though they were spared relegation due to the liquidation of TSV Milbertshofen. The following year, under the leadership of Anders Dahl-Nielsen, SG were fourth and from that point, equalled that placement or better in each season until the 2008/09 season.

SG Flensburg-Handewitt acquired their first major trophy with the 1996/1997 EHF Cup by defeating Danish side Virum-Sorgenfri HK 52–42 on aggregate in the final. Three consecutive DHB-Pokal titles (2003/04 vs TUSEM Essen, 2004/05 vs HSV Hamburg, and 2005/06 vs THW Kiel) followed, as did success in the league, with a championship victory in the 2003/04 season. Flensburg defeated HSG Nordhorn-Lingen at Flens-Arena in round 33 to secure their very first title with a game to spare. Slovenian club RK Celje did however, prevent a third trophy that year for SG by winning the 2003-04 EHF Champions League final against them. The 2004-05 and 2005-06 league campaigns both saw Flensburg finish second behind THW Kiel. In 2007, SG once again lost the Champions League final, this time they were defeated by "Landesderby" rivals THW Kiel.

In 2010, former player Ljubomir Vranjes became the new coach and it was under him that SG Flensburg-Handewitt won the EHF Champions League final at their third attempt, beating THW Kiel 30–28 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. During Vranjes' time as coach of SG, they also won the DHB-Pokal for a fourth time, beating SC Magdeburg on penalties. Maik Machulla took over from Vranjes as head coach in 2017, and consecutive league titles (their second and third successes) followed in the 2017/18 and 2018/2019 campaigns. The 2017/18 title was secured on the final day of the season with a 22–21 victory over Frisch Auf Göppingen. The following year, SG once again took the title on the final day, winning 27–24 away at Bergischer HC. Machulla was sacked in April 2023 after Flensburg lost three vital matches in just eight days. They were defeated 38–31 by Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the DHB-Pokal semi-finals, 35–27 at Flens-Arena by BM Granollers in the EHF European League quarter-finals, and then 29–19 by THW Kiel in the Nordderby in a crucial Handball-Bundesliga game. In the 2023-24 season with Nicolej Krickau as head coach, Flensburg missed out on qualification for the 2024-25 EHF Champions League by finishing 3rd in the Handball-Bundesliga. They were also defeated in the semi-finals of the DHB-Pokal by MT Melsungen, though they were victorious in the 2023-24 EHF European League final, defeating Füchse Berlin.

SG Flensburg-Handewitt holds a reputation as being a perennial "second-place" club – with three league titles the team has also finished runner-up fourteen times. In addition to this, they reached each of the seven DHB-Pokal finals between 2011 and 2017, losing six of them. The club has however, won all the competitions it has participated in at least once except the IHF Super Globe, and it is the only club to have won four different European Cups (one EHF Champions League, two EHF Cup Winners' Cup, two EHF European League titles and one EHF European Cup in addition to several finals), as well as the three different German national competitions (three German championships, four DHB-Pokal and three DHB-Supercup).

Due to their proximity to Scandinavia, SG typically have top international players from Denmark, Sweden and Norway in their squad. Danish right winger Lasse Svan became the club's all-time leading appearance maker during the 2021/22 season, overtaking legendary left winger and fellow Dane Lars Christiansen. At the most recent World Men's Handball Championship, the victorious Danish squad featured six Flensburg players.

Crest, colours, supporters

Kit manufacturers

Kits

Supporters

There are four official fan clubs of SG Flensburg-Handewitt. The largest is called "Hölle Nord" (Hell North). The other three are called "Die Wikinger" (The Vikings), "Nordlichter" (Northern Lights) and the "Alte Garde" (The Old Guard). Club songs include "Hier regiert Flensburg-Handewitt" by Andreas Fahnert and "Unvergleichliches".

Rivalries

The main rival of SG Flensburg-Handewitt is fellow Schleswig-Holstein side THW Kiel. The two clubs compete in the "Nordderby" and have regularly and closely fought for national championships and in finals of the DHB-Pokal. As of May 2022, 106 matches have been contested between the two sides, with THW winning 64 and SG with 38 victories.

The other rival of SG is HSV Hamburg. Due to HSV's financial issues and subsequent license removal, Flensburg and Hamburg did not play each other for more than five years until the rivalry was renewed in October 2021 when SG won 33–27 in Hamburg.

Attendances

Accomplishments

Handball-Bundesliga:
- Gold: 2004, 2018, 2019
- Silver: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021
2. Handball-Bundesliga:
- Gold: 1988, 1992
DHB-Pokal:
- Gold: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015
- Silver: 1992, 1994, 2000, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
DHB-Supercup:
- Gold: 2000, 2013, 2019
- Silver: 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2020
EHF Champions League:
- Gold: 2014
- Silver: 2004, 2007
- Bronze: 2006
EHF Cup Winner's Cup:
- Gold: 2001, 2012
- Silver: 2002
EHF Cup/EHF European League:
- Gold: 1997, 2024
- Silver: 1998, 2000
EHF City Cup:
- Gold: 1999
IHF Super Globe:
- Bronze: 2014
Double

Winners: 2003–04

Final performances

Sports Hall information

Name: – Flens-Arena
City: – Flensburg
Capacity: – 6300
Address: – Campusallee 2, 24943 Flensburg, Germany

Flens-Arena has been the home court of the club since its completion in 2001. In April 2023, the naming rights for the arena became free, as the agreement with local brewery Flensburger Brauerei ended.

Flensburg first played at Wikinghalle, which was built in 1975. They last played there in 1995, having moved to the Flensburger Förderhalle in 1991.

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2023–24 season

Technical staff

Head coach: Nicolej Krickau
Assistant coach: Mark Bult
Sporting director: Ljubomir Vranjes
Athletic Trainer: Michael Döring
Physiotherapist: Torben Helmer
Club doctor: Thorsten Lange

Transfers

Transfers for the 2024–25 season

Transfers for the 2025–26 season

Transfer History

Domestic competition

^aDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final table was decided on a points-per-match basis.

European competition

EHF Cup Winners' Cup: from the 2012–13 season, the men's competition was merged with the EHF Cup.
EHF Cup: It was formerly known as the IHF Cup until 1993. Also, starting from the 2012–13 season the competition has been merged with the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. The competition will be known as the EHF European League from the 2020–21 season.

Note All matches ending with a 10–0 results were assessed by the EHF due to cancellations relating to coronavirus restrictions. The assessments of these results during the group stage was criticised in a statement by SG Flensburg-Handewitt.