The long and winding Road to Cologne culminated in Füchse Berlin, HBC Nantes, SC Magdeburg and Barça reaching the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 at the LANXESS arena on 14 and 15 June 2025.
Today's draw, made in Vienna, pitted together Füchse Berlin and HBC Nantes in the first semi-final.
Füchse Berlin were the highest-scoring team in the quarter-finals, and their attacking style booked their place in Cologne with a 77:65 aggregate win over last year's beaten finalists Aalborg Håndbold.
It will be Füchse's second appearance in Cologne and they will have the chance to register their first win at LANXESS arena, after they finished fourth in 2012.
HBC Nantes were runners-up in 2018 and are back in Cologne for the first time since 2021, when they finished fourth. The French side saw off Sporting CP in the quarter-finals.
In the other semi-final, Barça, who have won three of the last four editions, will meet SC Magdeburg, the side who took the title in 2023.
The omens are good for Magdeburg, as they beat Barça in the semi-finals on their way to lifting the trophy. A 54:53 aggregate win took them past One Veszprém HC in the last eight saw them reach the LANXESS arena again in dramatic fashion.
A one-goal loss in the second leg wasn't enough to stop Barça reaching the semi-finals of the EHF Champions League for a seventh year running, beating OTP Bank - PICK Szeged 56:54 on aggregate.
TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2025
SEMI-FINAL DRAW
Saturday 14 June 2025
Semi-final 1 at 15:00 hrs CEST: Füchse Berlin (GER) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)
Semi-final 2 at 18:00 hrs CEST: Barça (ESP) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)
Players react to discovering their opponents
Players gearing up for a trip to Cologne joined the draw virtually to share their immediate reactions to finding out who they will face in the semi-finals.
Max Darj, the Füchse Berlin line player, was excited for his first appearance at the event, "I'm feeling pretty good, I think! What we can accomplish this year is nice and I'm looking forward to this!"
Asked if making it to Cologne was the icing on the cake to a dream season, Darj responded, "I don't know yet, but we talked about how we've played a really good year, but until now we didn't win anything. If we don't win anything in the end it will mean nothing to us, but we are really happy to be there."
When asked if he was happy with the draw, Valero Rivera, the experienced HBC Nantes left wing, gave this response, "Happy to be there, which is the most important!"
The 40-year-old hopes it will be third time lucky for him in Cologne, "I hope so, but it's very difficult. To play there is a dream for us and we will see what happens."
As for sharing his experience with younger members of the squad, "It's too early to talk about this, but we are proud to reach the semi-final in Cologne," he said. "I think we are a good team, mixed with young players and old players. We have a good atmosphere in the team."
Barça right back Dika Mem shared what it will take for his side to win another trophy, "As every year, it will be really difficult, we are playing against a really good team of Magdeburg, but, as everyone knows, anything can happen there. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We know that it will be difficult, but we cannot wait to be there."
Christian O'Sullivan of SC Magdeburg shared his thought on his side's dramatic win in the previous round, "I don't remember how we won that in the end, being four back at a crucial time, but we have a lot of good players who have been in this position before and they were really 'clutch' when we needed them. And now we're going to another FINAL4, it's just an amazing feeling."
To watch the draw in full, click the embedded video below or head over to the Home of Handball YouTube channel.
