The top two teams in the competition and the only two not to have dropped a game up to this point in the season, Viborg HK and SG BBM Bietigheim, will face off for the EHF European League Women 2021/22 trophy on Sunday in Vibocold Arena.
Bietigheim extended their winning streak in the competition to nine games since the start of the group phase on Saturday, with a last-gasp 34:33 win against Herning-Ikast Handbold in the first semi-final, while Viborg clinched a 28:24 victory over CS Minaur Baia Mare.
The final will be a special game for Viborg’s coach, Jakob Vestergaard, who won the EHF Champions League Women with the Danish side in 2009 and 2010, and now has a chance to lift another European trophy.
In the 3/4 placement match, set to be played just before the final, Herning-Ikast Handbold will look to avenge last season’s loss against CS Minaur Baia Mare, who sealed the bronze medal against Danish side at the first edition of the EHF Finals Women.
FINAL
Viborg HK (DEN) vs SG BBM Bietigheim (GER)
Sunday 15 May, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- Viborg will play the final of the second-tier European competition for the fourth time, after winning all three they played in the Women’s EHF Cup previously — in 1994, 1999 and 2004
- the Danish side are the most decorated side in the history of the second-tier competition, while SG BBM Bietigheim have played a single final, losing the Women’s EHF Cup trophy game in 2017 against Rostov-Don
- the German side are on a 49-game winning streak dating to last season, having taken victories in all 36 matches they played in all competitions this season, including nine in the EHF European League Women
- Bietigheim back Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc is the co-leader of the top goal scorer standings of the Energi Viborg EHF Finals, with eight goals, tied with Herning-Ikast’s Cecilie Brandt, while Viborg’s back Line Haugsted is just behind in these standings, with seven
- Danish teams have won the competition a record nine times, including three wins for Viborg, while the only German team to lift the trophy was HC Leipzig, in 1992
- the two sides have never met in European competitions. The final of the EHF European League Women 2021/22 will be their first encounter
They have a very strong team. They play very well. They are a good team that can also feature in the Champions League. As a former German national coach, I know plenty of their players. We have been practising a lot. Hopefully we will do a great match tomorrow.
