SG Flensburg-Handewitt

SG Flensburg-Handewitt was created in 1990 following a merger of the handball divisions of TSB Flensburg and Handewitter SV.^[1] 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.

Period	Kit manufacturer
0000–2013	Hummel
2013–2023	Erima
2023–	Hummel

HOME
2017–18	2018–19	2021–

AWAY
2017–18	2019–20	2021–

THIRD
2018–19	2019–20

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).^[2] Club songs include "Hier regiert Flensburg-Handewitt" by Andreas Fahnert and "Unvergleichliches".

SG Flensburg-Handewitt have sporting partnerships with SønderjyskE Herrehåndbold, VfL Lübeck-Schwartau, Lugi Handboll, DHK Flensborg and Flensburg Academy.

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.^[3]

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.

• 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

Season	Competition	Opponent	Score
1991–92	DHB-Pokal	TUSEM Essen	20–19 19–20 4–5 (P)
1993–94	DHB-Pokal	SG Wallau-Massenheim	14–17
1996–97	EHF Cup	Virum Sorgenfri	22–25 30–17
1997–98	DHB-Supercup	TBV Lemgo	33–35
1997–98	EHF Cup	THW Kiel	25–23 21–26
1997–98	EHF City Cup	BM Ciudad Real	27–27 26–21
1999–00	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	25–30
2000–01	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	20–19
2000–01	EHF Cup	RK Metković	22–24 25–23
2001–02	EHF Cup Winners' Cup	BM Ciudad Real	22–31 32–27
2002–03	DHB-Pokal	TUSEM Essen	31–30
2003–04	DHB-Supercup	TBV Lemgo	28–32
2003–04	DHB-Pokal	HSV Hamburg	29–23
2003–04	EHF Champions League	RK Celje	28–34 30–28
2004–05	DHB-Supercup	HSV Hamburg	24–25
2004–05	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	33–31
2005–06	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	34–36
2006–07	EHF Champions League	THW Kiel	28–28 27–29
2010–11	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	24–30
2011–12	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	31–33
2011–12	EHF Cup Winners' Cup	VfL Gummersbach	34–33 32–28
2012–13	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	26–29
2012–13	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	30–33
2013–14	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	29–26
2013–14	DHB-Pokal	Füchse Berlin	21–22
2013–14	EHF Champions League	THW Kiel	30–28
2014–15	DHB-Pokal	SC Magdeburg	27–27 5–4 (P)
2015–16	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	26–27
2015–16	DHB-Pokal	SC Magdeburg	30–32
2016–17	DHB-Pokal	THW Kiel	23–29
2017–18	DHB-Pokal	Rhein-Neckar Löwen	26–30
2018–19	DHB-Supercup	Rhein-Neckar Löwen	26–33
2019–20	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	32–31
2020–21	DHB-Supercup	THW Kiel	24–28
2023–24	EHF European League	Füchse Berlin	36–31

 

• 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.

Squad for the 2024–25 season

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

Transfers for the 2025–26 season

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

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.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2013–14	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group D)	HSV Hamburg	27–24	27–32	2nd place
			Velenje	35–31	28–23
			Aalborg	31–27	27–26
			La Rioja	37–25	32–32
			HK Drott	33–25	37–27
		Quarter-finals	Vardar	24–22	25–27	49–49
		Semi-final (F4)	Barcelona	41–39(pens)
		Final (F4)	THW Kiel	30–28

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2014–15	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group B)	FC Barcelona	33–37	27–36	4th place
			KIF Kolding København	27–20	21–35
			Wisła Płock	35–28	29–31
			Alingsås HK	31–21	27–22
			Beşiktaş	31–27	27–20
		Last 16	THW Kiel	21–30	28–33	49–63

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2015–16	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group A)	Paris Saint-Germain	39–32	32–35	3rd place
			MVM Veszprém	28–29	24–28
			THW Kiel	37–27	23–27
			Zagreb	28–27	30–23
			Wisła Płock	27–25	34–30
			Celje	30–20	30–26
			Beşiktaş	33–25	34–26
		Round of 16	Montpellier	31–30	28–27	59–57
		Quarter-finals	Vive Targi Kielce	28–28	28–29	56–57

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2016–17	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group A)	Barcelona Lassa	27–28	23–26	4th place
			Paris Saint-Germain	33–34	22–27
			Telekom Veszprém	24–24	28–34
			THW Kiel	25–26	30–22
			Bjerringbro-Silkeborg	26–24	25–19
			Wisła Płock	22–20	37–30
			Kadetten Schaffhausen	31–26	29–26
		Round of 16	Meshkov Brest	28–26	26–25	54–51
		Quarter-finals	Vardar	24–26	27–35	51–61

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2017–18	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group B)	Paris Saint-Germain	33–29	21–29	3rd place
			Telekom Veszprém	31–31	22–27
			THW Kiel	30–33	20–20
			PGE Vive Kielce	32–32	25–25
			Meshkov Brest	37–30	30–28
			Celje	33–28	30–27
			Aalborg Håndbold	30–27	31–24
		Round of 16	IFK Kristianstad	27–24	26–22	53–46
		Quarter-finals	Montpellier	28–28	17–29	45–57

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2018–19	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group B)	Paris Saint-Germain	20–27	28–29	3rd place
			MOL-Pick Szeged	27–25	28–30
			HBC Nantes	29–29	34–31
			Motor Zaporizhzhia	31–24	26–28
			PPD Zagreb	29–31	22–21
			Skjern Håndbold	26–22	31–24
			Celje Pivovarna Laško	27–26	20–23
		Round of 16	Meshkov Brest	30–20	30–28	60–48
		Quarter-finals	Telekom Veszprém	22–28	25–29	47–57

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2019–20	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group B)	Barça	27–34	31–27	5th place
			Paris Saint-Germain	29–30	30–32
			MOL-Pick Szeged	34–26	24–24
			Aalborg Håndbold	29–32	28–31
			Celje Pivovarna Laško	29–26	25–24
			PPD Zagreb	20–17	26–25
			Elverum	26–19	34–28
		Round of 16	Montpellier	Cancelled	Cancelled	Cancelled

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2020–21	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group A)	Łomza Vive Kielce	31–30	31–28	1st place
			MOL-Pick Szeged	26–24	10–0
			Elverum Håndball	37–35	30–29
			Meshkov Brest	29–29	28–26
			Paris Saint-Germain	28–27	29–28
			Porto Sofarma	36–29	0–10
			Vardar 1961	0–10	26–31
		Last 16	PPD Zagreb	10–0	10–0	20–0
		Quarter-finals	Aalborg Håndbold	21–26	33–29	54–55

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.^[4][5]

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2021–22	EHF Champions League	Group matches (Group B)	Łomza Vive Kielce	25–33	29–37	6th place
			Barça	21–25	22–29
			Paris Saint-Germain	27–27	30–33
			Telekom Veszprém	30–27	23–28
			FC Porto	26–26	27–28
			Dinamo București	37–30	28–20
			Motor	34–27	22–31
		Play-offs	Pick Szeged	25–21	35–36	60–57
		Quarter-finals	Barça	29–33	24–27	53–60

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2022–23	EHF European League	Group matches (Group B)	Ystads IF	30–23	26–30	1st place
			Valur	33–30	37–32
			FTC	42–30	27–27
			PAUC Handball	30–25	29–21
			BM Benidorm	35–30	38–32
		Last 16	S.L. Benfica	33–28	39–26	72–54
		Quarter-finals	Fraikin Granollers	27–35	31–30	58–65

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2023–24	EHF European League	Group matches (Group E)	Kadetten Schaffhausen	46–32	24–25	1st place
			Elverum Håndball	38–35	33–32
			RK Lovćen	42–19	35–19
		Main round (Group III)	Bjerringbro-Silkeborg	38–28	45–26	1st place
			RK Vojvodina	42–30	36–26
		Quarter finals	IK Sävehof	28–29	41–30	69–59
		Semi-final (F4)	Dinamo București	38–32
		Final (F4)	Füchse Berlin	36–31

As of 20 February 2024^[6]

Rank	Team	Points
4	Industria Kielce	551
5	Telekom Veszprém	551
6	Paris Saint-Germain	536
7	Füchse Berlin	487
8	Montpellier HB	458
9	Orlen Wisła Płock	439
10	Aalborg Håndbold	425
11	SG Flensburg-Handewitt	423
12	GOG Håndbold	409
13	HBC Nantes	387

 

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