Atletico Madrid IHF Super Globe Champions!
As in 2007 and 2010 Atletico Madrid won the IHF Super Globe now for the third time. The Spaniards took revenge for the lost final in 2011 against THW Kiel and beat the German defending Super Globe champions by 28:23 after a brilliant defence performance.It was not only the revenge for the 2011 IHF Super Globe defeat (25:28), but also for the lost EHF Champions League final in May 2012 (21:26). And one person wrote history: Coach Talant Dushebajews already took his fourth trophy after the tree vicotries with Atletico and the initial victory with Teaka Santander in 1997 as a player. Kiel missed their second trophy by a weak attacking performance after the break, scoring only ten goals in the second half.
Final: Atletico Madrid - THW Kiel 28:23 (13:13)
Well-deserved final victory with a clear match winner: Goalkeeper and team captain Jose Javier Hombrados was the key to success. Especially after the break the 40-year-old veteran – combined with the defence – stood like a wall and caused confusion for the THW attackers by his overall 15 saves. Top scorers of a defence-orientated match were Filip Jicha with seven goals for Kiel and Mariusz Jurkiewicz with five goals for Madrid.
The first half was absolutely equal in numbers: Both teams had 22 attacks each, both teams scored 13 goals each – and both teams focused more on defence than on attack. On THW side, newcomer Marko Vujin imprinted the first 30 minutes with five goals from six attempts; the Atletico team was well balanced in all areas with an intermediate strong period of left back Mariusz Jurkievicz.
After the break goalkeeper Jose Hombrados boosted the stability of the Madrid defence with his saves. And his team – especially strong line player Julen Aguinagalde – took the profit and extended the gap to 22:19 – and even added two more goals after a THW time-out. But the downswing did not change, as the Germans fully lacked concentration against the powerful Spanish defence. Ten minutes before the end, Gislason took his second time-out within only five minutes, when the score was 19:26. From minute 44 to minute 54 the Germans did not score one single goal. They scored only ten times during the entire second half.
