German news in brief  

Nürnberg are German women’s champions again, Nikola Karabatic was voted “Player of the Season” and HSV Hamburg have a great balance of the season – news from Germany.

Nürnberg celebrate again

After losing the German Cup final against the old rivals, HC Leipzig, 1. FC Nürnberg took revenge in the German play-offs. After winning both finals (34:32 in Leipzig and 39:32 on home court) Nürnberg are German champions again. For coach Herbert Müller and his team it’s the third title since 2005.

“This was the icing on the cake after a sensational season,” said Müller. His team qualified for the group phase of next season’s Champions League again, which was their biggest objective as top star Ania Rösler said afterwards:

“We had so much fun and success in the Champions League and we were impressed by this international level, so we wanted to join the king’s class again. Our dream has come true.”

Karabatic on top

As it was the case in 2007, Nikola Karabatic was awarded “Player of the Season” in the German Bundesliga again. In a voting carried out by all coaches and team captains in the league the key player of the German champion and CL finalist THW Kiel won clearly.

Holger Glandorf (Nordhorn) and another Kiel player, goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, followed him. Kiel’s coach, Noka Serdarusic, was awarded “Coach of the Season”.

Great balance for HSV Hamburg

HSV Hamburg reached the CL semi-finals at their first attempt in the European king’s class. The team of Martin Schwalb came in third in the Bundesliga, which is also a good result.

However, the club is not only successful on court, also on a financial level: an average of 8,693 spectators visited the matches of Hamburg during the season, nearly 700 more than a year ago. The club sold 3,802 season tickets, which is an increase by 1,500. Also the sponsorship revenues increased considerably: the club earned more than 3,9 million Euro, one million more than a season before.