Minne: “We really believe we can do something great”

The trophy that Barça lifted in 2021 was worth as much as any other EHF Champions League trophy in history. But still, that year — and the year before — it felt like something was missing, something that makes the EHF FINAL4 so special for players and teams: the fans.

"Four years ago, it was really something special. We still talk a lot about it with my partner and my sister, as they both came to see us play, but they had to go through so much hurdles, like the tests and everything," recalls Aymeric Minne, the HBC Nantes centre back, who is his team's leading scorer with 84 goals this season.

In 2021, Nantes qualified for their second EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, following their appearance in the final in 2018, when Minne was still playing for the club where he started his professional career in 2015, PAUC Handball. He joined Nantes in 2019.

Even on the court, the 2021 edition felt bizarre. "Everyone around Europe now knows how important the fans are for HBC Nantes. And there we were, playing one of the most important games of our careers to just a handful of family members," the French international says. "I know this 2025 edition will be completely different, and I am so looking forward to playing a real EHF FINAL4."

For Nantes and Minne, the journey this season in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League has been quite an impressive one. While they started with the ambition to qualify for the knockout phase, they have now made it to the semi-finals, 120 minutes from a possible trophy.

"It’s true that our main goal was to go for the national championship, but things shifted in March. At first, it was frustrating, but now, we have our eyes on two different prizes; to finish second in the league and qualify for the EHF Champions League, and also, coming back to Cologne."

The status with which "Le H" will travel to LANXESS arena also could not be more different to the one they had in 2021. Back then, they were seen as the underdogs.

"It was not even the outside world, also we did not think we could win there. Even though we had beaten Kielce and Veszprém to qualify, not one player said that we could hope and win the trophy," explains Minne, now 28 years old.

But now that's water under the bridge and things are looking a little bit different this time around, "We have matured, a good portion of the team was already present in 2021, so we feel more experienced this time. We also signed Nicolas Tournat in the meantime, and he gave us a lot more possibility in our play," says Minne, whose team defeated Orlen Wisla Plock in the play-offs and Sporting CP in the quarter-finals to book their ticket to Cologne.

But now that he and his team have qualified, they will have to beat one of the sensations of the season, Füchse Berlin, in the first semi-final on Saturday 14 June (live on EHFTV at 15:00 CEST).

“Of course, when you think about them, you think about Mathias Gidsel. I have started watching Berlin games and he is decisive in 90 per cent of their plays.” Nantes and Berlin crossed paths as recently as last season, when Füchse eliminated the French side on their way to the EHF Finals Men 2024 in Hamburg, the final tournament of the EHF European League season.

“I remember them not only being a great offensive team with Gidsel as their main weapon, but also as impressive performers. We never quite managed to find the solution against them, and that will probably be the key again,” Minne says.

Still, the centre back remains confident that HBC Nantes have the potential to do better than they did in 2021: “Back then, in our heads, it was really Barça and the rest of the pack. But this time, we really believe we can do something great.”

Photos © HBC Nantes