Polish National Handball Team
No one would have guessed: a Polish national team treated as rank outsiders put the fear of God into the established handball nations at the 2007 WC, and marched through to the final. And, during the entire feat, bwin was present – at the semi-finals and the final match as jersey sponsor!
Long before the actual start of the tournament, the Poles were working flat out: they first had to grind out their starting position in a playoff round. After a clear first leg defeat against Greece, a sparkling victory finally came in the second leg and ensured their qualification for the main leg in Germany.
And even there, the team caused a stir: in the group phase, the hosts and later world champions were overpowered at 27:25. After a minor low in the interim round, spirits were once again high just in time for the final matches: first the Russian outsiders were ousted, then the Danes followed suit.
The end of the line came in the final – Germany took revenge for the defeat in the group phase and won 29:24.