FC Barcelona tore a strong Andreas Wolff out of all his title dreams and climbed the European handball throne again.
The defending champion wrestled in the exciting final of the Champions League Wolffs Club Vive Kielce 37:35 (32:32, 14:13) after a seven-meter throw and triumphed for the tenth time in the premier class. In 1991 the record winner also won the European Cup.
“I have to process that first. It hurts incredibly right now,” said Wolff dejectedly, but added: “I’m very, very proud of the team. We showed incredible morale this season and today.”
In front of 19,750 spectators in Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, right winger Aleix Gomez scored nine goals and was the best scorer for the Spaniards who defeated THW Kiel (34:30) in the semifinals.
Barca also ended the “Cologne curse”: For the first time since the Final Four was first held in the cathedral city in 2010, the reigning champion was able to successfully defend his title.
Strong performance by Andreas Wolff
In his first participation in the final tournament in Cologne, Wolff just missed out on great success despite a strong performance between the posts.
The 31-year-old Wolff made several strong saves and whipped his team on. Kielce saved himself in overtime three seconds before the end of the game. Wolff was strong there too. Kielce, who missed the second title after 2016, lacked the rip-off offensively. In addition, the exceptional player Alex Dujshebaev missed the seven-meter throw.
Meanwhile, the final tournament ended on a happy note for the people from Kiel. Coach Filip Jicha’s team secured the bronze medal in a gripping small final against Telekom Veszprem with 37:35 (34:34, 14:18) after a seven-meter throw, pride in a good season prevailed: “We can definitely be satisfied be,” said THW captain Domagoj Duvnjak.
Like in the semifinals against Veszprem, Wolff was allowed between the posts against Barca from the start – and immediately started with a parade. The Polish fans, dressed completely in yellow, whistled at every attack by the Spaniards, and the duel in the stands clearly went to the Poles.
But on the field, Barca got off to a better start. Wolff often got a hand on the ball, but initially only prevented a larger deficit. The Polish champion’s much-praised offensive didn’t get off the ground and missed the clearest chances. 5:2 (7th) Barca pulled away to 10:7 (20th).
Open exchange of blows
However, led by Dujshebaev, Kielce came back and equalized again at 12:12 (26th). Wolff was an enormously important factor with a third of parried balls in the first half, during the break he paced up and down the field and recharged his batteries.
The 17:16 (37th) marked the first Kielce lead since the 1:0, an open exchange of blows developed – the leads changed back and forth. Barca keeper Perez de Vargas also intervened strongly again and again. At the beginning of the final phase, the defenses seemed to make the difference between victory and defeat.
After the break, Wolff was missing the quota from the first round, but he also defused the clearest opportunities such as a counterattack in the 54th minute. Kielce mostly presented in the crunch time, Barca was heavily challenged.