Handball national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff narrowly missed his first title in the Champions League with Vive Kielce.
The Polish champions lost the dramatic final against defending champions FC Barcelona 35:37 (32:32, 13:14) after throwing seven meters at the Final Four in Cologne on Sunday (June 19, 2022). It was the tenth time the Catalans had triumphed in the premier class, and they also won the 1991 European Cup.
“I have to process that first. It hurts incredibly right now”said Wolff, who had shown a strong performance: “I’m very, very proud of the team. We’ve shown incredible morale this season and today.”
Gomez best pitcher
With nine goals in front of 19,750 spectators in the sold-out Cologne Arena, right winger Aleix Gomez was the best scorer for the Spaniards, who eliminated German record champions THW Kiel (34:30) in the semi-finals. Barca also ended the “Cologne curse”: For the first time since the Final Four was first held in the cathedral city in 2010, the current champion was able to defend his title.
The very strong Wolff just missed out on great success in his first participation in the final tournament in Cologne. Kielce, who had won the final ticket against Telekom Veszprem (37:35), could have triumphed for the second time in the premier class after 2016.