Germany’s national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff made an outstanding save, but the dream of winning the Champions League was shattered. His Vive Kielce lost in the seven-meter throw against the defending champion from Barcelona.
Handball national goalkeeper Andreas Wolff narrowly missed his first title in the Champions League with Vive Kielce. At the Final Four in Cologne on Sunday, the Polish champions lost the dramatic final against defending champions FC Barcelona 35:37 (32:32, 13:14) after throwing seven meters. It was the tenth time the Catalans had triumphed in the premier class, and they also won the 1991 European Cup.
“Cologne Curse” defeated
With nine goals in front of 19,750 spectators in Cologne’s Lanxess Arena, right winger Aleix Gomez was the best pitcher for the Spaniards, who eliminated German record champions THW Kiel (34:30) in the semifinals. Barça 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.
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.