Rarely does a runner-up take such a good taste from a lost final as Fraikin Granollers after losing to Füchse Berlin (36-31) in the fight for the European League, the second continental handball competition. Antonio Rama’s players got back on the back of the heroic, stood up, wasted desire and ambition, but they crashed against a more solid and lethal Füchse in attack that was not surprised by the revelation of the competition.
The Fraikin Granollers players, very young, most of whom emerged from the endless Vallesan academy, celebrated the European League silver medal almost as if it were a title, after having held a competition to frame: they have been the revelation, the David that has been loaded on the way to the nobility of European handball as Flensburg in the quarterfinals (a tremendous assault on the Flens-Arena) and Göppingen in the semifinals.
In the final, on the same stage as the Flens-Arena, Granollers could do little against a very muscular Füchse, very well supported by goalkeeper Milosavljev (10 saves).
It was difficult for Fraikin Granollers to find the way to the goal in a very run over start. After 10 minutes, only three goals (3-3), two of them by Antonio GarcÃa in the interval of one minute. Defenses prevailed and Rangel stood out with his stops to maintain equality.
The first advantage of the Valles team came after 12 minutes, with a goal against Sergi Franco, the 4-5, after a 0-2. Partial that grew to 0-3 with the first goal from Jan Gurri (4-6), a first 2 that forced the Füchse to ask for their first half.
Granollers, with serenity and a lot of coolness, was able to keep their face up and face up against a Füchse that was hardening and taking out the artillery of Lasse Andersson and Gidsel. With the experience and poise of Antonio GarcÃa, and Rangel’s saves, the Catalan team arrived alive at minute 20 (8-9).
However, the practically consecutive exclusions of Gurri and Yusuf and a 4-0 defeat by Füchse left Granollers touched, who saw themselves three down for the first time (12-9 at 23m35s). He ran aground in attack and the German team warmed up, especially with the arm of ex-Blaugrana Lasse Andersson (4), who twice put the 4 (13-9, 15-11) to scare away the Vallesan reaction attempt with the goals de Salinas from the pivot.
Thus, the 16-12 with which they reached the break put the final uphill for Granollers. Four goals down that weren’t my least impossible to lift.
But Fraikin Granollers did not start well in the second half. A resounding 4-1 partial in four minutes left him more touched, 7 goals down (20-13), which put the feat away. The Füchse had accelerated thanks to a very plugged-in Lasse Andersson (6 goals) and the Catalan team couldn’t find a way to stop it. In addition, he crashed again and again against the giant Milosavljev (8 stops).
The Füchse stretched the lead to a painful 9 (23-14, 25-16) after 10 minutes. Granollers did not lose face and with a 0-3 run from Torriani (his first goals from him, in a row) they were able to get close to 6 goals (25-19), and 5 in the final stretch (36-31). But it was the best; a disadvantage from which the German team, very solid and effective in attack, and more physically whole, no longer allowed him to go down.
