Barça stumbled again on the same stone as Magdeburg, the only team that has been able to win twice in the last year, both in the final of the Club World Cup to snatch the unofficial title of world champion. The German team, very solid and uncomfortable, knew how to dismantle the Blaugrana game and deprive Carlos Ortega’s team of full trophies. Neither the 10 goals of a resurgent Aleix Gómez nor the 8 stops of Nielsen prevented the defeat in extra time, in which the Blaugrana team was inferior (6-4 in extra time) after having done the most difficult thing: saving 6 goals from disadvantage in 10 stellar minutes.
Barça’s exhibition against Kielce in the semi-final (28-39) was taken well by Magdeburg, who closed all the doors and annulled all the Blaugrana’s attacks in order to avoid a haemorrhage of goals. The Germans, fifth in the Bundesliga and third in Group A of the Champions League, put up a very solid defense in the 9 meters, leaving no gaps, hard, which dissuaded the Blaugrana pitchers and hindered circulation.
The 8-4 start that they nailed between the winger Pettersson and the winger Magnusson, devastating on the right, was the first warning from Magdeburg, which forced Ortega to request the first timeout at 7:40. “We are going to bite a little more”, asked the coach from Malaga for more aggressiveness in his defense.
Barça increased their intensity at 6:0 and scored a 1-4 run in 5 minutes that allowed them to shrink the score again (9-8, 10-9, 12-11). But it was only a temporary patch, because Magdeburg stepped on the accelerator in the last 10 minutes of the first half and responded with a 9-6 run to go into the break with 4 (21-17).
On the Blaugrana side, unlike the match against Kielce, the unbalancing factor of the goal did not appear. Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas went to the bench with only 6 stops in 14 pitches (25%) at 19-16. Nielsen replaced him, Ortega looking for a shock before the break.
After returning from the locker room, Magdeburg seemed to be going out to sentence when they made it 23-17, a 6 that made the duel very difficult for Barça. Ortega resorted to a 5:1 defense and opened Makuc in attack looking for new tactical resources. But the best thing was that they began to find Fàbregas, who was uncovered with 4 goals in a row and led to an approach (26-22).
The second necessary step was to lower the blind on the goal. Nielsen began to warm up and put out arms to stop Magdeburg. The effectiveness went from 22% to 36% in the second half, and at the same time Aleix Gómez woke up, who had only appeared in the first half to throw the 7-meter throws. The winger from Sabadell was full and with five goals he led to Barça’s superb 2-8 run to level the match (28-28) with 15 minutes to go. The Blaugrana team, biting stone, with ant work, defense to defense, was able to equalize a deficit of 6 goals (from 26-20).
The duel entered the decisive phase. A quarter final in which whoever failed the least would take the title. Barça was slightly disconnected, coinciding with Langaro’s exclusion, and Magdeburg recovered the two goals they had won (31-29, 33-31, 34-32) to enter the last five minutes with a decisive advantage.
Ortega again resorted to 5:1 defense with Ariño, and it worked. He short-circuited the German attack, Janc went on the counterattack and made it 34-33 and Fàbregas equalized at 34 with 3 minutes to go. The goalkeepers intervened. Nielsen stopped Saugstrup and Portner stopped Ariño. In the absence of 43s Mertens scored the 35-34. Ortega called time for the last attack with 25 seconds to go. Ball from Mem to Fàbregas in the six meters and a penalty that Wanner converted with 3 seconds to go, 35-35. The game went into overtime.
In added time, Wanne continued infallibly from 7 meters to give the first lead (36-37) in the 63rd minute of the game, but a defensive error allowed Kristjansson to make it 38-38 in the first half. In the second, Magdeburg was more successful. Portner saved one against Aleix Gómez and a penalty against Wanne, and Magnusson scored two goals and Kristjansson put the finishing touches (41-39).
Magdeburg: Portner, Pettersson (6), Magnusson (12, 7p), Saugstrup (5), O’Sullivan (1), Bezjak, Mertens (6); Weber (1), Kristjansson (7), Hornke (3), Damgaard, Jensen (ps).
Barça: Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, Janc (5), Mem (5), Cindric (1), N’Guessan (3), Ariño (2), Fàbregas (7); Petrus, Aleix Gómez (10, 4p), Langaro (1), Richardson, Frade, Carlsbogard, Wanne (5p), Makuc, Nielsen (ps).
Referees: Horacek and Novotny (Czech). They excluded Bezjak, Saugstrup and O’Sullivan (2), from Magdeburg, and N’Guessan (2), Langaro and Cindric, from Barça.
Partials: 5-3, 8-6, 10-9, 12-11, 16-13, 21-17 (rest); 24-18, 26-22, 28-27, 30-29, 34-32, 35-35.
Prorogation: 38-38, 41-39.
Track: Dammam Sports Hall, Saudi Arabia.
