On the walls of the Ciutat Esportiva de Sant Joan Despí, the hanging posters invite optimism: a collage of photos of celebrations by the Barça players, with a giant three in the center, forming the motto “Let’s” (Let’s go for the third followed), encourage belief. This is how the Blaugrana handball giants are motivated by the historic challenge they face this weekend in Cologne: storming the club’s 12th Champions League, the third in a row –a historic milestone–, which would be the fifth in the 14 editions under the format to four that have been played in the majestic Lanxess Arena.
In order to opt to reissue the European title in tomorrow’s final at 6:00 p.m., Barça first, today in the semifinals, must find the antidote to avoid being affected by the so-called rookie’s curse. Up to four times the blaugrana, favorites by badge, squad and career, lost to a rookie team in the final four. And they do not want Magdeburg to be the fifth to submit to them. They have been more than warned, since the German rival is their most recurring bête noire in recent times: it is the only team that has beaten Barça this season, and in the last two in a row.
In the 13 editions of the Champions League with a four-player format, Barça fell surprisingly against rookies like Hamburg (in the 2013 final, after extra time); the following year, in the semifinals against Flensburg –ultimately champion–; In the 2017 edition, the Vardar gave him a romp in the semis, to end up reigning as well; and in 2018 he was lowered in the round of 16 by Montpellier (which ended up being crowned in Cologne). Four rookies, four eliminations, four champions.
For this reason, and for all its potential, Magdeburg instills respect in the blaugrana. “It has been one of the best teams in the Champions League in the last 2-3 years,” Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas summarized for this newspaper, which he attributes to the “style of play” and players “with fewer centimeters and less weight than usual , very good one-on-one” the difficulty that Barça has encountered against the German team in their last two meetings: the defeats in the 2021 Club World Cup finals (33-28) and 2022 (41-39, in extension, in October).
For Luka Cindric, the Croatian central defender who could play his last two games for the Blaugrana (the club invites him to leave), there is no doubt: “Magdeburg is so difficult for us because they play fast like us, they are very similar; He is the anti-Barça. And they have good players, with quality changes, similar to Barça. It’s a very difficult team to beat.”
Magdeburg, which was European champion for the last (and only) time in 2002, is a true UN with players of nine nationalities (Danish, Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovenian, Swiss, Dutch, Polish and German) who form a compact and balanced block. The Bundesliga runner-up will not be able to count on his great reference, the Icelandic full-back Omar Magnusson, injured since February, but he has recovered the Icelandic central defender Gisli Kristjansson, the team’s second top scorer (76). Although their fittest player is the Dutchman Kay Smits (78), “who is doing the same or better” than Magnusson, according to Ortega.
“It is a team that is based a lot on one against one, with very fast players, difficult to defend. And he has reached the final four in his first year of Champions. He is doing things very well and signing very well for many years; He is going to be a serious opponent for years to come”, the Blaugrana coach analyzes for La Vanguardia.
Barça, the only undefeated (15 wins, 1 draw), with a historic streak of 25 games without losing (since November 2021) and top scorer (34.8 on average), has all its players except for Aitor Ariño.