The Barça captain, Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (Toledo, 32 years old), is quite a classic. In the first team since 2009 (except for his three seasons on loan, 2011-14), Gonchi has become one of the pillars, and in the Champions League, one of his own names: this final four will be the 8th for the goalkeeper, will equal Ilic and Karabatic, and will be only one behind Pálmarsson (9). His great state of form is one of Barça’s weapons to conquer what would be his 12th Champions League. The captain served La Vanguardia before traveling to Cologne.
His eighth final four. He could lift the fifth Champions. If it was already almost impossible to win two in a row, what would it mean to win the third in a row?
It’s an even bigger challenge. We know that in the recent past we have made history, but we have the opportunity to make more. It is not an obsession, because after winning two in a row no one can demand another. Nothing is mathematical. We have made enough merits not to go to Cologne to play it all or nothing. The season has been very very good. We have the means to show that we are the best again, we have a very compact team, with players at the peak of their careers, and we hope to make a great final four.
What has changed from last year’s team, which was consolidating with Ortega, to this one?
The longer you train with a technician, the better you get, everything becomes automated. Winning the Champions League last year gave us all confidence, the team and Carlos, himself, his staff and us. This confidence allows you to work in a more stable environment and has made us hungry to keep winning.
After an excellent season, 15 wins and a draw, they face Magdeburg in the semi-finals, the only team that has beaten them this year, and that has done so two years in a row. Are you looking forward to them?
Yes, but also a lot of respect. He has had a great competition, he knows very well what he is playing, he has a very stable block, with players who have been in the project for a long time. More than sporting revenge, we want to prove again that we are the best.
Why is Magdeburg getting in their way so much?
He has been one of the best in the Champions League in the last 2-3 years, and because of the way he plays, he is at a level very similar to ours; it is very competitive. He has a front line that is different from what other teams are looking for, with fewer kilos and fewer centimeters, but very good in one-on-one situations, scoring goals easily. We feel more comfortable defending bigger players, with a lot of power but less skilled one-on-one. It is a very well-worked and structured team, with the right pieces to play in this way. It has proven to be very reliable.
One of the keys to the final four is that the goal is good in both games. Barça has one of the best pairs: you and Emil Nielsen are the third and fourth most efficient goalkeepers (31.1%, behind Thulin and Wolff)…
We have proven to be a very solid couple. When one has not been at the level, usually the teammate has responded and this gives confidence to everyone, to the team and to us. We know that we are decisive and we will try to maintain the line this season.
In the days leading up to this final four, it has been leaked that Kiel wants to sign him when his contract ends, in 2025. Can he commit that he will continue at Barça?
I couldn’t tell you. I have a contract in force until 2025, we are seeing a few seasons with a lot of movement at Barça, my intention has always been to stay at Barcelona, ??but there is still a long way to go, we have a very important goal, and then we will see.
What will it depend on to continue?
Of many things. We are in a professional sport, you have to evaluate everything, not just stay or go to Kiel or another team. Knowing that I have a contract in force, the situation is clearer for the near future. Time will tell…
Does it look like Blaugrana in 2026?
I can’t guarantee anything because nothing is closed, neither on one side nor on the other. Talking now about what might happen in 2025 is a waste of time.
In this Barça of cuts in the sections, would winning a third Champions League in a row be a vindication for the club that has to believe in handball?
We don’t need to win another Champions League to give the club another reason. The club’s situation is not ideal for any section, but I don’t think we deserve that kind of pressure, nor do I think a win in Cologne will change the club’s plans; they are strategic plans and we must adapt to them.
