In a single sip, Barça drank their 10th consecutive Handball Copa del Rey, the 27th of their record, after sweeping Logroño in the Santander final (34-23). The blaugrana, undisputed favourites, annihilated the emotion and gave the La Riojans no chance to add their fifth title this season, after the Catalan Super Cup, the Iberian Super Cup, the Asobal Cup and the League.
Now they have the assault on the third Champions League in a row as the great challenge of the year.
Nothing new under the sun. Barça continues to overwhelm domestic competitions since it stopped having a real antagonist, with the disappearance of Atlético de Madrid in 2013. Its hegemony in Spain is insulting: it has accumulated 45 consecutive Spanish titles, including Leagues (13), Asobal Cups ( 12), Super Cups (10) and Copas del Rey (10), since 2011.
Despite the fact that the Copa del Rey, because it is the K.O. tournament, is the most likely to fail, for a rival to catch them one day stupid, Barça does not fail and has taken over the Cup with greed; a competition in which they have not lost for just 10 years: the last time was on May 3, 2013 against Atlético de Madrid in the semifinals.
In Santander, Barça met the most recurring opponent in the 10 finals –along with Fraikin Granollers (3 editions each)-, a Logroño La Rioja that had the best ranking of the seven rivals, fifth in the League. For those led by Miguel Ángel Velasco, the final was a real gift.
In fact, the players from La Rioja would dress up the previous midnight to go out for a few drinks and celebrate the success of the season: saved, with four games to go in the Asobal League, and with the ticket to the European League (2nd continental competition ) and to the next Iberian Cup (super cup of Spain and Portugal) for reaching the final of the Cup against Barça. Giving the surprise against the blaugrana giant was more than a utopia, so they let go to fall with honor.
With nothing to lose, brazenly and without complexes, the people of La Rioja went so far as to put themselves one up (3-4, 4-5) thanks to two actions on the run by winger Eduardo Ortiz and the next Blaugrana pivot, Javi Rodríguez. But it was a mirage, because Barça -starting with only three of the semifinal starters (Wanne, N'Guessan and Janc)- is the spitting image of competitiveness, intensity and ambition. A shredding machine, at the devilish speed of Janc, Wanne, Cindric, Makuc.
Thus, after the last draw in Logroño (6-6, at 9:10), Barça let loose and gave free rein to a festival of total, offensive and defensive handball, withdrawal, counters, midfield goals, steals, skill, bravery, wall in the goal (13 Nielsen stops)... Everything. A furious 7-0 in 6 minutes led to 18-9 after 22 minutes, forcing Velasco to stop the clock and leaving the final sentenced on the fast track.
After the break (20-13), Logroño appeared with a new goalkeeper, the Belarusian Markelau, while Ortega changed wingers, with Martí Soler and Aleix Gómez, who opened with two goals to make it 10 (24-14 at 35m31s), and with two more for 11 (28-17), the maximum income at 44 minutes.
With its breadth and quality on the bench, Barça only had to keep their foot on the accelerator to keep the 11 goals from rent until the end (34-23).
Barça: Nielsen, Janc (5), Mem (3), Cindric (2), N'Guessan (3), Wanne (1), Frade (4); Petrus, Richardson (2), Carsbogard (1), Fàbregas (5), Makuc (3), Valera, Aleix Gómez (5, 1p), Martí Soler, Pérez de Vargas (ps).
Logroño: Jorge Pérez, Rubiño (3), Palomino (3), El Korchi (1), Keita (3), Ortiz (2), Javi Rodríguez (1); Preciado (2), D. Cadarso (1), Javi García (1), E. Cadarso (4, 2p), Costa (1), Markelau (ps).
Referees: Jorge and Jesús Escudero Santiuste (Cantabros). They excluded Keita, from Logroño, and Thiagus Petrus and Richardson from Barça.
Partials: 3-2, 7-6, 11-8, 17-9, 18-10, 20-13 (rest); 23-14, 25-16, 29-19, 32-20, 34-23.
Track: Palacio de los Deportes de Santander, about 2,500 spectators.
