Barça will face Kiel and Kielce against Veszprém in the semifinals of the Champions League final four, which will be played in Cologne on June 18 and 19. The draw held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna has provided a classic between Catalans and Germans to seek a place in the final.
Barça and Kiel, both second in their respective groups in the main phase of the competition, are the teams that have played the final four the most times in the 13 editions with this four-player format, with permanent headquarters at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne , Barça 10 and Kiel 8. Both have conquered it three times.
The Blaugrana eliminated Flensburg in the quarterfinals with a double win, in Germany (29-33) and at the Palau (27-24), while Kiel took revenge on PSG, their executioner in the quarterfinals the previous year, with a narrow victory in the second leg (33-32) to break the tie at 30 in the first leg in Paris.
Barça coach, Carlos Ortega, commented that "any rival at this point is very difficult", but recalled that Kiel, champion in 2020 (against Barça), "is one of the great teams in Europe".
For the coach from Malaga, "one of the keys will be to defend well the seven against six, which they play very often and very well. The Niklas Landin factor will also be key", Ortega underlined.
For his part, the Blaugrana captain, Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, recalls that Kiel is the only rival of those present in Cologne that Barça has not faced this season and that this could be "a key factor when preparing the match" .
"The game will be at 50%, with a Kiel that plays at home and that will want to defend the title won in 2020. We will go with our clear ideas to try to be first in the final and then defend the title", he commented. the goalkeeper.
