“The key factor? The goal, without a doubt”. Carlos Ortega, the Barça coach, is clear about it: a large part of the success in Cologne depends on the success of the goalkeeper. And in this 2021-22 edition, "the best four in the world" are summoned to the Lanxess Arena, in the words of Aitor Ariño: Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas against Niklas Landin at Barça-Kiel, and Rodrigo Corrales against Andreas Wolff at Veszprém -Kielce. Whoever is most successful will practically lead his team to the continental throne.
The data leaves no doubt. The last final four fell to the team with the best goal. In 2021, Pérez de Vargas scored the MVP by contributing 16 saves (and 39% accuracy) in the semi-final against PSG, and 14 (38%) in the final against Aalborg. In 2020, Landin was decisive in the final against Barça with 14 saves (34%), just as the day before Moller led Barça to the final (14 saves, 39%).
"This year's goalkeepers are spectacular, they are the four best in the world," says the Blaugrana winger Aitor Ariño, who along with his teammate Gonzalo aspires to lift his fourth Champions League, the ones who have the most of the participants in this edition. "The goal is the position that marks a game and the competition," says Pérez de Vargas, recalling the performance of his counterpart and rival Landin in the 2020 final. "He made a spectacular second half, with 9 saves (of the 14) , and led his team to the title.”
The most spectacular duel of this 2022 edition is once again the Landin-Pérez de Vargas. The Spanish goalkeeper is the one with the best statistics of the four starters in Cologne with a 31.9% success rate, followed by his friend Rodrigo Corrales (31.3%). Landin, despite the more discreet 28% of him (13th in the Champions), has been one of the most repeated black beasts of Barça players, both at clubs and with the national team. At Kiel since 2015, Landin (33 years old, 2.00 m) is one of the emblems of the Zebras, the most decisive player, even more so than Sagosen – who is out due to injury.
"He's a key piece for Kiel and for the Danish team," says Pérez de Vargas, who knows his rival in goal perfectly. “He is a big type of goalkeeper, with a lot of wingspan, but very agile for his height; he occupies a lot of goal and has great experience, so he intimidates the shooters, who he makes doubt in the shot”, details the Blaugrana goalkeeper. Landin, best player in the world by the IHF in 2019 and 2021, is one of the few that stores all the titles that can be won: Olympic, world and European gold, the Champions and the Bundesliga.
In the Blaugrana goal, Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (31 years old, 1.89m), in the first team since 2014 (he was on loan from 2011 to 2014), is a defensive guarantee. His growth has been exponential in recent years, especially since the 2015 World Cup that elevated him to the top 3 in the world.
The goalkeeper from Toledo -discovered by Barça when he was 12 years old, as a child- is a different type of goalkeeper, without a great wingspan (like Landin, Sterbik or his future partner Emil Nielsen), but very quick with reflexes and agile.
As the then Barça sports manager David Barrufet explained to La Vanguardia, Gonzalo “is very intelligent, he knows how to read the games very well, he is very fast and has a brutal reaction speed. He knows how to change the way of stopping when he agrees, and he has a very well-furnished head”.
It was under the technical direction of Xavi Pascual that Barça decided to loan him out for three seasons (2011-14) so that he could work at Granollers and Toulouse. "He did very well, he trained much faster," argued Barru.
Regarding Pérez de Vargas, his teammate Ariño highlights the ability to become a wall that ends up unhinging rival pitchers and strengthening their defense. “If he catches the stopping streak and is very focused, he makes spectacular saves and it is very difficult to beat him; his agility makes it easy for him to save.” His best assets are one-on-one and long-distance shots, and he tends to be weaker on angled shots from the wings. With his speed and great positioning, he has been alleviating it.
The final four of the Handball Champions will be played this weekend in Cologne (June 18-19). In the first semifinal, Veszprém and Kielce face each other (3:30 p.m.), and in the second, Barça against Kiel (6:00 p.m.). The final, on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Barça, which defends the crown, is pursuing its 11th Champions League, which would make it the first team capable of repeating the title in the 13 editions with the final four format.
