Magdeburg remains Barcelona Handball’s toughest opponent.

An injury, two slaps, and a slip ruined Barcelona, devastated at the last minute and a half against its nemesis, a rival that amplified the cat-like spirit, seven or eight lives, perhaps more, a Magdeburg immune to discouragement that always returns or never leaves, ultimately victorious in the challenge and finalist of the Champions League. The cursed executioner returned, as did the Blue and Garnet jinx. “I want to watch the match and don’t want to respond in the heat of the moment,” reflected coach Carlos Ortega after the match, referring to the strict officiating, which felt both homemade and German. “The criteria haven’t been the same for both teams,” added Ariño. Lamentations that, however, do not prevent Magdeburg from competing with Füchse Berlin for the crown, while Barça will play against Nantes for third place, a consolation or punishment match.

The duel began with fervor. A back-and-forth, up and down and back to start, a frenzy for Barça, happy with the dizzying transitions. This was Carlos Ortega’s plan, knowing that Magdeburg thrives on pause, static attacks, and physical defense. The Blue and Garnet coach wanted to hit play without brakes, to trouble a rival that had already overpowered him in four of the last seven matchups, few as painful as the semifinal two years ago when the German team took home the trophy. “There’s a desire for revenge,” whispered around the Barça sports city two days before the match, confident in proving again that there’s no team greater in Europe than Barça, already with 12 titles compared to Gummersbach’s five and Kiel and Magdeburg’s four. But they fell silent.

N’Guessan, Frade, Carlsbogard… The Barcelona scorers took turns until Dika Mem, the captain, the player who if not the best in the world is very close—there appears Gidsen from Füchse—stood out as the Blue and Garnet beacon, always so physical and skillful to shake off rivals with his hip movements, also goalkeepers with his left-handed whips. Four of the first seven goals, Marsellesa in Blue and Garnet. However, Magdeburg knew how to temper the nerves and stretch its attacks, causing damage with patience. So what was soaked through running backward was regained through attacking, breathing and goals to keep the rival from pulling away. And although Barça went up by four goals, the strict expulsion of Petrus threw them off; a disadvantage that Magdeburg took full advantage of, managing to close the half with a tie (18-18). In any case, Barcelona looked to Mem with faith and his recital, jumps with springs and precision shots, seven of eight in the first half. Quite impressive. Then came the tragedy.

Once again, N’Guessan opened the scoring, and Mem continued it. But suddenly, alarms went off. The number 10 asked for a substitution from Ortega, worried because something was bothering him in his calf, doing stretches on the sidelines while his teammates were battling it out. He no longer went out to defend, and when he returned to the court, already down 24-25 (it was the first time the Germans took the lead), Mem collided with the floor, unable to walk, carried off the field by his teammates with the queen’s chair. They appeared to be cramps—a recurring issue throughout his career—nothing serious but very cumbersome for the moment. Thus, while the masseur worked on Mem’s muscle, Nielsen raised his hand and legs, again discrediting the serious studies that claim one needs a privileged physique to succeed. Although Magnusson, a penalty specialist, was on fire, nearly infallible. A lot of pressure for a fading Barça, without its leader, without its light.

And although Nielsen saved and saved—13 stops in the match—and even scored a goal; and although Barça managed to take advantage of a rival’s disadvantage to go up 29-27, the script had more unexpected twists. It happened with a minute and a half left, when Carlsbogard slapped a rival to see another red card. Also when, on the next play, Ariño slipped on the parquet and tripped a rival, again a red card as punishment. And with two players down, boosted by their goalkeeper Portner, the last action arrived, and the buzzer-beater goal, a ball to the outside, a jump, and a goal from Hornke. Thus, the victory of Magdeburg, the rival that has measured up to Barça.

Füchse Berlin wins without star Gidsel

Before the semifinal, the Nantes coach was questioned about Füchse Berlin’s lateral player, Mathias Gidsel, considered the god of the court by right, named the best in the world by the IHF for the second consecutive year, also MVP of the Paris Games as previously in the World and European Championships. “Everyone has tried to stop him for a long time, and no one has been able to. We have to try to reduce his impact on the game, but we can’t expect him to only score two goals in the match,” concluded Grégory Cojean.

However, it happened that he did end up with two goals, expelled after eight minutes because he lifted his leg to finish a soccer tackle after a slip. Red card and a hug for the referee, acceptance and resignation. Perhaps because his team didn’t need him, capable of overcoming Nantes 34-24 thanks to the prodigious performance of goalkeeper Milosavljev and the goals from Freihofer (10) and Andersson (7). The Spanish players Valero Rivera and Kauldi Odriozola could hardly replicate. Füchse is much Füchse without Gidsel and, as Magdeburg knows, with him it can become overwhelming. Although that will be known this Sunday.