Barcelona conquer Cologne and lift 13th EHF Champions League trophy
Barcelona are back on top of Europe!
The Catalan club, the most successful in handball history, won the EHF Champions League for the 13th time after beating Füchse Berlin 37:34 (20:16) in the final of the EHF Final4 in Cologne.
Antonio Carlos Ortega’s team dominated for the full 60 minutes, repeating their triumphs from 2022 and 2024. With his ninth title overall — six as a player — Ortega further strengthened his status as the most decorated figure in the history of club handball.
After 2:2, Berlin were never level again. Barça built their advantage thanks to Emil Nielsen in goal, the inspired Blaž Janc and Domen Makuc, who also created plenty of space for the excellent Luís Frade on the line.
The lead grew to six goals in the second half — 25:19 and 26:20 — and although Berlin managed to close the gap to two at 33:31, they could not get any closer.
BARÇA
Frade 7, Janc 6, Gómez 6, Makuc 5, Mem 4, Fernández 2, Carlsbogård 2, N’Guessan 2, Cikuša Đ. 1, Fabregas 1, Cikuša P. 1.
Goalkeeper saves: Nielsen 14, Hallgrímsson 1.
FÜCHSE BERLIN
Gidsel 8, Andersson 7, Freihöfer 7, Lichtlein 6, Grøndahl 3, av Teigum 2, Marsenić 1.
Goalkeeper saves: Milosavljev 12.
Barca’s titles: 1990/91, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2004/05, 2010/11, 2014/15, 2020/21, 2021/22 i 2023/24.
