Duel of Kings in Kiel

The 16x German champion plays against the 17x Spanish champion. On Sunday afternoon the VELUX EHF Champions League’s Group A sees a duel of handball kings in the clash between THW Kiel and FC Barcelona.

10,000 spectators at the Sparkassen-Arena can expect a lot from the new edition of last season’s final. On May 30th THW won the European title after a dramatic 36:34.

"In the team and in Kiel there was an unbelievable atmosphere," THW-Ace Filip Jicha remembers the dazzling moments in Cologne.

The duels between these two top clubs have the character of a classic. Since April 2000, both teams played met 15 times. In the year 2000 Barcelona retained the upper hand in the finals of the EHF Champions League.

In 2002, Kiel won the finals of the EHF Cup. In 2008, the German club destroyed the Spanish dreams in the semi-finals of the EHF Champions League.

But in contrast to that the southern Europeans were the ones to win the last encounter that was played in Kiel. On 14 February this year the Catalans won 32:30.

That seems forgotten in Germany: "That is long ago, we have begun a new season," THW goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer commented.

On Sunday it's not only about qualifying to the next stage, but also to achieve the best possible ranking in the group. Which is not easy, as Group A is probably the hardest Preliminary Round group of the in the history of the EHF Champions League.

While Kiel started well with a 35:23 over the French team Chambery, the Catalans are under a lot of pressure after the 30:31 defeat on home soil against the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.

But the optimism is still huge: "Last season we lost the final, this time we want to win it," said Barca captain Laszlo Nagy.

Even coach Xavi Pascual, who will arrive in Kiel with his team on Saturday night, expects to have good chances: "When you're the coach of the great FC Barcelona, then people expect you to win every match," he explained.

He has the respect of his counterpart Alfred Gislason, who said: "Barca is on the way to its former strength. With their super team they are big competitors for Ciudad Real in Spain."

During the week, the Catalans had to fight hard in the ASOBAL League until the 32:30 victory at CAI Aragon was secured. Juanin Garcia (10) and Raul Entrerrios (6) were their best scorers.

THW Kiel had an easier challenge, with a victory 32:23 over MT Melsungen. Filip Jicha scored eleven goals.

The team did not show any problems despite missing three injured players in Kim Andersson, Daniel Narcisse and Momir Ilic. As they will not be able to play on Sunday, THW has only four back court players, what could be an advantage for Barcelona.

For Jerome Fernandez, new in the black and white shirt of THW, the game is very special, as he played in Barcelona between 2002 and 2008. A few weeks ago, the Frenchman transferred from Ciudad Real to Kiel.

In his first matches he showed good moves, but Alfred Gislason urges patience: "He needs more time."

Jerome Fernandez was optimistic about the result of the game on Sunday: "In the Palau Blaugrana a very difficult task would be waiting for us," he said. "But with our own fans standing behind us, it would be much easier to beat Barcelona."

The game has been selected „Match of the Week" and will be broadcasted live on our free of charge web stream on ehfTV.com, including English commentary by Tom O'Brannagain.