Barça will face Kiel in the semifinals of the 'Final4'

Carlos Ortega: "Kiel is one of the great teams in Europe"

BARCELONA, 24 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Barça will face the German THW Kiel in the semifinals of the 'Final 4' of the Handball Champions League, which will take place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne (Germany) on June 18, while Telekom Veszprém and Lomza Vive Kielce They will play the other semi-final match.

The draw, held this Tuesday in Vienna, paired Barça and Kiel, two old acquaintances already in the 'Champions', who will fight to be in the grand final of the competition on Sunday, June 19.

Barça and Kiel are the teams with the most victories in the 'Champions' since the arrival of the current final four format, with three titles for each at the Lanxess Arena. The Blaugrana aspire, yes, to retain the title and to be the only team to achieve it.

The Blaugrana coach, Carlos Ortega, assured that "any rival" at this point is "very difficult". "Kiel is one of the great teams in Europe," he said, referring to the 2020 champions.

"One of the keys will be to defend the set well against six, who play it very often and very well. The Niklas Landin factor will also be key," he said in statements provided by the club.

For his part, the goalkeeper and captain Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas recalled that Kiel is the "only rival" of those who will be at the event that Barça has not faced this season. "This can be a key factor in preparing for the game," he commented.

"The game will be at 50 percent, with a Kiel that plays at home and will want to win 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 said.