Ortega: Too early to predict the teams for Cologne

Since 9 June 2024, Ortega has been the sole leader of the multiple winners’ ranking in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, finally passing his long-time teammate Andrej Xepkin, who won the trophy seven times (six times with Barça; once with Kiel).

“No, I have not talked to Andrej about my record, but I am sure we will talk about it when we meet for the next time in the Palau Blaugrana,” says Ortega: “For sure, it is my plan to win more trophies to extend the gap to Andrej.”

For Ortega and his team, history will repeat on Thursday with the round 4 Match of the Week: Barça will face Aalborg Håndbold — the team they beat 31:30 in the final of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2023/24. It was the second time they had beaten Aalborg in the ultimate match at the EHF FINAL4, as Barça defeated the Danish champions in the final in 2021 — the last match with Xavi Pascual as their coach. Some weeks later, Ortega took over and, in 2022, won his seventh EHF Champions League trophy when Barça beat Kielce in the final after a penalty shootout.

The history of the MOTW duel speaks clearly: 12 times, the teams have locked horns. 12 times, Barça were the victors.

“I really do not care about those statistics and numbers. Every match is different. Even if you face the same team you have beaten one month ago, you can lose to them in the next match,” says Ortega, who has the “highest respect” for Aalborg. “They have strong players, a great coach and a brilliant team. And they are getting better year by year.”

Either side of the 2023/24 final against Aalborg, Barça won three Champions League matches. They lost the last two games of the 2023/24 group phase before wins in both legs of the quarter-finals on the path to the trophy. In 2024/25, they have won all group phase games so far.  

“We started well, when you look upon the results. But, though all of our players are fit — including Hampus Wanne, who just had his comeback — all of them are tired. They had a long season, followed by the Olympic Games and then a short term of preparation. Now, we have one training session to prepare for Aalborg. But we know it from previous years.”

Compared with their Danish opponents, Barça have played four matches more — at the Club World Championship in Egypt, where the record winners missed the final after an overtime defeat in the semi against later-on champions Veszprém.

“We failed with a last-second penalty, missed the final, and then you do not care that much whether you finish third or fourth,” says Ortega regarding the final ranking, after losing the bronze-medal match against home side Al Ahly.

“But now, our full focus is on the Champions League,” says the Barça coach, who has experience coaching a Danish club, Kolding, after his first major task, at Veszprém. Later, he took over German side Hanover-Burgdorf, before returning home to where his career started. For the 2024 Olympic Games, he was interim coach for Japan after Dagur Sigurdsson quit to become Croatia national team coach.

The goal for the EHF Champions League is always the same at Barcelona: Making it to the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. Ortega’s team are not only the record participants, with 12 appearances in LANXESS arena since the EHF FINAL4 premiere in 2010, but also record winners of the event in Cologne with five trophies (2011, 2015, 2021, 2022 and 2024). They were the first and still only club to defend the title in the “cathedral of handball.”

Will another trophy follow in 2025? “It is far too early to predict which teams will make it to Cologne — there are so many strong sides fighting for this goal. It is our first objective to finish the group phase first or second to directly qualify for the quarter-finals, then we will see. The last seasons always proved the advantage you have when you skip the play-offs, when it comes to the tickets to Cologne.”

For Ortega, not only the “usual suspects,” such as Magdeburg, Paris, Aalborg, Veszprém and Barça, are capable of going all the way to the final destination, but some new faces: “For example, Füchse Berlin and Sporting have brilliant teams with extraordinary players.”

Looking at the upcoming MOTW, the Spanish coach expects goals galore, with 70 or more strikes: “Both teams play with speed. Both teams are strong in attack. Definitely, this match will be amazing for the spectators — and maybe we have a little advantage, as we play on home ground.”

In terms of his team, Ortega is happy to count on a balanced roster: “Handball is a team sport. Of course, a player like Dika Mem is a world star, but you can only win with a team. This is the focus for me as a coach.”

Photos: Industria Kielce (main & photo 1, gallery 2) / kolektiff images (gallery 1 and in-text) / Ida/TittMelhuus (photo 2, gallery 2) / Barça (photo 3, gallery 2)