Dika Mem: “We don’t take our presence at the EHF FINAL4 for granted"

“I think it’s in the DNA of the club. Winning the EHF Champions League is the top goal for the team at the beginning of every season and we fight hard to achieve it,” explains right back Dika Mem.

The French player has won the trophy four times already and this year will be his ninth time playing the EHF FINAL4. But he says he is still not used to the experience.

“No way. I’m still excited to go there, about as much as when I was the first time,” he says, before adding: “None of the players or the people at the club take it for granted. We know how hard it is to be there.

“People might think it’s easy because Barça qualify almost every year. But it is not. Qualifying for the EHF FINAL4 is a huge task, as you play all season long against the best teams in the world,” adds Mem.

Mem has the opportunity, in 2026, to win his fourth EHF Champions League, which only a handful of players have previously done. Top of the list of titles is Barça head coach Carlos Ortega, who has lifted the trophy eight times so far — six as a player, two as a coach — but Mem has ambitions of leaving an even bigger mark on his sport.

“I always said I wanted to write the history of handball, and this year is another chance. I want to win as many trophies as possible, and I am always hungry for the next one,” he says.

This year, Mem has displayed plenty of motivation. Although he was slowed down by an injury in the middle of the winter, he has still scored 52 goals in the Champions League, and his teammates made sure that when he was absent the gap was filled.

“I think it’s great that the young players are able to deliver. We lose important players every summer and every summer we hear that Barça is not going to be as strong as before,” he says. “But I think that every new player is impregnated by our DNA, by this hunger for victory that is alive within our team.”

And at the time of packing before travelling to Cologne, the experience of eight consecutive participations at the EHF FINAL4 is clearly an asset.

“Let’s say that no-one is too looking at the stands anymore. We all know what we have to do, what we have to focus on and also which mistakes not to make,” says Mem, who is already looking forward to the semi-final on Saturday 13 June against Aalborg Håndbold. Defending champions SC Magdeburg meet Füchse Berlin in the all-German other semi-final that day.

“We have had a very consistent season, we only lost once and managed to win away games in very tough arenas,” he points out, before assessing Barça’s Danish opponents.

“They might be the most complete team at the EHF FINAL4. They have a lot of experience and quality, they also played the final twice against us in 2021 and 2024. That shows that their presence there should not be a surprise.”

After finishing fourth at the EHF FINAL4 last season, Barça clearly have something to prove this time around. But what happened in previous years has now been forgotten.

“It’s all about now, and about giving 100 per cent to win the title again. Because we will have no excuse if we fail,” concludes Mem.

Photos © Jerzy Stankowski, Lau Nielsen, Victor Salgado, FCB, Paris Saint-Germain