2025-10-02 21:52

The reigning Club World Champion against the record-holder of the Club World Championship. There could hardly be a more fitting way to close the IHF’s most prestigious club tournament! For us, this finale was even more special, as we stepped onto the court as defending champions against five-time winners FC Barcelona. And just as the predictions suggested, it turned into a nail-biting clash.

The first half was all about back-and-forth action: never more than a two-goal difference separated the sides. We twice pulled ahead by two (3–1, 5–3), while the Catalans never managed to. Unlike in many past encounters between Veszprém and Barca, this time the defenses dominated. Both coaches surprised with high, aggressive defending against the shooters — and often succeeded. And when the defenses didn’t work, the goalkeepers were there: Rodrigo Corrales and Emil Nielsen — who will join Veszprém next summer — both produced world-class saves.

And there were plenty of spectacular moments in the first half! Gasper Marguc sprinted back in defense, dove to intercept, or scored even after picking up a knock. On his 18th birthday, Máté Gáncs-Pető managed to stop Timothey N’Guessan at times, while Ivan Martinovic came off the bench and netted a hat-trick in just over six minutes.

At halftime, Barca had a narrow one-goal lead, and the rollercoaster continued in the second half. The lead changed hands several times, and there were tense moments — for example, when Luka Cindric had to step off after a knee-on-knee collision. Corrales and Nielsen, however, never rested: both denied clear chances and even 7-meters. Barca’s attack was slightly sharper in the first 15 minutes after the break, and in the 43rd minute, for the first time, the giants were separated by three goals (14–17). Nearly ten minutes without a goal for us was finally broken by Martinovic, and after 15–18 we wiped out the deficit with a brilliant goal from Pechmalbec, a breakthrough by the Croatian back, and a penalty from Marguc.

We couldn’t reclaim the lead, though. Fabregas scored, Nielsen saved, and Barca earned first a penalty, then a man advantage. But Appelgren came in from the bench to deny Fernández from 7 meters! At the other end, Nielsen pulled off another great save, only for Pechmalbec to top it with an even greater goal, bringing us level again at 22–22 with six minutes to go.

Five minutes from time, we took the lead thanks to Hugo Descat — whose goal also put him joint top scorer of the tournament. N’Guessan and Martinovic exchanged goals, then Barca called a timeout, switched to 7-on-6, and N’Guessan scored again. With two minutes to play, it was 21–21. Pure tension, adrenaline, nerves of steel. Thirty seconds before the buzzer, Xavi Pascual called timeout. Fouls from the Spaniards followed, then the buzzer — and extra time.

It was almost expected — just like last year when we beat Barca in the semifinal and Magdeburg in the final after extra time. But this time Cindric couldn’t return because of injury, so he had to watch from the bench. In the first extra period, both sides briefly led before it evened up again. After goals from Remili and Descat, we were two ahead, but Fabregas pulled Barca back (25–24), and then Dika Mem leveled 26–26 just before the end of the first extra time.

So, a second extra time followed. At the start, we ran into a wall called Emil Nielsen, and suddenly trailed by two. But thanks to Pechmalbec and Remili, we leveled before the midway break. After goals from Marguc and Frade, came the play of the game: Pechmalbec lunged to retrieve a rebound, flicking it perfectly to Descat, who smashed it home to put us 30–29 ahead. But the joy didn’t last. In the final minute, only Barca scored — twice — to retake the Club World Championship crown.

After the final whistle and before the medal ceremony, the individual awards of the tournament were handed out:

Best Left Wing & Top Scorer: Hugo Descat

Best Right Back: Ivan Martinovic

MVP: Rodrigo Corrales

One Veszprém – FC Barcelona 30–31 (12–13, 21–21, 25–24, 26–26) – after double extra time

One Veszprém HC: Appelgren, Corrales – Petrus, Martinovic 6, Descat 8, Elísson, Ligetvári, Marguc 4, Cindric 2, Remili 6, Y. ElDeraa 1, Pechmalbec 3, Gáncs-Pető, Adel, Molnár, Zein.
FC Barcelona: Halgrimsson, E. Nielsen – D. Fernández 1, Carlsbogard, Mem 4, D. Cikusa 1, Janc 3, N’Guessan 4, A. Gómez 6, Sola, Makuc 1, S. ElDeraa, Fabregas 3, Frade 3, Barrufet 5, P. Cikusa.

Suspensions: 6 min vs. 2 min
Penalties: 4/7 vs. 8/10

STATEMENTS

XAVIER PASCUAL
As I said after the semifinal, when a team fights like this, the coach has every reason to be very proud. Of course, we made mistakes — but so did Barcelona. We showed that we can fight, and we played well. We knew it was going to be tough; after all, they have the best goalkeeper in the world, among other things. But I believe we gave everything, and we must be proud of that!

IVAN MARTINOVIC
I would gladly trade my Best Right Back award for a gold medal instead — I’m a bit disappointed. We could have won this final three times, and of course, we could have lost it at least as many. It was a tough match, and I’m proud of my team. In a game like this, with two extra times, it’s the smallest details that decide it. Just one or two moments. We had our chances, but it didn’t go our way this time. Still, we must be proud of this performance.

#RedUnited #HandballCity #StrongerTogether

MEGOSZTÁS