The Barcelona of handball approaches the Final Four of the Champions

Ben Ali beats Buric in one of the actions of the match against Flensburg. FOCKE STRANGMANN (EFE)

Barcelona has the Final Four in Cologne just around the corner after achieving a significant victory (29-33) against the German Flensburg, a rival with a championship crowd.

It was an authoritative victory because they were ahead throughout the match, but it could have been definitive because they had a seven-point lead in the second act.

Nothing that tarnishes, in any case, the giant step of a Barcelona close to getting the European safe-conduct -the return leg is played at the Palau on the 19th- and trying to revalidate the greatest of laurels.

Reduced by the pressing economic crisis of the club, Barça has lost sporting potential compared to past years, now directed by Carlos Ortega because Laporta decided so when he became president ahead of Xavi Pascual, who in the previous year reached the perfection by counting all games by victory (61).

The same is no longer the case -they lost a match in the Asobal League in the offices, as well as the final of the Mundialito in addition to three duels in Europe-, but this Barça is taking on color and form over time, already playing by heart and distilling a game that mixes patience and rhythm in the composition, also electricity in the counters.

Just what Flensburg suffered.

With Ben Ali (8 goals) fighting and winning for his place in the pivot and with Mem's arm as a cannon (6), Barça almost always dismantled the German defense from the inside, also with some brilliant counterattacks, although little supported in the ends.

A burning start that was contrary to that statistic that said that Barça had a hard time starting the quarterfinals, as it went 1-6 in a jiffy.

An advantage that he maintained throughout the first half -he finished 13-18- because the defense worked like few times, even able to lower Jacobsen and Lasse [scorer Wanne, who is signed by Barça for next year, hardly played], also because Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas once again erected himself into a real wall.

Although the goal, above all, came from Ben Ali, who more than fulfilled in the position of the injured Ludovic Fàbregas -he also came to cover the loss of Luis Frade-, unstoppable in his area.

And that Buric, Flensburg goalkeeper, also said his, one of the best on the planet under sticks.

Yes, Barça went downhill -it went from 17-24 to 24-27-, but ended up distilling a very serious and solid version that did not make any rival comeback attempts, even though Jacobsen insisted on the opposite (9 goals ).

But Richardson (3) and Aleix Gómez (5) appeared in the tense moments to quell the rebellion.

It is the third time that they have met Flensburg and that Barça has won this European edition -it was their turn in the group stage-, now with homework to finish off at the Palau.

But this team, champion of the League (there are 12 consecutive) and the Copa del Rey (there are nine), has a foot and a half in the Final Four of the Champions League.

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