FC Barcelona wins 45th European title
FC Barcelona have won the Handball Champions League by beating Polish side Kielce in a final that was decided on penalties in Cologne. It’s a a record 45th European title for the club in different sports:
Men’s football: 5
Women’s football: 1
Basketball: 2
Roller hockey: 22
Futsal: 4
Handball: 11
Back-to-back in handball
This was the second year in a row that Barça’s handball team has been continental champion. They also won five in a row from 1996 to 2000, and won a further four titles in 1990/91, 2004/05, 2010/11 and 2014/15.
First title in 1973
Barça’s first European title came in 1972/73, when the roller hockey team beat Benfica to win the first of 21 European Cups. The most recent in the sport was 2017/18.
Six in football
After losing the European Cup finals in 1961 and 1986, Barça finally became European football champions in 1992 at Wembley, winning 1-0 against Sampdoria. In the Champions League era, they have added four more titles to their collection: 2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11 and 2014/15.
And in 2021 in Gothenburg, the women’s football team won their first ever continental crown with a big win against Chelsea.
Two EuroLeagues
In basketball, the team first touched the European sky in their home city at the Palau Sant Jordi. That was in 2002. In 2010 in Paris they won the trophy again.
Futsal too
Barça had already won one European title this season, in futsal. Having also won the Champions League in 2012, 2014 and 2020, that’s now four titles for the section.