Frade comes of age in Barça’s underdog season

With Fabregas leaving last summer, Frade was immediately slotted into the starting line-up by coach Antonio Carlos Ortega and he took no time to deliver. The 25-year-old Portuguese line player scored 70 goals, eight fewer than in his previous three seasons in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League combined.

“This has been a good season for me, I do not think I have changed much, but the experience from the previous seasons really helped. My mentality is to give 100 per cent in each match, irrespective of the opponent, and in every training session. Therefore, I was ready to jump in and help the team,” says Frade.

“Of course, the line player position is dependent on the teammates and how the team plays, but we are very happy with how the season went for us and that we qualified for the EHF Final4 in Cologne.”

This has been an interesting season to say the least for the Catalan giants. Back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022 in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League were followed by a semi-final loss against SC Magdeburg last season.

In the summer, Barça lost some key players, including centre back Luka Cindric and line player Fabregas and were somehow written off as main contenders for the trophy, despite being the most consistent team in the premier European competition, making the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 in the past five editions and six times in the last seven.

Suddenly, the top contender was seen as an underdog, but this really fit into Barça’s mantra and ignited their spark, helping the Spanish side deliver a fantastic season, with only three losses.

“Yes, it was somehow motivating us, because we know what we can do. Of course, it was difficult, we had to adapt, change some things, but I think we really did a great job and we are once again with only two matches ahead of us to win the title. And here, in Cologne, everything can happen,” adds the Portuguese player.

Barça did lose three matches in the group phase, but still emerged in second place, with the second-best attack in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League - 473 goals in 14 matches, staying true to their ethos as an attacking powerhouse. Frade contributed to that, being the third highest scorer, with 70 goals, behind Dika Mem (96 goals) and Aleix Gomez (71).

However, the path towards the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 was not easy, as the battle of the giants between them and Paris Saint-Germain Handball hardly looked to be a walk in the park on paper in the quarter-finals.

But on the court, Frade provided the X-factor, scoring six goals in each of the two matches of the doubleheader, helping Barça to two wins, 30:22 in Paris and 32:31 in Barcelona, to secure a sixth consecutive appearance at the business end of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League.

With THW Kiel, Aalborg and SC Magdeburg also qualifying, there would be no easy opponent in the semi-finals and the draw saw Barça paired against THW Kiel, the team which has twice denied Barça the title – first in the inaugural EHF FINAL4 in 2009/10, and then in the delayed Covid-19 edition, 2019/20.

“It is 'El Clásico' of handball, right? Two of the most decorated teams, two of the best teams in the world. We have played against German teams in Germany, in Cologne, so that will not be necessarily an issue, we know what to expect. But, yes, it is a battle between two very good teams. They had a good season, they had a fantastic comeback against Montpellier, so they are a difficult team to win against,” says Frade.

“We are Barça, though, so we will want to win and fight for the title, especially in this season, especially in these circumstances. So we will give our all.”

Will Barça manage to do that? With 14 wins and eight losses in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, the Spanish giants have both sweet and bitter memories from the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4. Currently, only Barça (four titles) and Kiel (three titles) have won the competition in the current format more than two times.

But with Barça in their first season as so-called underdogs, the motivation will be even higher to prove the doubters wrong. And Frade will be probably in the first line to show that he has really come of age.

Photos © Marc Graupera, Sara Gordon