“At least 15% less”, “at least 15% less”. It is the mantra of Barcelona with its sections: next year, you have to spend less, “at least 15% less”. And that in handball is a lot. The most successful Barça in recent times, the one that has won two consecutive Champions League, faces another Final Four in Cologne this weekend under the threat of cuts from Joan Laporta's Board of Directors.

With Magdeburg as their rival in the semifinals (Saturday, 3:15 p.m., DAZN) and PSG and Kielce in the other part of the draw, from within the team they propose another success, the third consecutive title, as the only antidote to the sales in the section. “If we win, we will have to keep the project,” they say, although they admit that in the coming years it will be difficult to continue fighting against the best teams in Europe..

Because? Because the loss of key players has already begun and it seems that it will go further. As soon as the Final Four is over, the club will see its second reference fly, the French pivot Ludovic Fàbregas, a man who was supposed to be a Barça player forever. From a Catalan family, born and raised in Banyuls-sur-Mer, 10 kilometers from the border, the Frenchman has raised a family in Barcelona, but this summer he will go to Veszprem after failing to reach a renewal agreement. A blow to the team. which are actually two.

And it is that to replace him, the coach, Carlos Ortega, had requested the signing of Artsen Karalek and those responsible for the section had reached an agreement with him and his club, Kielce, but the Board of Directors knocked him down at the last minute. The reason: “At least 15% less” budget. And, for this reason, to fill the void left by Fàbregas next year, two young Spaniards will arrive, Javi Rodríguez and Jaime Gallego, from Logroño and Torrelavega, which will cost much less.

The future of Pérez de Vargas

In general figures, the objective is to reduce the budget to just over seven million euros and thus position itself in a second continental line. Far above would be PSG and Kiel, which exceed 12 million, something above would be other German and French teams and some more Central European teams like Veszprém, but those responsible for Barcelona consider that even so it will be possible to compete. With income from the section that barely exceeds 1.5 million, the entity's accounts do not allow for more. The idea is that the team is based on its two leaders, the winger Dika Mem and the goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, and an excellent defense, but that is also in danger.

According to 'Relevo' and EL MUNDO has been able to confirm, Pérez de Vargas has an offer from Kiel and his continuity is not certain. The German club wants the Spanish goalkeeper as a substitute for Niklas Landin -who returns to his native Denmark, to Aalborg- and he has plenty of wallet to convince him. Pérez de Vargas has also given some prominence to his substitute, Emil Nielsen, and it could be time for him to leave.

If that finally takes place, the decommissioning will be complete.. With other protagonists, such as the center-back Luka Cindric, with the club's doors open for months, a step back would be inevitable. Due to the latest movements, such as the signing of center-back Pol Valera from Granollers, Barcelona can try to stay in the European elite thanks to Spanish talent, the best players from the rest of the teams in the Asobal League, but it remains to be seen if that is enough. .

For the moment, the only solution seems to continue winning the Champions League and thus convince Joan Laporta's Board of Directors that it is worth the effort. After all, in all of history, only one team has celebrated three consecutive European titles and it was Barça itself, in that triumphant streak of the Dream Team from 1996 to 2000.. History should have value when doing numbers. Although for the moment, before the Final Four this weekend, these are cold and continue to set an objective: “At least 15% less.”

The emergence of María Conde (20 points, PIR of 22) was crucial for Spain to overcome a Montenegro team that punished them in the third quarter and ended up seeing Miguel Martínez Méndez's players practically run over them in the last.

The Spanish signed a brilliant last ten minutes in attack and defense to win a devastating 26-6 partial and take a 78-57 victory that allows them to aspire to the leadership of the group if they prevail over Greece and Montenegro defeat Latvia this Sunday.

Spain jumped onto the parquet very psyched. Very soon, he showed that his outside shot would be one of the keys to fight for the victory. In addition to helping them win the Montenegrin team 19-14 at the end of the first period, with Alba Torrens shining in this facet of the game, it also helped them hit what seemed like a blow on the table in the second.

In this case, from the hand of a lethal María Conde in the triples and that, with 15 points, would already be the best of the first part of a duel that reached the break with a 42-29 score for the team he leads Miguel Martinez Mendez.

At the restart, however, it was Montenegro who seemed like a gale. With a 0-11, and also taking advantage of Spain's initial lack of success in defense and attack, they threatened to turn things around. Two new triples, by Alba Torrens and Leonor Rodríguez, would help slow down the bleeding a bit and open a slight gap (50-44), although the Montenegrins would manage to reach the last quarter one point behind (52-51)..

The work in the recovery of Laura Gil and the reappearance of the best version of María Conde, at this point, would be crucial for the Spaniards to leave by 21 points in the light with a devastating 26-6 partial that, in the end , would help them to a final victory by 78-57 and to the revenge of the debut.

The emergence of María Conde (20 points, PIR of 22) was crucial for Spain to overcome a Montenegro team that punished them in the third quarter and ended up seeing Miguel Martínez Méndez's players practically run over them in the last.

The Spanish signed a brilliant last ten minutes in attack and defense to win a devastating 26-6 partial and take a 78-57 victory that allows them to aspire to the leadership of the group if they prevail over Greece and Montenegro defeat Latvia this Sunday.

Spain jumped onto the parquet very psyched. Very soon, he showed that his outside shot would be one of the keys to fight for the victory. In addition to helping them win the Montenegrin team 19-14 at the end of the first period, with Alba Torrens shining in this facet of the game, it also helped them hit what seemed like a blow on the table in the second.

In this case, from the hand of a lethal María Conde in the triples and that, with 15 points, would already be the best of the first part of a duel that reached the break with a 42-29 score for the team he leads Miguel Martinez Mendez.

At the restart, however, it was Montenegro who seemed like a gale. With a 0-11, and also taking advantage of Spain's initial lack of success in defense and attack, they threatened to turn things around. Two new triples, by Alba Torrens and Leonor Rodríguez, would help slow down the bleeding a bit and open a slight gap (50-44), although the Montenegrins would manage to reach the last quarter one point behind (52-51)..

The work in the recovery of Laura Gil and the reappearance of the best version of María Conde, at this point, would be crucial for the Spaniards to leave by 21 points in the light with a devastating 26-6 partial that, in the end , would help them to a final victory by 78-57 and to the revenge of the debut.

A rampant lion is drawn on the Aston Villa shield. With outstretched claws. Menacing and fierce. Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo 'Monchi' (San Fernando, Cádiz; 1968) is nicknamed the lion and he will spend at least the next season in Birmingham. On the bench of Los Villanos, an old friend: Unai Emery. On the pitch, one of those revalued players that the sports director caught in the French league: the center-back Diego Carlos. Soccer is a kind of reunion. The lions overlap. Clubs pass, but dignity always remains.

Monchi leaves Sevilla through the back door. It is a thankless sport where power devours everything in its path. The differences with José Castro and, above all, with Vice President José María del Nido Junior, have been irreconcilable. The general sports director has come to feel ignored and bypassed in a club in Tenguerengue, lost in internal battles, and where football has been in the background throughout the season. The seventh continental cup, the Europa League won against AS Roma in Budapest, has served to soothe the pain, but not to heal the wound.

The bad planning of the squad in summer, due to interference and economic adjustments, left the sports director very touched. The club flirted with relegation and the man from Cádiz assumed full responsibility. Behind, troubled decisions and not consulted with the sports management, whims, such as the return of Jorge Sampaoli, and a cooling of relations between offices and the pitch that were detrimental to the entity. The dismissal of Lopetegui, contrary to the opinion of Monchi, who asked for more patience and serenity when heading off his project, was the beginning of the end. When everyone thinks they know about soccer, soccer falls into vulgarity; It is the echo in the offices of many clubs.

an awkward ending

The architect of the professionalization and successes of Sevilla FC is leaving. With him at the controls, assumed in the Second Division, in the year 2000, Sevilla won eleven titles. Two Copas del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, seven Europa Leagues and one European Super Cup. Eindhoven, Glasgow, Turin, Warsaw, Basel, Cologne and Budapest. Nervionenses fans recite the cities by heart. A handful of footballers, many of them complete strangers, who took the Andalusian club to heaven. “Monchi's miracles”, the press repeated, when Baptista, Keita or Rakitic packed their bags, filling the coffers of Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

But football has no memory. After some very tough negotiations, after disagreements and half-truths, Monchi leaves, even paying part of the money that Aston Villa must pay to Sevilla for taking their sports director out of pocket.. In principle, the presidency opened the exit door for him, then he backed down and ended up scratching something in the transfer. It has been an uncomfortable, unexpected end and where something has been broken, perhaps forever, in the heart of León, who is living the last hours in the club surrounded by his own, his sports management team, those who were witnesses of their joys and their worries. That Italian adventure was different, in 2017, where he left acclaimed and returned stomping on palms, olive trees and laurel. Here seems to end a cycle. Endings don't always turn into see you soon.

The English team, which finished seventh in the Premier League, will play in the Conference League next season. The wine and light blue will replace the usual white and red. Monchi starts from scratch. There he will not be the leader he is in Nervión, but a worker, an employee who has yet to prove his work. This has been expressed in confidence. He does it hurt, but with enthusiasm for the new challenges. The fans will have to look for him in Gol Norte, in that Sánchez-Pizjuán who has chanted his name so many times. Not all love stories have happy endings. “Time will put things in their place”, almost everyone will think, but dignity and decorum are not listed on Transfermarkt. They are more subtle values. The lion leaves and goes rampant, with its claws open, and its gaze forward. And proud of his work, because humility is not incompatible with success. And whoever doubts, will think, can take a walk through the trophy room, because in those showcases everything is perfectly explained.

The career of one of the stars called to capture the future of the NBA began to go wrong a few months ago. And not precisely because of his performance on the court. As if determined to stumble his own brilliance, Ja Morant returned to his old ways. In other words, he showed himself again on social networks with firearms. The league, which already suspended him for eight games in March, announced this Friday that the Grizzlies point guard will not play the first 25 of next season.

A harsh and exemplary sanction, since in that period he will not receive his salary either (he will stop earning about 10 million dollars), as expected and how could it be otherwise. Because the genius of the colored dreadlocks was not punished with the first notice of the NBA. After serving the first penalty -Morant returned to the slopes after having gone through a center in Florida working with a psychologist and performing reiki and breathing techniques to control anxiety-, for a series of extra-sports incidents that included firearms with which he was seen in a Colorado club-, the 23-year-old point guard appeared again in an Instagram live on his friend Davante Pack's account a month ago. “I take responsibility for my actions, I apologize to my family, teammates, coach, fans and the city of Memphis. I will look for help”, he had admitted in the first instance.

The Grizzlies, eliminated in the playoffs in the first round by the Lakers, already had him suspended, although now Adam Silver, after an investigation, sentences him and argues, in a statement: “The possibility that other young people emulate Ja's behavior is particularly worrying. For Ja, basketball has to take a backseat right now.”

In addition to the appearances with weapons, the one who was rookie of the year in 2020 had starred in a series of controversial episodes off the slopes. In July 2022, weeks after Morant signed a five-year contract with the Grizzlies for more than $231 million, the manager of a Memphis mall reported threats and assaults on the player and his group of friends after an argument with Jamie, his mother. Days later, he was seen with a gun during an incident at a friendly match at his mansion in Tennessee.. As reported by The Washington Post, one of the non-professional players of the pachanga denounced him for beating him violently on several occasions.

Last January, the Pacers reported that their bus was targeted by a laser from a firearm from a van Morant was in after his game in Memphis.. It was precisely Devonte Pack who was sanctioned for a year without being able to attend Grizzlies games for various altercations.

The league statement emphasizes that the incident occurred “despite the fact that Morant had made commitments to the NBA and issued public statements stating that he was not going to repeat the conduct for which he had previously been sanctioned.”. In addition, the sanction includes certain conditions that the player must meet before returning. You also will not be able to participate in public league or team activities for the duration of your suspension, including preseason games.

“I have had time to reflect and realize the damage I have caused. I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis.. I will spend the suspension working on my own mental health and my decision-making (process), “the player later wrote, who asked:” I hope they give me the opportunity to show them over time that I am a better man than I have ever been. been proving.”