"We've won 20 leagues in 20 years, right? Now it's our turn to rule Europe."

Barcelona"Codfish? Dry! Codfish? Dry!" is the name of the Atlético Barceloneta pool. It's the cry of fishermen selling their fish a century ago, when water polo first began in Barcelona. The cry still given before matches by a water polo team that has become the great Dream Team. of modern Catalan sport. This weekend, Barceloneta travels to Malta to play the final four of the Champions League, the most elusive trophy. The semi-final will be on Friday (7:30 p.m.) against Serbia's Novi Beograd, and the final will be on Sunday. The second semi-final pits Hungary's Ferencváros, the reigning champions, against France's CN Marseille. The sailors' team has won the last 20 editions of the Spanish league, but has only been crowned European champion once, in 2014, when they defeated Barcelona's Picornell at the Radnički Kragujevac swimming pools. From that team, only two survivors remain, Felipe Perrone and Alberto Munárriz.

"20 consecutive league titles is incredible, huh? Maybe people have normalized it, but it's impressive. It's hard to have the pressure every year to win, without being able to fail in the league. So now we all want to win in Europe, it's the title most desired by everyone at the club," explains the young Biel Gomila (Barcelona, ​​​​Barcelona) Barceloneta after signing from CN ​​Catalunya. The veterans joke with him, in case after two decades of chipping away at it, Biel won't win it on his first attempt. He smiles, half shyly.

"I already knew many of my teammates from the Spanish national team because I joined the senior team when I was 17 when we won the European Championship. It was incredible. Players like Perrone help young people a lot. Not just in the water, where you can learn a lot from him, but as a person," says Gomila, who is currently studying. "I started like many kids in swimming classes at CN Catalunya. They told me to try water polo, and I haven't stopped. Now, I was clear that I didn't want to stop studying," says a player who already has titles with the national team and the club. Studying Physical Education (INEF), like other athletes? "No, I study economics at Pompeu Fabra," explains a burly young man who has helped develop the inside game of the team coached by Croatian Elvis Fatović.

Playing like Barça

"We're a team that plays with joy, with a style based on improvisation and innovation. This is our game, our identity, but, in the end, we also know that defense is what wins championships. We play a very innovative style of water polo, with a lot of offensive emphasis... sometimes even too much of it. We have to know how to control ourselves. It even angers Elvis Fatović," jokes Atlético Barceloneta captain Felipe Perrone, who compares himself to Hansi Flick's Barça football team. Perrone, 39, he is retiring this year, and hopes to do so in style in Malta.

The first challenge will be to overcome Novi Beograd, who defeated the Mariners on penalties (10-12) in the 2023 semi-finals, when Catalan Álvaro Granados was playing for the Serbians. He now plays for Barceloneta. "They're a young team, but they always take the game to the limit in every aspect, and I think the key will be to respond with intensity, to respond with energy and not take a step back," says the Vallesan.

Over these 20 years, Barceloneta has been reshaping itself, shedding myths and signing talent, seeking to extend the winning streak of a team that aims to be the first Catalan or Spanish team with two European crowns. Until now, only CN Barcelona in 1982, CN Catalunya in 1995, and Barceloneta in 2014 have won the Champions League, just once. A special competition now enjoyed by new stars like Gomila. "The first year was tough because I had a lower back injury that kept me out of competition for six months. Luckily, I didn't have any relapses and I played well at the end of the season. I was able to make my Champions League debut, where you can play in countries where this sport is a religion, like Hungary, Serbia... There's a great atmosphere. In Hungary, there were drums, megaphones, people shouting... It was incredible; I like playing in those environments. It motivates me. In Malta, a neutral territory, it will be different. In Malta, anything can happen, and it can change the history of the club from the sea."