The Qatari national team will be the fourth that Veselin Vujović will lead at World Championships, after SR Yugoslavia, Slovenia, and Iran. Silver medalists from Doha 2015, they have long since ceased to be a force on the global stage, but “Vuja’s diplomacy” has brought back to the squad after many years the key protagonists of the World Cup final, Žarko Marković and Rafael Capote, along with Frankis Carol Marzo, the top scorer of the 2021 World Championship. This is an experienced team worthy of great respect. Qatar begins in Poreč, opening the tournament against France, followed by Austria and Kuwait, so it is realistic to see them in the main stage of the competition in Varaždin. We talked about everything that lies ahead with the former best handball player in the world, who is the second oldest coach at this Championship, right behind Alfred Gislason.

• We just finished training. We’ve entered the rhythm of the championship, so we get those short one-hour slots. It’s more activation than training, roughly.

The first match against the French, perhaps the easiest one to start the tournament?

• Absolutely, the easiest match. Even though I always believe there’s a chance. Looking at it, we may be one of the oldest teams in the world, so we could be worn out tomorrow against the French, lose by 4-5 goals, and then have problems with Austria and Kuwait. Even so, we’ll have them. That’s why I’ll give everyone a chance to get into rhythm, and for us, the World Cup starts on January 16th against Austria. After that, we face Kuwait. One win from those two matches guarantees us the second round, and if we win both, we might have a chance to meet Qatar’s current ambitions in Varaždin. We all expect this.

Qatar, experienced, with everyone, Capote, Marzo, Žarko Marković… Does that raise expectations?

• They’ve had missundestandings with Valero Rivera in recent years. Some were injured, some were offended, and some were removed from the squad. I managed to gather all these players, so I’ll try to rotate and distribute strength according to their condition and age. It’s logical that they can’t keep up at a top level, but we have a few players between 27 and 30 years old who can handle the load. Qatar can play very well against anyone in the world in a single game, but the tournament system doesn’t suit us. It’s tough to recover the team when playing every two days. We’re objectively at a disadvantage in that regard. Of course, we’ll try our best, and in the Main round, we can play against anyone – the Hungarians, the Macedonians, and the Dutch. How we’ll fare, we’ll see. Experience has taught me to take it game by game and not plan ahead. Anyone who looked bad today could look great tomorrow. The players are burdened by the magnitude of the event. It’s not about how you start, but how you finish. We know that sometimes even the winners start poorly but rise through the tournament and show their best when it matters most. I have an experienced team, and I know they can calculate and we’ll achieve a good result.

The group in Varaždin could suit you…

• It works in our favor. The Hungarians will have massive support. The Macedonians will have a huge number of fans, and the Dutch too. We can play against any of them. We’re not at the level of the Scandinavians, Germans, French, or Egyptians. Those are much stronger teams, but against all other teams, Qatar can play.

Austria without Nikola Bilyk. If anyone is influential in their team, it’s the left-back from Kiel…

• If I had to choose, and I never wish injury on players, I’d pick that Bilyk catches a cold the day he plays against Qatar. At training, there was no Janko Božović, who had a serious knee issue yesterday and is still undergoing tests. We’ll see how much he can help Austria.

How are your most experienced players doing?

• Žarko Marković takes great care of himself, and he came back from the summer break in the best shape. He’s highly motivated. He knows that this could be his last competition. Capote, well, that’s the Cuban style, a Cuban story. He has his own way, and if you get in his way, he’ll bulldoze you. He’s still the boss when it comes to defense and attack. It’s just a matter of managing his workload. My knowledge of Spanish helped me connect with him and Frankis Marzo. I’ve coached a few Cubans, so we have some common ground. I always focus on player motivation and relationships with them. You’ll get to see them. They look perfect, maintaining their physical condition. The only big problem is that they play only two or three tough matches a year. Qatar’s league is weak, except when two favorites meet, unlike players from other teams who play in the Bundesliga and other strong European leagues.

Entering the court during the match between Slovenia and Qatar, the collective scuffle immediately led to comments that Vuja “scared” his team…

• If you watched the footage, I stayed aside (laughs). Someone will say that Qatar has never had a fight in its history, and now Vuja has come and they fought… I hope that in the sports vernacular, that motivation and defiance will kick in, and they won’t allow anyone to push them around. I didn’t participate, of course, because anyone would comment that I was the cause. How could I intervene when all the Slovenians are my players, and these are mine? It wasn’t serious. Later, I jokingly asked both sides, “Well, what were you rushing in for, and no one even hit anyone? Why were you running around for no reason?”

What do you expect from Croatia? Do they have a quarterfinal in Zagreb, as well as a semifinal?

• I’m sure neither Sigurdsson, nor the people around him, nor the public know the full potential of their team. From one game where they were quite lucky to beat a strong Macedonia that evening, to a very convincing performance against Slovenia. If I know the Slovenians, and I know Zorman, he hid some things. Did he fool himself, because if you hide something and lose by one or two, you’re in the plus. You can say “I hid things, but I lost by one or two.” But if you hide things and lose by 8-9, then it’s questionable whether you’re on the right path. The psychological aspect is on Croatia’s side. It’s good they started the competition under such pressure. My personal opinion is that Croatia will find it difficult to fight for a medal. The advantage of playing at home, a full Arena Zagreb, euphoria, undeniable quality, led by Duvnjak who’s retiring and will do everything to retire with a medal, these are all advantages. From the heart, I’d like such a guy to retire with a medal in the Croatian jersey. I think the Balkan countries, because of everything that has been done for handball in these regions, deserve a medal.

Egypt could disrupt everyone’s plans in that part of the bracket…

• Absolutely, they’re a team that plays the same way whether they’re in Cairo, Zagreb, or Gothenburg. Wherever they play, they do it with the same intensity and at the same level, unlike some other teams. No one is afraid of them, they don’t have that problem. Motivation, a potent team. They don’t have Eldere, but a few players have returned. They are incredibly strong in defense and potent in attack. If their goalkeepers are on point, they’re dangerous and can beat anyone in the world. The Slovenians, Icelanders, and Croats will have a huge problem. For me, Egypt is the favorite in that group. The refereeing is also an important factor. It might not help them, but it won’t hinder them either. That’s crucial.

The Macedonians stick to their concept with a young team mostly together at Alkaloid. What do you predict for them?

• Kire Lazarov has done a lot for Macedonian handball as a player. These kids are progressing at RK Alkaloid, playing good and modern handball. No team in the world has achieved success without a big club. They’re doing that with Alkaloid. Is this the moment? No, but it’s another experience. He probably thinks that if we end up in the same group, the team they can beat is Qatar, and Qatar is thinking the same about Macedonia. That will be a treat for everyone in this region.

The list of teams that can win gold is really shortened. The Danes, the French… no one else…

• Never shorter, I agree. France showed their vulnerability at the Olympics. What happened to them against the Germans shouldn’t have happened. They are motivated, but for the first time, they are without Nikola Karabatić. That’s very important. Denmark hasn’t had any crisis moments. They got over Hansen and some other players easily. They have two incredible players now, Pitlyk and Gidsel. They could slip up, but it’s very unlikely. It seems to me that in this winter weather, with snow and ice, they’re wearing solid chains on their tires. They won’t slip easily.

A championship with 32 teams, exotic teams like Guinea, Cuba, and Kuwait. Is that what handball needs?

• I think handball doesn’t need that. Expanding handball to grow the handball family results in an overly long championship, tiring the players, with some games already decided before they begin, where the favorites will win by 15-20 goals. I don’t see how that benefits handball. It needs fewer games to create a serious filter and ensure that the best teams play in the end. Rule changes, more marketing, and then we can all enjoy it.

TEXT: Zika Bogdanovic, Balkan-Handball.com
PHOTO: Slavko Kolar