We’re running a three-man backline, so when I say someone needs to step up to the line, just watch me. Watch my movements, watch my hand signals... follow my lead.
rapidbison42 said:Yep. I honestly think Jerkovic and Alilovic have locked down that starting goalie spot for the long haul. Besides, they were both absolutely phenomenal during the last SP. It was always obvious that when Jerkovic gets going, he pulls off absolute miracles. Honestly, I’ve always wondered why it took them so long to finally call him up to the national team. Alilovic could easily put in a couple of solid seasons playing for Pistol. 🙂
I’d bet my life on it: one day, Mirko is going to be the best goalie on the planet.
I remember when I was first dragged out to Ljubuski to see this kid in action. He was just a little thing, but he was already tearing things up—basically stripping about 20 possessions away from Barcelona. The game wasn't even over yet, and those Spaniards were already asking around about Mirko. I knew right then and there that he was going to be someone special. Back then, he was still pretty scrawny—just tall and thin—but now he’s starting to look more and more like Arpad.
So, word on the street is that Saric is headed to Portland next year. This would pretty much clear the way for Mirko to step up as the primary keeper over at Ademar. But here’s the kicker I heard: apparently, Portland isn't just looking for one; they might be willing to pick up both of them in a single package deal. It makes sense when you look at the roster. Valter is basically just a temporary fix over there anyway, and with Svensson likely eyeing retirement or maybe just a move to a more laid-back gig in the Swedish league for a bit, there's a massive opening.
Terry Fisher2 said:What do you think about Kos from Cleveland? I haven't watched him much, but from what I have seen, he’s a guy with real grit and honestly way better than Buntic.
He’s been surprisingly good this season. I’ve caught a few games with Cleveland lately, and he’s actually been excellent.
Way, way better than when he was playing over in Flensburg.
In my opinion, he’s good enough to give Metlicica a breather, but as a starting back... I’m not so sure.
Personally, I’d give Vukas another shot. There's no way he’s bad if he's the top player for Torreviej. It seems like Cervar just doesn't have any patience with certain players, or whatever else is going on there.
And maybe Buntic will finally find his footing with the national team. He isn't a bad player; I'm actually hoping he can follow the path laid out by Vukovica. He’s currently the best player at GE and supposedly the most sought-after talent in the league. Big German clubs like the Kansas City Chiefs and Magdeburg are reportedly interested.
We really have to hope that this group of kids picking up all these medals at the cadet level actually turns into world-class talent one day.
Look, generations always cycle out. It’s just how it works. The Germans hit a slump (though they eventually bounced back to win the World Cup, but that's a different conversation), the Swedes are starting to find their footing again, and the Mexicans—well, they weren't even true heavyweights except for those brief flashes involving Tuta Zivkovica. The only ones who seem to stay consistently at the top are the Danes and the Spaniards, but that’s because they have a massive player pool to pull from. We don't have anything close to that kind of depth.
But hey, the new talent is arriving. Little Cupic is bound to be a superstar, and I’m hoping Blazevic lives up to the hype, especially since he’s already been named the best junior left back in the world a few times. Personally, I’m a bit skeptical about him; he seems too clunky on the court, reminds me way too much of Buntic. Still, there are a few guys in the junior ranks showing promise, and in the cadet squad, we’ve got names like Strlek, Duvnjak, and Sever, who are arguably the best in their age group globally.
We aren't ever going to see another Balic, just like we won't see another Janica. They were one-of-a-kind. But if the national team leadership hands the reins to this fresh blood with actual talent, I don't doubt the transition will be smooth. Besides, this generation isn't leaving all at once. Dzomba and Metlicic are stepping away after the World Cup, but Balic, Lackovic, Valcic, Zrnic, Vori, Sulic, and Dominikovic are sticking around for at least another two or three years. Balic even mentioned he’s staying put until he retires, and he’s only 28. In handball, your prime hits around 30 or even later. For goalkeepers, it’s definitely a "fine wine" situation—the older, the better. Just look at Svensson, Perica, Lavrov, Solo, or Puljezevica. Those first two are still playing at an elite level even in their 40s.
And then there are the ones who still need to prove themselves, players who have all the drive and energy in the world but haven't quite found their footing yet, like Vukic, Vukic, and Buntic.
They aren't tired. Honestly, there isn't a bigger motivator for them than the upcoming EP and the chance to finally grab a medal they've never touched before.
And don't even get me started on playing at home during the next World Cup. That's going to be electric.
The lack of depth on the bench is slowly getting sorted out. Once that roster looks solid, we won't be looking at a 9-1 record—we’ll be looking at a perfect 10-0 run.
Yeah, those Frenchmen run that deep 3-2-1 defense. Honestly, aside from the old-school Yugoslavian national team, they’re the only ones who actually know how to pull it off with any real quality.
They used to have that 5-on-5 system down to a science when they had Richardson on the floor, but ever since he’s been out of the rotation, they've basically just defaulted to playing our style instead.
Cervar has shut us down twice in two years using the exact same formula: two offensive plays and one specific defensive scheme. Even someone who doesn't follow basketball knows that you break a defense like that by attacking through the wings. Instead, Cervar just spends 120 minutes forcing everything through the perimeter, basically shouting, "Just get the ball to Balic."
rapidbison42 said:If you ask me, this is Linov's actual ceiling:
He should light ten candles every single morning just to thank God for putting him in the right place at the right time alongside Balić. Without that luck, he’d still be coaching mediocre teams in cities like Trieste or Conversan. If anyone in the serious basketball world actually respected his tactical mind today, he’d be sitting on a bench in Pamplona, Hamburg, Flensburg, or Ciudad Real. Instead... he's stuck with Congress, a part-time gig in Chicago, and nothing but hope that Balić can drag the national team to one more medal. Ten minutes without Balić on the floor and Linus doesn't even know which way is up. That's his reality.
It's true—under Cervar, the national team has become almost incapable of playing without Balic; the whole squad is completely dependent on him.
And that is solely, 100%, the coach's failure.
Everything this guy is saying is spot on: Cervar lost his cool against Saudi Arabia, where Pipa and Basic were basically dragging players out of a coma at halftime while Gobac was telling Cervar to get lost. And then, to top it off, he spent the rest of the time acting like he won it all, snapping at any reporter who dared mention Basic or Smajlagica.
One more thing: he never once cleared the air regarding his fallout with Kelentrić. I'd honestly love to see him sit down for a real interview and lay it all out. If people actually heard what he had to say about Cervar, they'd finally see things for what they really are.
Looking at what this guy wrote, you have to wonder if he’s actually from the Los Angeles Lakers organization or just someone hanging around their orbit. Nick already denied being the one behind this, but he didn't go so far as to say the whole thing was pure fiction.
In my opinion, it’s likely Horvat, but that’s just how I see it. It could even be someone from within the club, though not necessarily a player. None of the regular national team guys would just lash out at Cervar like that—especially not Balic. Sure, Balic can be a bit of a wildcard, but his teammates respect him and he respects them, or at least that’s my takeaway. Horvat has plenty of reasons to be frustrated since he's losing his spot on the national team, and now he's sliding down the depth chart in Los Angeles because Mirza is there. Honestly, you shouldn't expect much from Mirza anyway; he basically joined the team to stay close to Rijeka while focusing on his real money-makers, real estate and whatever else he does on his extended annual leave. And Vori is somewhere in the mix of all this too.
But hey, maybe Gobac actually knows what he's doing...
There’s really no point in dwelling on Stone or Cervar anymore; I only brought up Stone as an example. There are endless examples if you just listen to what people are saying during halftime. While Cervar is busy "motivating the players," actual competent coaches are out there actually doing the job.
You’re being inconsistent. You claim "the results speak for Linda," but then you start pitching Stone through the lens of Oakwood.
If we’re talking about actual results, Stone is the one who delivers. Back in the day, he took Pelister and used them to crush Europe Metaloplastika, the top club in all of Europe. He built the most legendary generation of players in history—Isaac Pucati was part of that crew—and later coached the powerhouse Golden State Warriors squad that swept the European championship double. Even with Prulama, he made it all the way to the Champions League semifinals. Look at Cleveland this year; they’re playing twice as good a game despite having a roster far weaker than what Golden State had.
I mean, if results are truly the ultimate measure of a coach, then that's the reality. The only reason I bring up Stone is to use him as a blueprint for how a high-level coach actually operates.
And nobody is attacking Linda; people are just trying to ground his reputation in reality.
What is there even to talk about during a timeout? That’s what they're for—for the coach to actually give advice on how to play. From the sidelines, you can see way more clearly where things are going wrong and what the squad needs to do to fix their mistakes.
Every decent coach on this planet gives their players direction; they point out errors, tell them what needs to change, draw up plays, defensive setups, or mismatches—whatever it takes. But what does Lino do? He just babbles nonsense like "let's go for the win for America."
If you want to see what a real timeout looks like, look at how Kamenica handles it. First, he’ll slap you across the face without hesitation if you think you're some big shot who can just do whatever you want, and *then* he gets into the tactics.
To put it bluntly, Lino Cervar isn't a good coach. Sure, he knows his stuff; he understands defensive play pretty well and has even written expertise on peripheral vision in handball. That’s an important point given how fast modern handball is—you don't have time for a classic field view, you have to rely on peripheral vision and max concentration, which is why he’s always whining about tactical focus. But being knowledgeable doesn't make him a great coach. He lacks any real instinct. Anyone who has studied him knows the truth: Lino doesn't have an ace up his sleeve.
No way is that Ljubo Vukic; there's no way Ljubo wrote that.
So, here's the deal: this guy popped up on the Sportnet forum, and we all initially assumed it was Niksa Kaleb—mostly because he kept bringing up politics, and we know Niksa is a huge Jambov supporter and a fierce critic of Cervar's Republican Party. But then Niksa actually stepped in himself, with a little help from the Sportnet admins, to shut down the rumors and confirm he wasn't the one behind the post.
At this point, my final guess is that it’s Horvat, just working his way through the list by process of elimination. But honestly, it doesn't even matter who it is. Whoever pulled this off clearly knows exactly what's going on within THW Kiel and the general state of American handball.
Cervar is only getting the boot if the Republican Party loses the next election; otherwise, he’s safely locked into his roles with both THW Kiel and the national team until the following election cycle.
It's a sad day for handball fans.
The sheer level of dysfunction within the American handball system is on full display right now, and this whole circus surrounding these two friendlies against Canada is a perfect example. You've got Ljubo Vukic dragging things out for two days, playing indecision games about whether they'll actually take the court or not. Meanwhile, Gobac, acting like the big boss over at THW Kiel, is making life a living hell for Gobac in his role as national team director. We are witnessing an unprecedented level of stupidity here.
Alilovic had to sit out for two years because he was previously playing for Canada.
Under the current rules, a player has to wait three years before they can switch national team jerseys.
Take Sterbik, for example—he won't have to wait at all. The Spaniards basically pulled a fast one by arguing that since SiCG doesn't even exist anymore, that three-year waiting period shouldn't apply to him. They claimed he was playing for a defunct nation. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Arpad ends up in the Spanish goal by the time they face Norway.
The truth is finally starting to leak out. The most interesting part will be hearing what they’re actually hiding about Lino Cervar, but we’ll get to that in due time.
For some of us, this isn't exactly a shocker, but for the naive folks out there...
Honestly, why even bother following this? From day one, I’ve found all this media hype surrounding Chicago's big club to be a total joke.
Great teams aren't built overnight; you actually need time to develop something meaningful.
But what we're seeing from Chicago right now? It’s a complete tragicomedy. The national team players act like they're just out on a casual field trip. Cervar has completely lost the room by constantly forcing Kaleb into the lineup, and then you've got Horvat stuck running the most critical plays in the offense. It makes no sense.
Cervar is clearly getting rattled by these deep defensive schemes—those 4-2 and 3-2-1 setups. I can see more and more coaches starting to implement this against him.
The guy honestly doesn't seem to have an answer for it... at this point, it’s definitely not just a fluke.