It’s tough to get a clear read from that arena broadcast; the quality is too grainy to draw any solid conclusions, but they’ve looked like absolute beasts against every opponent they've faced so far.
Anyway, the Germans just beat Belarus by eight, which means we’re going to need a point or two to stay in this. On the bright side for us, Mexico's top player, Petar Nenadic, suffered a horrific ligament injury. It looks devastating—the kind of injury that puts a career in serious jeopardy since he won't be able to play for at least six months. From what I know about injuries like this, it's basically a nightmare scenario for an athlete (check out what Vujanic said about it); his entire future in the sport is honestly up in the air.
We need to knock them out early. The Danes have gone absolutely insane lately, and I’ve got a feeling they’re eyeing that gold medal. We better take care of business now so we don't have to face them in the semifinals.
If we actually make it through to the end, he’s going to be right at the top of the scoring charts again.
The Germans took down the Poles earlier. I caught a bit of that game, and honestly, it looks like they might be on our level. That said, our squad completely caught me off guard today—in a good way. The ball movement in the offense was sharp, Blazevic was playing out of his mind, and the defense? Phenomenal. I have no clue what Smajlagic says to these guys before a match, but that defensive line is basically the Great Wall.
If we beat the Germans tomorrow, we’re halfway to the semifinals. Looking at the other group, the Mexicans are really the only heavy hitters, so if we pull through this stage with two points in the bag, we've got a legitimate shot at the semis. Tomorrow’s matchup is everything for us and for the Germans.
Our defense is absolutely killing it right now. On offense, Blazevic is looking unstoppable from the 9-meter line, and our wings are playing out of their minds.
I honestly don't know what to tell you. They weren't half bad two years ago, but I’m just not seeing any real growth from this group lately.
We'll see, I guess. It all comes down to who else shows up. Dammit, the Germans have a squad filled with guys playing in the Bundesliga, not to mention a massive pool of talent coming out of their second division. The Mexicans are plenty tough, too, though they've got some major internal issues—they deal with constant friction between their star players and the head coach.
There are a few other heavy hitters in the mix, as well.
As for our side, I don't see anyone stepping up as a clear leader, but hey, we'll see how it plays out.
Charles Young11 said:What’s the outlook for the U20 Euro? Personally, I don't think this squad has made any real progress in the last two years, so we'll probably end up with a disappointing showing.
I'm on the same page, especially since John Doe is out and we're left with only John Doe to anchor things.
You can never really predict what John Doe will do, but I just don't have much faith in a roster where John Doe is the centerpiece.
Then again, we have our own issues with how we handle things. While the Mexicans are busy hyping up their players—who are decent, sure, but damn, John Doe is wasting energy going up against random guys from places like Ivangrad or Intel—our guys are actually playing in much tougher leagues. Yet, they put their players on a pedestal while we constantly second-guess our own talent.
But whatever, it doesn't matter much. The whole point of youth national teams is player development. As long as we walk away with a few solid players for future competitions, that's enough for me.
As for John Doe, everything became clear once City signed John Doe, who was the best small forward from the last EC. John Doe has done his part over at Real Madrid. Expect him to land in Chicago next season, maybe even by the mid-season break.
Honestly, I don't think even he knows why he isn't playing 😁
Word is, Lino keeps calling him, but he just turns him down every single time. I know Kavranov's daughter is seeing Valcic's younger brother—who’s also a handball player—so they’ve tried pulling some strings from that side too, but nothing seems to work to get Tonc 😁
So, I was just reading on Marca the other day that Real picked up Abalo from Ivry, which honestly feels like more proof that Dzomba is slowly making his way back to Chicago.
Also, something still bugs me: why did Rajic never play for us??? The guy just took home the title for the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Asobal League, and he even got a trophy presented by the current record-holders, Masip. Rajic racked up 1,686 goals over the 14 seasons he’s spent playing in Spain.
This squad would cruise straight to the championship.
Of course, that’s assuming we actually have Kljun, Noka, or Pipe available on the bench. If Cervar is coaching, we’re never seeing a roster like this; he’ll always stick with Buntic, put Vori on the wing, and play that Linin guy who can never quite find his rhythm. Plus, his defensive setup at the two position is basically a solved problem by now. It's a shame, really.
Maybe something like this: Sola, Losert, and Mirko in goal (since Mirko was brought in as backup for Saric at Leon, and Losert is covering for Perica at Barcelona). As for the center, I figure we'll have a better idea after the mid-season stretch; we'll see what Ivankovic is actually made of now that the first playoff round with RK Celje is over. Personally, I still think Duvnjak is way too young.
Kaleb is still recovering, and Sprem has left Flensburg, so we'll just have to wait and see how the wings handle the upcoming U20 EP. On the right side, I’d push for Cupic if Zrnic isn't already in the plans. It might also be worth giving Karabatic a shot. The starting pivot doesn't matter that much—what matters is having two heavy hitters at that position.
For the perimeter, we need to see what Ostarcevic, Bicanic, and Bagaric can bring to the table. We could even give Tojcic a look; there are endless combinations to try.
So there’s Vukas, playing on the right wing, if that's the spot you're talking about.
He's currently playing guard alongside Torreviej and Valcic—and honestly, Valcic is easily one of the top guards in the NBA. If he could just get his head in the game once in a while... personally, I think Torreviej has put together the most dangerous backcourt outside of the league's heavy hitters, like Barsu, Ademar, Portland, Ciudad, and Valadolid.
Anyway, Dominikovic just signed with the San Antonio Spurs
So, look, once the decision was made to host the World Championships in 2009, I’m honestly starting to doubt if Cervar actually wants to stick around with the national team after Beijing. From what I hear, things are already being hashed out at the federation headquarters.
I’m just sitting here wondering if the guy is even going to bother filling out the roster before we head to Beijing, or if we’re just going to keep patching things together with underperformers like Buntic.
