Let’s wrap this up: the injuries, Chuck’s nonsensical decisions (seriously, where was Zrnic?? where was Kelentric?? where are those young players he was supposed to bring along to gain experience for the Olympics??? what happened to our defense??? and don't even get me started on the conditioning—what were they even doing during training camp??), and a bench that is way too thin. Now we've got Obrvan in the studio 😁
I knew getting to the finals would be an uphill battle, and honestly, maybe it’s for the best; the Spaniards would have absolutely shredded us. Chuck needs to build a damn bench immediately. I can't accept Buntic as a backup for Metlicic; he’s worse than the worst version of Perin I've ever seen. There is zero backup for Lac. Just go out and sign Terzic already. I don't care if he's from Mexico; the kid is worth it.
Balic has no replacement, and what on earth was Goluza thinking???? Where were Duvnjak, Ivankovic, and Blazevic? Where are those young prospects, Lino???
No need to take this as a tragedy; we'll come back stronger next time.
Michael Adams2, come on, give me a break. 😉 Do you even follow handball? Are you going to sit there and tell me you know the scores from Portugal, Canada, or Tunisia? You clearly don't realize that whenever we face the heavy hitters—teams like Denmark or Iceland—we always walk away with a win by a goal or two.
The bottom line is that Cervar just isn't the right fit for the head coach role anymore. He leaned way too hard on his starting lineup, and frankly, everyone has seen enough of them.
We need fresh blood—someone who’s going to bring a completely different tactical approach to the table. But instead, they go out and hire Smajlagica. The entire system of play needs a complete overhaul. I'm not even saying this because of this recent loss; it's just obvious we've hit our absolute ceiling. We can't keep going like this. You can see it in Metličić—he's running on fumes, the tank is empty, and it's over.
It's time to let some players go and start building a roster for the future. It's pretty clear these guys have nothing left in the tank.
I want to thank them for everything. They were easily the greatest American team in history.
Ink, Yugoslavia ended up exactly where they deserved to end up, while America made it to the semifinals.
I honestly hope I never have to listen to that idiot Susec ever again.
And please, don't start coming for the players or Cervar. They gave it everything they had.
I’m grateful for their effort, but let’s be real—expecting gold here was just wishful thinking. We simply didn't have the depth, and Metlicic was an absolute disaster. I wouldn't call him up again, seriously, unless he actually manages to get his head straight. He's way too high-strung.
And one more thing—if we’re such an "open book," then why didn't teams like Iceland or Denmark just steamroll us?
Let's be real here: we weren't anywhere near the level we were at during the Athens tournament. Why? I've said it before: Miller was a disaster, Lawrence was off his game, our wingers were useless, and the injuries—god, those damn injuries—really gutted us. We were playing without Caleb, Vaughn was subpar, and while Bailey basically carried the team on his back, even his best championship run wasn't enough to secure the gold.
It was enough to get us to the semifinals, though, so credit where credit is due. Congrats to them.
But let’s be honest, it’s easy to start trashing them now that the dust has settled.
The only thing I’m actually happy about is that there won't be some obnoxious celebration in the middle of Times Square, complete with a garbage program filled with songs about hell and that whole "let whoever is bothered suffer" attitude, not to mention having to sit through politicians giving speeches.
Look, let’s be real—this isn't a tragedy. We didn't have a bench, which used to work for us back when we had an incredible starting lineup. But this time, Metlife and Lockheed played absolutely criminally. Our wingers were non-existent; honestly, Ball was the only reason we even made it to the semifinals. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have even cracked the top eight.
Let's be honest, people, given everything that happened, this is a MASSIVE success.
Let’s be real: half of those defensive plays were set up before they even happened, and the rest? Pure guesswork. Honestly, Igor is just a total liability on the field.