Euro Handball Championship: America vs. Poland 31-28

Gojun plays the entire game on defense, holding down that crucial center half position.
What do you mean, just 7 or 8 minutes?
Vuković was playing against the Russians and completely blew three straight possessions. First, he missed an easy shot, and then he handed the ball right back to the Russian player twice.

George Robinson43 said:Gojun played the whole game on defense, holding down that crucial center position.
What do you mean, 7 or 8 minutes?
Vuković was playing against the Russians and completely blew three straight possessions. First he missed a wide-open shot, then he handed the ball right back to the Russian player twice.

You’re basically expecting a guy you treat like he’s the absolute bottom of the roster to step up and play perfectly during those measly five minutes he gets across six different games.
Exactly. I mean, how could we expect anything else?
The guy isn't even part of the rotation. He’s totally out of sync with the rest of the team, yet we expect him to suddenly prove why he was even called up during his tiny window of playtime.
That’s just not how it works...

It’s the exact same situation we see with Slišković.
First, Bičanić plays 40 minutes and puts up a mediocre performance during that stretch. Then Slišković comes off the bench, and suddenly people expect Ivan to step in for those remaining 20 minutes and make up for everything Damir missed over the previous 40.
That’s a tall order... honestly, that’s just how our national team operates. One player has a disaster of a game, so you get scraps of playing time, and then you're expected to fix every single mistake they made during those limited minutes. Of course, that's nearly impossible, which usually means you'll be stuck fighting for scraps in the next game too.

Raymond Anderson4 said:You’re basically expecting a player who is treated like a complete afterthought to step up and deliver during those measly five minutes he gets across six different games.
Precisely! It's a bit optimistic, isn't it?
The man isn't even part of the rotation; he's completely out of sync with the team's rhythm. Yet, we somehow expect him to suddenly justify his roster spot during a tiny five-minute window.

I wasn't actually anticipating your take. I was simply stating how he performed once he stepped onto the court.
We could easily spend all day dissecting Vuković's performances in championships over the last decade.
When was he ever truly a cornerstone? I recall when someone like Bičanić played with much more impact, similar to yesterday.
Now, we’re acting like he’s some sort of legendary icon.

driftinggardener57 said:Kopljar holds his own, I guess, but I honestly have no idea who decides to keep a massive guy like Gojun on the roster or why...

Whenever he steps onto the court, you just know what's coming—either he’s gonna rack up a penalty (I mean, during the FIBA World Cup: USA vs Poland 85:75 game, he maybe played 7 or 8 minutes before getting a 4-minute suspension 🙂), or he’s just gonna throw the ball into the stands, while on top of all that, Vuković doesn't even get a single minute of playing time 🤷

As for the fans, obviously people are gonna boo and chant against the opposing team. There's nothing weird or out of the ordinary about that, especially when the gameplay looks like this...

Honestly, both of you clearly don't get this sport if you're talking like that, and saying Gojun only played 7 or 8 minutes... sometimes it's better to just keep your mouth shut

Kopljar’s getting on my nerves a bit—mostly because he seems terrified of actually leaving the floor... man, just take a step back from the 8 or 9-meter mark, drive hard, and shoot from three meters out. Instead, he keeps trying to creep up to the 5-meter line to fire away. Reminds me a little of Karlović on the tennis court—absolute giants, yet somehow playing so soft, almost timidly. I want to see some grit in his eyes.

Bičanić is also a bit frustrating since he goes out of his way to avoid contact—always dodging the physical stuff. He seems scared of taking a hit, let alone dealing with two guys at once like Duvnjak does. And honestly, that’s the issue with the whole perimeter... Duvnjak takes more hits than the rest of the outside shooters combined, simply because he’s the only one who isn't afraid of a real physical duel.

And yeah... the bench and their tendency to stop our fast breaks is costing us at least a few goals per game. I’m not talking about those last 5-6 minutes where you really need to stall and milk the clock, but when you look at our wins—considering how many more goals we score than the opposition—it basically offsets the number of fast breaks we lose due to those mistakes.

Anyway, hats off to the guys. These handball players have truly been the pride of the nation for the last 20 years. Imagine where they could be if there was actually serious investment in the sport?!?!? 😲😲😲

Why was Čupić playing so poorly yesterday?
And honestly, I think Venia needs to take more shots on goal instead of just waiting for those penalty shots.

Carl Johnson18 said:Man, just imagine where we’d be if people actually put some serious money into this sport... 😲😲😲

I think it would be more accurate to say...

I can't even begin to imagine where things would be if... Get Gobac out of the rotation... Wait, you're seriously pulling that from the sports section...?? 😲😲😲

Kyle Torres60 said:I honestly think it’s more accurate to say:

imagine how much better things would be if we just kicked the trash out of this sport entirely!?!? 😲😲😲

Now this is getting closer to the truth.

@Carl Johnson18/">@@Carl Johnson18: Our biggest issue on the perimeter is just a lack of chemistry. We aren't running enough set plays.
It’s not that Sondergaard Sarup is playing any better than our Mark, it’s just that he’s playing within a system where everyone knows exactly where to be.
How many times did we see it yesterday during the first half? The ball just keeps circling between Bič-Duv-Kop without anyone actually trying to execute a basic crossover. I think Goluža shares some of the blame there too.
Look at Larsen playing against Iceland yesterday; almost all of his goals came from structured plays where he actually had space to shoot.
Three out of Bičanić's five goals yesterday were just forced shots out of nothing.
As for Markov, his hesitation is the problem. He seems afraid of contact; the moment a defender steps toward him, he just passes the ball off immediately.
Then you have Bičanić, who avoids contact, though honestly, I think he occasionally runs straight into trouble by trying to squeeze through gaps between two defenders.

I’ve got a bad feeling Hansen is going to tear us apart. And even if we somehow manage to shut him down, Sondegard will be right there waiting to pick up the pieces.

If we let the atmosphere get under our skin like it did back in Belgrade, we could end up facing an even more brutal blowout this time around.

restlessbear34 said:Why was Čupić off his game yesterday?
And honestly, I think Venia needs to step up to the net more often instead of just waiting for those penalty shots.

It’s because he can’t even sink a free throw to save his life, and frankly, Zlajo is completely outclassing him in this tournament!

I've gotta ask. 😁

I saw some people mentioning 'zeta.' Which one of ours are they talking about? 🙂

Smith has much steadier hands this tournament, and he needs to be in the lineup.

restlessbear34 said:I've gotta ask. 😁

I saw some people bringing up 'zeta.' Which one of ours are we talking about here? 🙂

Joe Valčić

dustypanther6 said:Joe Valčić

Jose Mourinho Valčić

Why the son-in-law? 😁

restlessbear34 said:Why the son-in-law? 😁

He married Boeing's daughter.

thanks. 🙂

Andrew Chavez3 said:He married into the Boeing family...

Well, damn... I guess I finally figured out who the son-in-law is and just who he had to step on to get a spot on the national team 🙂