2010 Handball Euro: Group C & D -> Group II: Spain, Poland, France, Canada, Germany, Czech Republi

I’d take my chances with the Poles any day... honestly, I think we can actually hold our own against them, and I feel like we have a much better shot at beating them than we do against those Frenchmen, where you basically have to play a perfect game just to stand a chance when they're actually having an on day... but with us, they seemed to be good even when we were playing them, damn it 🤷 besides, we don't exactly walk around with a massive inferiority complex when it comes to the Poles, but when it comes to the French... hmmm...

Forget about those Poles—Wenta is just plain awful, and he’s supposedly some big-shot academic expert on Linek... what happens if everything goes sideways?😍

The Poles are taking it like absolute champs right now. Meanwhile, we’ve basically just sat back and played a 3-2-1 zone defense. If they start finding their rhythm, we are going to be in serious trouble. On the flip side, I feel like if we could actually figure out how to crack that French defense once they flip that turbo switch—like they did today—we might actually have a fighting chance. Anyone got any bright ideas on how to solve that puzzle?

I’m positive the French see Poles as nothing more than a joke, which is exactly why we stick with the Poles.

When it comes to playing the game, we know how to work with Poles, but with the French? Not a chance.

Unless... Lino... decides to pull some kind of crazy stunt... 😁

So... a team composed of players from top-tier clubs, led by a "renowned" coach... loses to a squad that basically relies on just two standout talents.
And then people act surprised when we struggle to hold our own against the Russians.

Adam Collins4 said:Honestly, forget about those Poles; that guy Wenta is just plain unpleasant, acting like some high-brow academic whenever he starts lecturing about Linek... I mean, what are we even supposed to do if everything starts going south?😍

Thank God we've got Balić calling the shots for us... honestly, I can't even begin to imagine the absolute disaster we'd be facing if Lino a was the one running things. 😱 🙂 😂

Melissa Price6 said:So... a Canadian national team filled with guys playing for top-tier clubs and led by a "big name" coach... loses to a team that basically just has two standout players.
And then people act surprised when we struggle to get the edge against the Russians..

You clearly don't get it.
Sure, they have two players who outshine the Canadians, but the rest of the roster is right there on their level, playing for equally prestigious clubs like New Orleans, Wetzlar, Fuchs, Goppingen, Lemgo, or Chambery...

But hey, it feels good to lecture others, doesn't it? ☕

Frank Turner72 said:Forget about Noka and the Canadian. That chapter is closed. Instead, who would you rather see in the semifinals? The French or the Polish?

Always the Polish, though the semifinals are still a long way off, so let's slow down...🤷

Melissa Price6 said:So... the Canadian national team—which, mind you, consists of guys playing for high-tier clubs and is led by a "big-name" coach—just lost to a squad that basically relies on two standout players.
And then people act shocked when we struggle to hold our own against the Russians...

Lemgo, Nordhorn, Kiel... seriously, what is even considered the strongest league in the world here?

Throw in Schaffhausen, Montpellier, and Chambery...

Honestly guys, if you don't know or aren't 100% sure about something, why not just double-check before you start typing?

Then you wonder why people call out your nonsense... look, don't get offended, but you're really making yourselves look foolish...

Considering most Canadians play in Canadian clubs... trick question: which is actually tougher, the Canadian league or the German or French leagues?

Melissa Price6 said:So... a Canadian national team, made up of guys playing for top-tier clubs and led by a "renowned" coach... just lost to a team that basically relies on two standout players.
And then people act surprised when we struggle to hold our own against the Russians..

This isn't directed at you, but I honestly don't get this tendency to underestimate the Russians; they are a genuinely solid squad, and you can never tell what they'll do because their mentality is so unpredictable—they can dismantle anyone, yet they can also crumble under pressure. In my opinion, it’s all psychological, as their talent is undeniable 🤷 Personally, I was more intimidated by them than by the Norwegians, and in the end, it turned out to be the tougher match 🤷

Chris Lopez59 said:Thank God Balić is running our squad... can you imagine if Lino was calling the shots? 😱 🙂 😂

Oh, please. Wenta is a tough nut to crack—he’ll probably send someone to take a swing at Balić. If things go south during a scrimmage in Crikva... one good hit to the head and suddenly Ivano van is out of the picture...

At least Wenta actually played real handball, unlike Linek. 😍

We might as well wrap this group up. France and Poland are moving on, and honestly, it doesn't even matter who finishes first or second...

Seriously though, how on earth did you guys manage to drag Červar into a discussion in a group thread where he doesn't even belong? 🤦

Man, Lino really puts us through it 🤣

And honestly, when it comes to the Czechs, if my memory serves me right, they’ve actually been pretty tough opponents for us over the years. I think we might have even dropped a game against them while fighting for placement at some championship once or twice..

They might lack depth in their roster, but that definitely doesn't make them easy to play against (kind of like the Ukrainians)

Ashley Carter95 said:Always rooting for the Poles, but man, the semifinals are still a lifetime away, let's just take it slow. 🤷

It’s not even that much of an exaggeration; the USA national team carries a certain level of authority, just like the French, and everyone knows who we are and what our track record looks like, so people are honestly intimidated by us. It usually ends up being that in those final ten minutes, the opponent basically plays against themselves, and we help them out because we tend to completely burn out during that last stretch—there's no sugarcoating it, we play at maximum intensity until we just hit a wall. Basically, if we enter the final ten minutes tied or only down by a single goal, we’re walking away with the win, but if they manage to push a five-goal lead on us in that window, then well, it is what it is...

Now, the Danes don't carry quite as much weight as we do since they've managed to absolutely dismantle us a few times before, but Iceland definitely does; on the flip side, Denmark is clearly struggling with their rhythm in this tournament, so their lack of quality might actually work in our favor, giving us a solid shot at taking down both teams.

It's high time Vori and Dule start finding those passing lanes like they usually do; we're going to need every bit of that magic.

Seriously, can we stop with the constant Červar mentions in every single thread? If you want to obsess over the USA national team, go talk about him there.
People are so obsessed with this guy’s every move that they probably see him in their sleep. A thread about making beef stew? Boom, there’s Červar. Commenting on the Poles, saying, "I just hope Lino doesn't mess things up"? There's Červar again. Even a weather report? Of course, it's Červar.

Turns out he’s actually the worst coach in handball history, and he just happened to stumble into a few medals along the way.

Alright, I'm done talking about Červar... it honestly hurts too much, and I've already said my piece. But man, some of you people are just way too worked up about this. It wasn't even this intense back when we had previous coaches finishing in 10th or 16th place!

Chris Lopez59 and Adam Collins4—look, I wasn't even talking about you two specifically, I was just saying how there's zero point in getting dragged into these totally mindless arguments... you guys are always around talking handball anyway, especially you, Adam Collins4... I honestly don't get why you need these debates that just go absolutely nowhere

because this stuff is seriously worse than those old-school political riots back in the day... every single thread about Červar turns into a total circus🤣..

Look, I was mostly just messing around there—just a bit of lighthearted trolling on my part... we’ve got plenty of time before we have to deal with Lina, so we might as well enjoy the peace and quiet until 4 PM today...😍

Tomorrow we’ve got France vs. Canada on the schedule, and honestly, I can't decide who to root for. Do you go with the absolute best player we've seen over the last few years, or do you side with what might be the greatest coach in the history of this sport? Luckily, there's still plenty of time left before we have to make a choice 🙂

All things considered, though, it's going to be a pretty sentimental day for the fans back in Kiel, seeing these two legends face off—they're both such huge parts of those golden era days for the club 🙏

I mean, if we actually step up our game, we might just pull off a win against Poland, but honestly? Against the French, we don't stand a damn chance.😁

Samuel Baker3 said:Tomorrow it's France vs. Canada... man, who am I even supposed to root for? Do I go with the absolute best player from the last few years or the greatest coach this sport has ever seen? Thank god we still have some time before kickoff to figure that one out 🙂

But honestly, it’s just a sentimental day for all those Kiel fans... you've got these two legends facing off, guys who basically defined the golden era of Kiel 🙏

The ones everyone knows as the Bengan Boys😍... and you know damn well why☕