Handball EP - Norway 2008

Yeah, Sprem is totally out of the picture. As for Caleb, there's no way he's getting back in shape anytime soon. Things are a complete disaster over in Washington, D.C. And Horvat... man, he really needs to step it up. Like I said last season, the situation in Washington, D.C. is just a mess.

edit: wait, I just saw some rumor on a forum saying Kopljar is being cut and Sprem is coming in instead?? Probably just fake news.

Can you tell me which forum this is? Honestly, man, I'm over in Canada and I don't even have access to NBC, but you guys in America probably have way more info sources than we do here. I really don't get how there's such a lack of knowledge about who's actually going to the EP or not... just drop a link to that forum...

Horvat needs to get moving... I need to get moving too... there's no such thing as "needs to get moving," either it happens or it doesn't... if not, go with Zrnic... he seems like the safest bet... damn, Dzomba will absolutely wreck his career...

But I'm pretty sure that if Cervar plays it smart this time—and I'm confident he will—he'll make enough rotations so that none of the players feel even a hint of fatigue... Lackovic - Valcic; Metlicic - Kopljar...

These guys might actually be onto something... I did a quick search on Google for something like the American handball national team and this popped up...

hehe... hopefully they'll go for the gold...

Chris Lopez59 said:For the French team, Bertrand Gille and Dinart are absolutely vital. Honestly, though, Gille seems more essential when they're playing defense. Karabatic has shown he can step in and fill that gap brilliantly if needed, but you can't deny how incredible Gille’s speed is in that 5-1 defensive setup. When he and Dinart work together, they were really the only duo capable of shutting down Balic, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Dinart is just on another level.

The backbone of France is definitely B. Gille, Dinart, Karabatic, and—for those of us who fear him most—Omeyer. If they end up missing those first two, the French won't stand a chance; even Omeyer will have a hell of a time carrying the load alone.

By the way, remember how we acted like fools last time, constantly aiming shots at the far corner against Omeyer? He just snatched everything away.

But isn't that Gille playing the left back position instead of the wing😕? At least that's my take on it.😁
He actually plays pivot for them on offense. If the rumors are true and they aren't going to be on the court, that's honestly the best news we could hope for. They might be the only two players out there who actually understand the game well enough to coordinate and actually stop Balic.

It looks like Zrnic's injury is just part of the territory.

We’ll most likely be stuck relying on Horvat and Cupic, though we might be able to call on Cupic later on.

And what did I tell you? 🤮

Anthony Wilson4 said:Can you tell me which forum you're talking about? Seriously, man, I'm over here in Canada and I don't even have NBC, but you guys in the States probably have way more info than we do. I honestly don't get how info about who's making the roster for the EP could be so scarce... just drop a link to the forum...

Horvat needs to get moving... and honestly, so do I... there’s no "needs to get moving," he’s either in or he’s out. If not him, then go with Zrnic... he feels like the safest bet right now... damn, Dzomba will absolutely wreck his career if he doesn't step up...

But look, I'm pretty confident that if Cervar plays it smart this time—and I'm sure he will—he'll rotate the squad enough so that none of the players feel any fatigue at all... lackovic - valcic; metlicic - kopljar...

These guys actually have potential... I did a deep dive on google.com looking for forums about the US national handball team and this is what popped up...

hehe... hopefully they'll go for the gold

I don't know, I just stumbled upon that forum by accident.

By the way, our women's handball team landed in Pot 1 right before the qualifiers draw for the EP in Norway.

The potential opponents waiting in Pot 3 are Belarus, Czech Republic, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Portugal, Slovakia, and Turkey (9 total).

So, honestly, shouldn't be much of an issue.

Pot 1: Austria, USA, Spain, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine (6)
Pot 2: Denmark, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Sweden (5)

The setup:
1) The 6 teams from Pot 1 get matched up against 6 teams from Pot 3.
2) Then, 3 teams from Pot 2 take on the remaining 3 teams from Pot 3.
3) Those last 2 teams from Pot 2 end up playing each other.

Roger Allen3 said:And what exactly did I tell you? 🤮

What makes it even worse is that all signs point to Balic not even traveling to Eurovision 2008 at all.

frozentiger6 said:What's even worse is that it looks like Balic might not even make the trip to Eurovision 2008.

Here's yet another excuse for Lini to stay on the sidelines for the next four years. God, this "indispensable" mentality we have is absolutely infuriating...

Well, it's official now regarding Zrnic.

Zrnic is out.
Just when we were starting to feel optimistic that bringing Ball, Lackovic, and Metlicic back into the fold would finally fix the injury issues plaguing the American national team, reality hit us again. After grinding through plenty of training sessions and two matches against Sweden and Canada, Vedran Zrnić felt an intense surge of pain. With the team doctors' approval, he flew out from Savannah to Washington, D.C., for an MRI. Unfortunately, the news wasn't good.

"The scan showed that the stress fracture is actually worse than it was before my surgery in Germany last year. I tried to grit my teeth and push through practice, but the pain is just too much. I couldn't hold out, and I had to pull out of the EP," Vedran Zrnić said at the start of the interview.

But Zrnic didn't just throw in the towel without a fight.

"I kept trying to train, but I simply can't anymore. The pain after every single session or game is unbearable. On top of that, any significant physical effort makes the injury worse. I can't risk my entire future by pushing it," Zrnić emphasized.

Everyone on the American squad is gutted about the setback and his departure from Savannah, but he’s obviously the one dealing with the hardest part.

"This whole thing has been incredibly tough to swallow. I've been training hard, knowing that everyone expects a lot from me following Dzomba's injury, so this really hurts. But honestly, it would be immoral and unsportsmanlike to drag myself along with teammates who are giving more than 100% while I'm struggling. Pulling out of the EP was the only decent decision to make," Zrnic stated.

He might have been able to play, but it wouldn't have been the real him.

"I could have played as a secondary pivot or tried to compensate by jumping off the 'wrong' leg, but that feels like cheating, and it isn't fair to the guys. Now that I've made the call, I actually feel some relief because the uncertainty is gone. I'm going to focus on rehab for a month, and if things don't improve, I'll have to look at surgery again. But that's the absolute last resort."
As for the players stepping up to fill his shoes, Zrnic doesn't have a moment of doubt:

"I know it's going to be harder without Dzomba and me, but I truly believe Horvat and Cupic will step up and cover for us. As long as nobody else gets sidelined, I have no doubt we'll see a great result at the EP," Vedran Zrnić concluded.

So, following Dzomba's exit, we're now short on right wings as well. But it is what it is—no use crying about it. Youngster Ivan Cupic has already been called up and should be joining the team later tonight. We're all pulling for Vedran Zrnić, hoping he recovers quickly and can fix this with therapy so he can avoid another trip to the operating room.

If the rumors about Ball are true, we might as well forget about a deep run. Cupic is coming in cold, hasn't had months of training under his belt, and you know how it goes...

Anyone heard anything new about Ivan Cupic?

We won't even make it out of the group stage 😁 We’re playing without a playmaker or a right winger. Our left and right wingers are at about 30-40% fitness... it'll just be Vori + Vukovic, Duvnjak, Vukic, and Horvat... there's absolutely no chance 🙂 We haven't had this few chances since the tournament in Portugal 😁

Maybe Chocolateo will actually come up with something revolutionary for once.

Aaron Gonzalez6 said:maybe Chocolate Boy will come up with something revolutionary

😁

Alilovic is playing right wing 😁

Look, there's always a silver lining in every bad situation. For the first time since Athens, the guys seem totally relaxed heading into the tournament. There’s no pressure, no crushing expectations—everyone has already written them off.

And honestly? That’s when we’re at our best.

On another note, Balic is training with the squad for now, but there's a real chance he won't even make the trip to Norway. That injury he's dealing with is a nightmare to predict; the doctors are basically telling him to stay sidelined until he's fully cleared.
He's itching to play, obviously, but it comes down to what Portland decides. If the medical staff says he isn't at 100% by the time the team flies out to Norway, he's sitting this one out.

🤮 Now Horvat is going to have to scramble to fix the offense 🤮 Just my luck 😠

Anyway, who's handling the threads this year? Is anyone actually planning to start anything? 😳

What can I say... looks like we won't have Zrnic on the roster... probably going to be Balic instead... but I'm still holding out hope that we can at least make the finals, if not snag the gold...

So, when does it actually kick off??

The roster doesn't matter. Only Balic matters. Without him, beating any of the top 10 or 12 teams feels like a miracle.
If he doesn't play, scoring even a single point against Poland or Canada would be a massive win, and against the Czech Republic, it’ll be a toss-up.

Honestly, our guys aren't even that bad without Ballack.

I mean, come on, we have some seriously talented players on this roster. You’ve got Vukovic, Lackovic, Metlicic, Valcic, Vori, Sulic, Vukic—the list goes on. If this group can't pull off a win against the Americans or the Czechs, then I'm done with them too.

rapidbison42 said:The rest of the roster doesn't even matter. It’s all about Balić. Honestly, without him, pulling off a win against any of the top 10 or 12 teams in the world would be a straight-up miracle.
If he's sitting out, just grabbing a single point against Poland or Canada would feel like a massive victory, and even a matchup with the Czechs would be a total toss-up, like a 50-50 coin flip.

I think you're blowing things a little out of proportion though... we've definitely got other solid players and some absolute stars on this squad too...😉

The Slovaks managed to edge out the Canadians 35-32. They were actually trailing 21-14 at one point.

Schulz 9; Kavtičnik 7, Žvižej, Zorman and Natek all had 4; Pajovič 3; Spiler, praznik and Mlakar with 2; then Kozlina, Dobelšek, Backovič and Pungartnik with 1.

Those Slovak refs handed them three red cards.