Handball World Championship: USA vs. Poland 22-24

Robert Doyle8 said:Nobody actually answered how many saves Isaac made. If I recall correctly, I don't think he even pulled more than five saves in 30 minutes. People act so tough on here, but the reality is we just don't have elite goalies like the rest of the teams in the league.

tapatalk/good old 4.9.5

They both ended up finishing with the exact same stats anyway—4/16, which is 25%.

God, please, just let Goluža stay with us, both as a player and as our coach.

There’s absolutely no heart in this squad, and when we actually need to find the back of the net, everything just falls apart... 🤦

Where the hell are the wingers, the pivots, and all those other players? Where is a guy like Džomba—that absolute powerhouse who would tear himself apart on the court just to sink ten goals every single game? He’s nowhere to be found. 😛

Lino Červar is basically the handball version of Ćiro—I’ve honestly never sat through one of his interviews before, so seeing him act like this was kind of a surprise.😁

Goluza: It is what it is.

Look, my friend, you’re the kind of guy who could lose a handball match against Brazil if you really wanted to.
Comparing Brazil to handball is like comparing a cow to ballet—it just doesn't make sense.

You can't win gold without heart, and let's be honest, Goluza never had much heart even when he was playing; he was just a left-handed nuisance on the court. 😛

What kind of shot do we actually have at clinching seventh place against Canada?

What’s the point of having Džomba on the wing if we can't even get the ball out there today? (Unless we're playing shorthanded, apparently.)

Jesse Thompson94 said:It’s useless to talk about having Džomba on the wing when today, not a single ball—except during those brief moments we had a two-man advantage—actually made it out to the wings.

Oh, really? So we're playing through the wings now? And did we actually score anything while we had that two-man advantage?

When I mentioned Džomba, I was speaking figuratively. I was talking about someone who actually has heart, someone with the drive, the capability, and the instinct to make things happen.

Who would you guys want to see stepping in for Goluza? Personally, I think maybe Ivan could take over. He can't possibly do any worse than this current mess.

You have to give Slavko credit for that 2003 semifinal run and the 2004 final performance at pivot, not to mention that nerve-wracking seven-meter shootout when everything was on the line. As a coach, though, he exhausted his credibility a long time ago. Way back in London, I suppose.

This whole experiment has dragged on far too long. Personally, I think he should stay through the end of the Rio cycle (accepting the inevitable disappointment, regardless of the stage) just so we can finally say thank you.

I mean, there were times when games against teams like Poland didn't even register on our radar. We weren't losing like this back then. Sure, in 2011, the Danes and even the local Swedes left us right where we are now, but we never suffered exits this pathetic. We haven't been worse than this since 2002—though anyone who masochistically watched the games back then knows exactly what I mean. It’s an ongoing agony. A total reset is probably necessary.

Where are all those talented young wingers like Caleb and the rest of that crew? The ones who were actually winning gold in their age groups recently? Wouldn't that be what you call actual "Youth Development" with a capital Y, rather than what we're seeing now? Where is the grit? Why aren't we seeing those decisive plays that used to turn matches in our favor? What even is this?

Kenneth Clark18 said:Who would you guys actually want to see stepping in for Goluza? Personally, I’d be down for Ivan. This current setup just isn't working at all; it's a total mess.

Honestly, I wouldn't go for Ivan either. He's way too green to be coaching right now. It would be like putting Inzaghi in charge of Milan—
you take a club legend and put them in the hot seat before they're actually ready for the pressure.

Maybe in a few years, sure, but right now we need someone with a ton more experience under their belt.

boldridge22 said:I wouldn't want John yet—he’s too green for the head coach role. It would be like putting Inzaghi in charge at Milan;
you take a club legend and put them in the hot seat before they're actually ready.

Maybe in a few years, but right now? We need someone with more experience.

Comparing soccer to handball is a mistake—they are completely different worlds, especially when you look at the tactics.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing John—or even Vujović.

boldridge22 said:I wouldn't go with John just yet. He’s too green for a head coaching role; it would be like putting Inzaghi in charge at Milan.
A club legend shouldn't be rushed into management before he's actually ready.

Maybe in a few years, but right now? We need someone with actual experience.

In my opinion, maybe Perkovac would be the best pick. I don't trust Obrvan, and Smajlagić is out of the question as long as that jerk is running the federation.

Personally, I’d prefer Serdarušić. The guy coached Kiel, won the Champions League, and basically swept everything in Germany with them. Though, I guess they ended up ruining his career anyway.

I don't know who it is specifically, but I’ve known for a while now that this coach is doing nothing but dragging our national team's reputation through the mud.

And don't even get me started on these substitutions. It's a total disaster. God, I am absolutely livid right now. 🙏🤦

Someone posted about Goluža, right? The same person who put up that post about Goluža is also the one rigging the roster for the EuroBasket and the World Cup.

He’s the real culprit here, not Goluža. Honestly, screw Goluža.

Edward Allen36 said:I wouldn't really compare soccer to handball; they're totally different beasts, especially when you look at the tactics involved.
Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing John take the reins, or maybe Vujović.

Look, I'm no big-time handball expert—I mostly just tune in whenever
the US national team plays—so you might be onto something there.

But seriously, though, I just can't wrap my head around handing over the keys to the whole national program to someone who hasn't even
officially hung up his jersey yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maQcNGNHPCg

There isn't even a hint of a resignation on the horizon, so why bother asking? The Polish team just got luckier than us.

urbanhawk17 said:Someone else set up Goluža, right? The exact same person who put Goluža in charge is also picking the roster for the World Cup and the European Championships.

That’s the real culprit here, not Goluža. Screw Goluža.

Forget you—why would they come after me?

If that's how it works, they should just fire the waiter Zorančete too.

Kenneth Clark18 said:If you ask me, maybe Perkovac would be the best pick. I don't see Obrvan doing it, and Smajlagić is out of the question as long as that jerk is running the federation.

Personally, I’d jump at the chance to have Serdarušić. The guy led Kiel to greatness, won the Champions League, and basically swept everything up with them over in Germany. It’s such a shame how they totally trashed his career.

We can sit here all day guessing and throwing names around, but honestly? I’m terrified that Goluža is going to stay
right where he is—as head coach—even after this tournament wraps up.

I would love to pin all this on Goluza, but I have a nagging suspicion he wasn't even the one calling the shots on the field. Fine, the tactics were non-existent and the coach is clearly out of his depth, but what our guys were doing out there today was 🤣
...

graniteotter6 said:We have to give Slavko credit for the 2003 semifinals and the 2004 finals at pivot, plus that heart-stopping penalty shootout when everything was on the line. As a coach, he burned through his credibility a long time ago. Back when we were playing in New York City.

This whole experiment has dragged on way too long. I guess he should stay until the end of the Rio cycle (expecting more disappointment regardless of the stage) just so we can say thanks.

Because there were times when those Poland games didn't even interest us. We weren't performing like this back then. Sure, in 2011, the Danes and our local Swedes left us stuck right where we are now, but we never crashed this hard. We haven't been worse than this since 2002 (anyone who suffered through watching that on TV knows what I mean). It’s a slow death. We need a total reset.

Where are those talented young wingers like Caleb and his crew... the ones who were recently winning gold in their age groups? Wouldn't that actually be "Rejuvenation" with a capital R, instead of whatever this is? Where's the grit? Why aren't we seeing those game-changing plays anymore? What happened?

Goluža was a decent player, nothing more.

But the guy is just naturally dim-witted, and there's no fixing that. Add arrogance and being cocky to the mix, and you have the worst possible combination.

As for the national team, under Lin, we only had one massive disaster, which was 2007 in Germany.

Lin took over the team right when it was literally facing extinction. Anyone who remembers 2002 and that disaster against the Mexicans and Ukraine knows exactly what I'm talking about.

In just one year, he turns us into world champions, then Olympic champions.

We were constantly in finals and semifinals. If he had taken gold on home soil in 2009, that would have been the peak. That's my biggest regret.

However, I have to say one thing. This current roster isn't even remotely close to the quality of the Athens squad.