2007 Men's World Handball Championship: Germany Recap/Discussion

Man, I am seriously counting down the days until the World Cup.

Gold is basically already ours, and there's no way Lacković doesn't walk away with the top scorer title.

Man, Serse really gave them some solid wings. And that guy Juanin? He’s easily one of the best in the world, especially considering how small he is.

If nothing else, their left wingers are legit. Parrando is an absolute beast, and the same goes for Thomas. Someone once joked that Thomas should probably join a professional wrestling league, and honestly, looking at him, you can see why.😁

Unfortunately, Urios always seems to slip through the cracks, no matter who they're playing against. I just really hope he doesn't find his top form today.

We’re damn good... and we're gonna be sitting at the top of the handball world for a long time. What's coming after the Cowboy is unreal... you'll see.

We’re definitely the favorites for a medal... but we gotta stay sharp...

Someone put it perfectly—it’s not even really about the goalies... it's about the defensive line standing right in front of them...
I mean, look, no keeper is ever going to play at their absolute peak if they don't have a solid defense constantly putting pressure on the shooters and making their lives easier...
Handball has basically just turned into a game of pure positioning these days—nothing else matters—and when it comes to that, the defense is everything...

Gentlemen. I find myself somewhat perplexed by the philosophy behind Linine. Truly.

So much for being "handball experts," huh?

We could play defense perfectly—I don't care how good we are—but if these guys in goal aren't snatching 15 saves a game, we aren't winning. Either we win games only because our core starters play all 60 minutes, or we just burn ourselves out and limp into the quarterfinals exhausted, just like last time.

I never said our keepers weren't good. I said they aren't elite. They can't magically stop 15 shots if the defense isn't playing solid. You need those 5 or 6 top-tier guys who can pull off 15 saves regardless of what the defense is doing.

Charles Young11 said:Oh yeah, because we’re all such handball experts, right? Heh.

We could run the best defense in the world, but if our guys in the net aren't snatching 15 shots out of the air, we aren't winning—unless we spend 60 minutes relying on five or six superstars to carry us, which just leaves everyone dead on their feet by the time we hit the quarterfinals, just like always.

I never said our goalies suck; I’m saying they aren't elite. They can't magically stop 15 shots if the defense isn't playing solid. You need those top-tier keepers who can pull off 15 saves regardless of what the defense is doing, but that's not what we have.

Right, because you're clearly the only one who knows anything...
Look, someone like Shola isn't some "expert" at stopping fast breaks...
Or saving penalties...
Nobody—and I mean absolutely nobody, not even the most legendary keepers—can rack up 15 saves in a game if the defense in front of them is a sieve...
Even a 16-year-old kid with a decent shot can score on one of those "elite" goalies... maybe not every single time, but they can certainly do it...

And trust me, I've seen plenty of examples of that happening on the court.

Look, if you don't have a solid keeper, you might scrape by a final against Tunis, but you aren't standing a chance against Spain or France.

What does a great goalkeeper actually bring to the table? Just look at how Omeyer performed in this year's semifinals, or how Sola stood up against the Frenchmen back in Tunis.
Sure, having a strong defense matters, but let's be real: a keeper without a decent defense is just a sieve, and a defense without a reliable keeper is just an open door.

If Losert had been playing in his usual "I'll save everything today and be a total disaster for the next two days" mode, we wouldn't have walked away with gold in Athens.

You guys are already freaking out, and we haven't even hit the start of the WC yet.😁
Defense and the keeper have to be totally in sync; if one part of that duo fails, the whole thing falls apart.
The defense needs to force opponents into taking shots from impossible angles, which makes life way easier for the goalie and lets him settle in. Plus, when a keeper takes off his gloves, it boosts the squad's morale while getting under the skin of the opposing strikers.

It’s honestly hilarious watching Ivankovic go absolutely nuts in Germany. He just joined this new squad, yet somehow he’s already their standout player, and they haven't tasted defeat in four games. Before he showed up, they were sitting dead last in the standings.

The Bears barely escaped a total disaster just a month ago.

The joke is that Balic and Duvnjak are basically just tourists at this point—they aren't going anywhere.

I can't recall if I mentioned this to you all earlier, but I find myself quite unsettled by the philosophy behind Linine, truly 😁

Oh, they’ve actually found a cure for that one too. Kavran brought in none other than Vlado Stenzl to act as Linin’s mentor—basically to manage his ego and keep his philosophical nonsense in check. 😁

Anyway, if they have the sense to bring back Valcic, you'll finally see what a real, authentic 3-2-1 defense looks like, the way Vlado Stenzl used to run it. 😁

Jonathan Booth5 said:I don't know if I mentioned this, guys. But Linine's philosophy honestly creeps me out a bit, seriously 😁

If it wasn't for his way of doing things, who knows where we'd be right now. He pulled together a whole squad of pros and players, organized them according to his own specific vision, and always kept an eye on the horizon. Maybe some stuff doesn't make sense—like why he never uses a sub for the matchup against Peru or why Vori plays left undercover😁...but the man has our national team sitting right at the top of the global handball rankings, and nobody can argue with that. The results are there, and the future looks bright enough...

Hands down the most successful American coach
*even if I'm not a fan of him getting involved in politics😢

frozentiger6 said:Well, they finally found a cure for that. Kevin brought in none other than Vlad Stenzl to act as Lino's mentor—basically there to manage his ego and all that philosophical nonsense he keeps peddling. 😁

Anyway, if we get Val back, you'll finally see what a real, legit 3-2-1 defense looks like under Vlad Stenzl. 😁

I reckon the whole plan for this World Championship is just to let the competition run circles around us.😁
Let's hope Stenzl still remembers how things work. Setting up a 3-2-1 defense probably feels like rocket science to him at this point.😬

I reckon we're looking at getting our first keeper along the lines of Mirko Alilovic.

What's the verdict on Alilovic? Vanja, I'm looking forward to an extensive dissertation from you 😁

Young and green 😁

He’s definitely not ready to lead the squad just yet, especially since he’s only 21, but hey, maybe I’m being too cynical. We'll see how it plays out.
From what I’ve seen—and I’ve been watching this kid since he was 17, back when he was ripping 15 or 20 balls right out of the hands of Barca during their glory days—his reflexes are unlike anything I've ever witnessed. Just like how Sterbik is a total phenomenon at 280 pounds, this kid is his own kind of freak of nature with those reflexes and his six-foot-seven frame.

I suspect Losert will end up getting the edge over Lino. It looks like Alilovic is set to be our primary keeper for the next tournament. I have to wonder, though—how is Jerkovica actually playing lately? Do we even have anyone else in the pipeline?

We’ve got Kelentric available, but he won't touch the national team as long as Lino is calling the shots.

To say there's bad blood between those two would be an understatement. They just can't stand each other.

Then there's that kid Blazick—if I remember his name right—who was playing for Chicago last year. Personally, though? I think he's a total dud in the net.

At the end of the day, we just don't have a world-class keeper. Losert could potentially fill that role, but let's be real: sometimes he plays like he's made of Swiss cheese and can't stop a single shot for half a game.