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

Lino’s about to take handball into the fifth dimension. We’ll probably be playing this tournament without a goalie, just running seven players on the court at once.😁

The worst part is that this joke could easily turn into reality, especially since Lino has already hinted that he’s got a massive surprise waiting for the handball world.

It’s hardly a shock—those Scandinavian women pulled off similar stunts at the last European Championship. That kind of play might fly in the women's game, but in men's handball? I highly doubt it.

Honestly, I think Ivan could easily transition to playing field or even stepping in as a goalie.😁
Maybe we can help Lina cook up a whole new playbook for handball.
Got more ideas coming.😁 😁

Coach Lino Červar is planning to stick with seven players from the current "home" roster once this first training phase wraps up (Vukić, Kaleb, Horvat, Anušić, Bičanić, Duvnjak, and J. Valčić). He mentioned himself that he might add two more names to that list at the start of the second half of the preseason on December 26th. That's when the group of thirteen arrives: Šola, Alilović, Losert, Džomba, Vori, Sulić, Balić, Metličić, T. Valčić, Buntić, Dominiković, Vuković, and Špoljarić. Then, on the second day of the new year, the final overseas guys will join us straight from the NFL (Lacković, Zrnić, Špoljarić, and Jerković).

Buntic 🙄

Come on, let's hope Vukovic gets cut. But honestly, Buntic is the only right back available alongside Metlicic, so he's staying put. They look like they're in great shape out in Ormoz, but man, Vukas is playing over in Spain.

Besides, who exactly is Spoljaric going to take a spot from?

Nothing from Vukas, which means 😁 just wait until he snaps at J. Valčić because of Vuković 🤣 or Špoljarić 😲

Where is the prep?

And I really hope we don't see Horvat stepping in for Zrnić again..

It might be best if they just let Balić stay home; that way we can all rest easy without any unrealistic expectations. 😬
Then, once some medal actually drops, the madness begins. 👋 😁

That Spoljaric guy from Germany is totally ready, one hundred percent 😁

Šola says he’s going to defend 🙂

So, I guess you aren't allowed to talk to J. Valčić unless Slavko Goluza is there to supervise? And apparently, any chat with him has to be kept under 10 minutes? You can't even ask about the past? Plus, you have to give 24 hours' notice just to have a conversation?

What kind of absolute nonsense is this being reported in the news? 🤣

Here are the 24 players currently in the running for the EP:

Goalkeepers: Šola, Losert, Alilović, Jerković, and Somić (there might be more since we aren't 100% sure if Šola and Losert will be ready yet)

Backcourt players: Balić, Lacković, Metličić, T. Valčić, J. Valčić, Duvnjak, Vuković, Buntic, Špoljarić, and Dominiković

Wings: Džomba, Zrnić, Horvat, Sprem, Kaleb, and Vukić

Pivots: Vori, Sulić, and Anušić

frozentiger6 said:Buntic 🙄

Come on, get Vukovic out, I really hope he fails. But honestly, Buntic is the only right back available besides Metlicic, so he’s stuck here. Sure, they’re looking sharp in Ormoz, but man, Vukas is playing over in Spain...

Besides, who is Spoljaric even going to take a spot from?

Yep - Vukas > Buntic

In every single way.

I can't wait for this to finally get underway.

It’s high time we take a look back at our incredibly tough draw:

Group D:

Spain
Egypt
Czech Republic
Qatar

Group E:

Denmark
Norway
Canada
Angola

Group F:

USA
Russia
South Korea
Morocco

So, if we wrap up Group F in one of those top two spots, we'll be heading into a quarterfinal bracket that would probably look something like this: us, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

And honestly, I am not exactly thrilled about this Yoon guy scoring 18 goals against Germany in a single game.

If we’re going to get taken down by someone like Yoon, we might as well just skip the trip to Germany altogether.

Let's be real: this American squad is arguably at its absolute peak. We have deep talent in the net—Losert developed Bars, Alilovic is just waiting for his shot, I’ve got high hopes for Solin if he shows up in game shape, and Jerkovic is a solid keeper. Then you look at our wings; we've got four world-class players ready to go (I don't think Vukic signing with Chicago was an accident, and honestly, nobody ever doubted the talent levels of Sprema, Kaleb, Dzomba, or Zrnic). Add in two elite pivots and a gritty perimeter lineup, and we're set. Bicanic is already off the roster, but back in the day, we would've given anything for a player of his caliber since Lackovic never had any real backup. Now we have Valcic. You can't judge his current form just by looking at his stats from Torrevieje; they basically wrap him in athletic tape to keep him playable because he's easily the most dangerous guy on his team and one of the top left backs in the NBA.

I'm still a bit confused about this whole situation with Buntic, but hey, whatever happens, happens. I'm just hoping Metlicic gets his starting spot and sees the most minutes on the court.

Anyone heading out to Germany?

Is Buntic the only right wing outside besides Metlicic? 🤔

When it comes to the draw, the absolute priority is securing every single point to make it into the quarterfinals. Once you get there, you can actually afford the luxury of a loss.

There’s going to be some nail-biting tension, but I honestly think we’ll handle the Russians decisively. A matchup against Korea might be more of a headache, where things could stay up in the air until the final buzzer.

Basically, every team showing up to this World Cup is coming in a bit weakened. We’re the exception—we’ve got our full roster and we’re looking way sharper than we did during the last two tournaments in Tunis and Switzerland. We haven't played this well since Athens. At this point, the only thing that can screw us over is injuries.
Spain is pretty banged up; they're missing Rocas and Garabaye, and Romero is just hit-or-miss lately because he can't stay healthy. The Danes are missing key players again, and the Germans are struggling with injuries and have zero depth to pull from. The French seem to be the only ones without major issues. If anyone else doesn't step up like we did in Portugal, I see us fighting one of those heavy hitters in the semifinals.

Gregory Walker15 The user said:Is Buntic the only right-side wing besides Metlicic, or what? 🤔

Heh, Lino knows exactly what he’s doing.🤣

It looks like we’re actually going to run into the Spaniards and Danes before we even hit the semifinals.

Anyway, yeah, Buntic is the only right back available alongside Metlicic. We don't have Vukas, and honestly, I think he'd be a better option than Buntic. Even though the guy is playing out of his mind in Canada right now, I really hope he’s actually managed to get his head on straight. To me, he just seems a bit limited—maybe it's harsh to say, but there's definitely nothing going on upstairs. He's a total meathead; reminds me of Saracevic, but only in the sense that Zlatan was an elite scorer who couldn't do anything except smash shots into the net.
Take Lackovica, for example. They actually taught him how to play defense while he was over in Flensburg, mostly because the kid actually has some brains.

But hey, who knows? Maybe Denis has finally matured as a player. I can't help but feel that same old anxiety about Metlicic that I felt back when Denis was playing.