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

That’s it. Game over. 32-29.

frozentiger6 said:Poland is a powerhouse

Bielecki, Lijecki, and who else?

frozentiger6 said:Tunis is strong

True, if they're playing at home. Come on, that stadium is solid..

Serse Cosmi said:Bielecki, Lijecki, and who else?

And mid-tier Tkatczyk.

The rest - 🤣

Look, you're bringing up Korea and Czechia. In both of those squads, they really only have two guys worth watching: Jan Filip and that absolute beast playing in the Bundesliga.

Norway, Canada... they’re all just stepping stones for Poland.

frozentiger6 said:Well look, you're bringing up Korea and Czechia. Both those squads really just rely on two guys: Jan Filip and that powerhouse from the Bundesliga.

Norway, Canada—they're all just stepping stones for Poland.

But the Danes, Spaniards, and Russians are actually full squads... we've got four heavyweights in one group, while the other side of the bracket only has two. 🙂 Blah, whatever, it doesn't matter because we're going to beat them all anyway. 👍

Look, I’m not intimidated by the Danes, the Russians, or the Spaniards.

I caught the Spaniards playing against Norway a few nights ago. Sure, they blew them out on the scoreboard—but let's be real, Norway was basically playing a B-team. This Spanish squad isn't even a shadow of the team we saw back in Tunis and Switzerland. With Romero sidelined due to injury, he's basically soloing it, trying to dismantle pivots, while Urios is the only one scoring, and even he isn't playing at his old level. Their wing players are in a chronic slump, especially Juanin. They are going to miss Rocas terribly. Right now, they don't have a decent winger to speak of.
Their backline is pretty weak, too. Chema is playing center, but compared to him, Ruesga is a handball surgeon. Just my two cents—the Spaniards might disagree, but that's their problem.
And another thing: they rely way too much on Lozana and Garrald, both of whom have been dreaming about facing our American goalkeepers and our defense for years now.

Seriously, I'm not afraid of them. Maybe they're hiding an ace up their sleeve, but it's obvious they aren't in top form. They remind me of our own team right before the Switzerland match—there’s this palpable sense of defeatism hanging in the air.

To be honest, I’m more worried about Maximov than the entire Spanish roster.

In my opinion, the only teams that can truly give us trouble are the Germans and the French. And maybe—just maybe—those Scandinavians who always seem to be our kryptonite: Iceland, Norway, or perhaps Denmark. But that's only if we let them. Those guys know exactly how to capitalize when we have an off day.

frozentiger6 said:Pajovic and Vugrinec have officially checked out from the national team; they just don't have the drive anymore.

Hahaha!!!!!

What a joke. So they won everything there was to win, and now they can't be bothered to go battle it out with the national squad at the big tournaments? That's a hell of a way to put it. "Who's really running the show?" Please. They've had their run, and honestly, anyone could have taken them down if they actually tried.🤣 🤣 🤣

Serse Cosmi said:there wasn't even anything funny about the game today. just endless short passes and even more turnovers. anyone watching on TV probably saw the stats—our turnover count was pretty damn high, if you ask me.

It was actually a bit better today... especially once Pero finally gets his passing game together...

Lac pulled off a few solid passes to Sulic... which is definitely something we're going to need...

The goalies aren't half bad either...

It's just obvious the boys are still looking a little wiped out...
We were definitely sharper back when we played against Canada...

Adam Collins4 said:The goalkeepers aren't bad either...

I completely disagree. Our goalkeeping situation is pretty thin, especially with Jerkovich. Hopefully things improve before the World Cup.

goldenbison4 said:I have to disagree with that. Our goalkeeping situation is pretty thin right now—especially Jerkovich. Hopefully, they'll pull it together before the World Cup starts.

Look, what I meant was just that they aren't quite hitting the same heights as the previous squads... though, honestly, they aren't exactly terrible either...

Someone please point me toward a goalkeeper who’s actually pulling off ten-plus saves per game during preseason scrimmages.

Honestly, you almost never see that, barring a few outliers. Take Mirko, for instance—he might rack up 15 saves just because he's desperate to prove he belongs in the starting lineup, but generally speaking, a keeper's form follows its own weird, unpredictable schedule.

Finally caught Mirko in action yesterday. Honestly, I think he’s going to be our undisputed number one once Lozert gets back. Once he and the defense actually find their rhythm, we’re going to look even better.

Our keepers aren't doing anything to stop those shots from the wings—and if we stick with this 3-2-1 defensive setup, that's exactly where most of our shots should be coming from, assuming we actually hold the line in the midfield.

Mirko didn't really impress me. Sure, he’s huge with a massive wingspan, but he just doesn't project any sense of confidence.

Same goes for Jerkovic—he's constantly playing catch-up, diving on pure reflex rather than actually positioning himself, and he's a total non-factor on the wings.

The standout for me was Dominikovic; he's turned into a top-tier defender!!!

Does he inspire confidence? Not really. Personally, I’d take Jerkovich’s flyers over this guy any day. Losert still needs a few days of actual, real training before he even starts, and I highly doubt he'll find his rhythm in time.
That's why the defense needs to adjust to the keeper. We should run a 5-1 setup and just allow long-range shots. A 3-2-1 formation is basically useless here—everyone knows exactly who they're targeting with that look anyway.

Everything is going to work out. During training camp, Cervar has been strictly focusing on the defensive drills, while Keta has been running the offensive sets ( 🙄 )

As for Cervar, I’m not exactly his biggest fan, but you can't deny he knows how to set up a wall in front of the net. He even drew up the formation on a massive sheet of paper and hung it right in the middle of the gym so nobody would forget the game plan 😁

And don't even get me started on Keta's role as coach. Lord help us.

frozentiger6 said:It’ll all work out. During preseason, Cervar focused strictly on defense, while Keta handles the offensive drills ( 🙄 )

As for Cervar—I’m not exactly his biggest fan—but the guy knows how to build a wall in front of the net. He even drew up the formation on a massive sheet of paper and hung it right in the middle of the gym just so they wouldn't forget the game plan. 😁

And Keta playing coach? God help us.

We can play offense without a coach anyway. Keta is basically just there for the vibes. Everyone knows who the real conductor, the improviser, the magician is... 😁

Defense is the foundation. Everything rests on that.

Just realized I haven't put any money on our team winning the title yet. 😁

The best part of yesterday was that timeout when there were only 4 seconds left on the clock. Cervar is telling Alilovic who he should pass to, then suddenly Lackovic flies in from the side and tells Lina, "Just let it go, we'll improvise," and then they completely blow it—hehe

Our defense has never looked this solid!!!

By the way, it looks like Cervar has already written off Josip Valcic and Horvat.

Now he's stuck with twenty-one national team players to choose from, and he’s still deciding whether to take 18 or 20 of them.

Either way, seeing how much they're pushing Anusic is honestly starting to get on my nerves.

frozentiger6 said:Basically, Cervar has already written off Josip Valcic and Horvat.

Now he’s got twenty-one national team players to work with, and Cervar is probably looking at a roster of either 20 or 18—he hasn't made up his mind yet.

Either way, watching them push Anusic is making my skin crawl.

The kid's alright, I guess.😁
I bet Somic is written off too, so that puts us at 20, or maybe 19 plus Sola.