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

cosmicjackal33 said:Look... everyone already knows you can't stand Cervar. Regardless of what people think, he’s the greatest coach in our handball history. Anyone saying otherwise isn't thinking straight. In 2002 we were dead last at the European Championship, then in 2003 and 2004 we became World Cup champions and won the Olympics with basically the exact same roster that finished last. They went from nothing to everything. Amen.

But honestly, 2002 was just the first year that squad really came together. You can't expect a miracle overnight; they needed time to build chemistry, right? Plus, we were stuck in a group with Mexico, Germany, and France, which was just 😲 for those kids. I remember we actually held a lead against France for a good chunk of the game, but even winning that would have been a shock—our guys were still finding their footing while France had veterans who had played together for a decade, guys like Richardson, Anquetil, and the rest of the crew. I recall watching the World Cup qualifiers in Portugal—I think we were playing Turkey—and seeing Cervar for the first time. My first thought was, "Look at this clown jumping around." 🤣 But look, Cervar is a legend, period. He might have lost some public support lately while coaching the left wing, but he still led us to the semifinals. 🙂 Five semifinals in a row! I don't think anyone else has ever pulled that off. 🙂 Personally, I wouldn't replace him yet. 🙂

Cervar is easily the most decorated coach in the history of American handball. He built this national team from scratch, taking a group of nobodies and turning them into champions, and you have to respect him for that. Sure, I could sit here and say, "Give me Balica, Lackovic, and Metlicica and I'll win a World Cup too," but let's be real—we aren't going to do that.
But at the same time, Cervar hasn't had a clear vision since Tunis. It's glaringly obvious that everyone has just fallen into his specific system, and now our squad is struggling even against much weaker teams. This is happening because for years, Cervar has refused to build any depth. He won't find replacements for the starters, who end up completely exhausted during the European Championship because there are no rest days like there are during the Olympics, for example. Unless Vukovic and Buntic are actually worthy successors, then I guess I was wrong.

Everything I say against Cervar isn't because I have some personal vendetta against him. Honestly, it bugs me just as much when things go wrong for him as it does for anyone else. I’m speaking up because I am convinced that if we actually had a decent bench, this team could dominate championships.
Maybe that's an ambitious expectation, but it’s realistic and entirely possible.

And as for Smajlagic—man, regardless of what you think of him, he's going to be coaching the senior squad after Beijing. What Cervar represents for the seniors, Smajlagic represents for the youth levels.

And how much does this famous World Cup actually matter to us? It’s pretty clear when you realize half the players don't even go, nor does Cervar. Instead, it's basically a "B-team" led by Smajlagic that heads out. Then people start looking for Smajlagic to blame, saying he "just stood there on the court." Well, what was Cervar doing in the semifinals in Switzerland? He was standing there on the court, too. Why? For the exact same reason as Smajlagic: when a coach tries everything in his arsenal and sees the team simply can't perform, what else is there to do besides stand there and watch?

frozentiger6 said:How much does this famous World Cup actually matter to us? It’s pretty obvious half the roster isn't even going—not even Cervar is heading there. Instead, it's just a B-team traveling with Smajlagic. And then you try to pin the blame on Smajlagic, telling him to "just stay on the court." What was Cervar doing in the semifinals against Switzerland? He was staying on the court too. Why? For the exact same reason as Smajlagic—when a coach tries everything in his arsenal and realizes the team just can't do it, what else is there to do besides stay on the court.

Throws a water bottle onto the court 😁

Screw these thieving refs (even if they are calling it fairly) 😁

Turns back to the team and yells, "They're robbing us again!" 😁

Picks up a red card 😠 plus another 2-minute suspension and walks off. If we somehow survive those 4 minutes shorthanded, then Udovicic jumps in, starts screaming, "Alright, let's go, show them what we've got!" 😁 and that's when the comeback begins. 👍

Look, Hasanefendic absolutely lost his mind against Denmark. Canada was getting hammered by five goals, and honestly, we can blame the refs for that too. Sead ended up getting a red card after he practically smashed the scorer's table—and this guy is supposed to be a respected authority in the handball world.

Do I even need to tell you that once Sead threw his tantrum, Denmark just rolled right over us and pushed their lead to +15?

At the end of the day, if you don't have the talent on the court, you can tear the whole arena down for all it matters. It won't change anything.

I agree, but you’ve got a hell of a roster—it’s just a matter of whether you stuck with the same starting seven the whole tournament. If you actually watched the quarterfinals, you'd see the top players can barely stand, let alone sprint.

And this is the third year in a row we're seeing this exact same thing.

The competitive spirit is finally kicking in; looks like the Slavs have even managed to claw their way up the rankings.

Tomorrow, we’re going head-to-head with John for 7th place.

Thank God I can't finish dead last anymore—if I could, I definitely would have.

Charles Young11 said:I agree, but it’s about having a squad—and what a squad it is. The real question is whether you’ve been running with the exact same starting seven the whole tournament. If you have, then you realize the top players just can't stand anymore, let alone run.

And honestly, this is the third year in a row we're seeing this exact same thing happen.

Or to put it more bluntly: you realize you might have a great roster, but you keep stubbornly pushing a strategy that simply doesn't work.

Look, I'm done. There's really no room for criticism against Cervar here. Regardless of how he's performing today or how he'll look tomorrow, the man accomplished something that nobody else could have, and frankly, nobody else would have even tried. So, I'm dropping it. I won't be going against him anymore.

Look... Cervar really dropped the ball during this Euro tournament.
And honestly, I’m questioning if even finishing 4th was a total fail.
The guy has barely scraped into the semifinals in five major tournaments in a row now.
Just think back to those five big events before this one.

Once again... despite making the semis... Cervar messed up. Anyone who actually follows handball knows that.
We’re better than both the Frenchmen and the Danes. There's no debate there.
But... we all know where the real issue lies. It isn't even Vori playing wing. The problem is we have zero backup for Metličić... and let's be real, Balić and Pero make up about 70% of this squad.
If Metličić has an off night, we're cooked... and when a player is grinding out 60 minutes for seven straight games, the math says he's going to hit a wall right at the finish line... especially since we know Pero is splitting time with Stefansson at the club level, so playing 60 minutes here is basically double his usual workload.

Either way... if we don't beef up the bench, we're just waiting for another late-game collapse.

Then again... these losses by our national team aren't exactly a disaster. Even the Spaniards were heavy favorites against the French, and they still got absolutely schooled...

Oh, you're right, Pero, playing in Switzerland was an entire different league altogether! 😁 Honestly, we don't have a single backup player on the perimeter to speak of.

People are already panicking, even though the World Cup isn't for another six months. It looks to me like we're heading toward a brutal two-week winter grind.
Besides, who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and face Portugal again. Only this time, let's try playing without Vori on the left, and perhaps we could even call up Zrnić. We really need to find someone to gel with the lineup instead of Kime—and obviously not Vori, because he belongs at pivot. Lino, are you listening...

Man, this is what following sports is all about! 🙏

Roger Allen3 said:God, this is exactly why we watch sports 🙏

Exactly 👍—if they actually pull off a win, then everyone can start claiming they could have done the same thing with a roster like this 😁

Charles Young11 said:Exactly 👍! And if they actually pull off a win, I'll be right there telling everyone that even I could do it with a squad like this. 😁

🙏 🙏

By the way, our guys lost to the Slovaks. Now they're playing for 7th place against Janes. Seen it a hundred times before. One team is just better than us, and we end up stuck in the 7th/8th spot.

Of course things are about to get absolutely brutal...

So, is Mirsad Terzić playing for Canada or is he going to represent the US? I caught him playing recently—he’s improved so much on both ends of the floor that it would be a massive waste not to have him on our side.

In my humble opinion, he’s the only player at that position behind Lacković who could actually be a real upgrade for us.

Word is out that Terzic is sorting out his paperwork to play for the US. It’s not even just a rumor anymore—he’s actually doing it. The only thing is, I have no clue when he'll actually be cleared to step onto the court. I can't even remember the last time he suited up for Canada.

From what I've gathered, his mind is made up. He’s at total war with the Canada federation; they keep trying to drag him and Alilovica into training camps, but the guy isn't even Canadian—he's from Mexico. Long story short, he's done with Canada. There's nothing tying him to them anymore, maybe just some old emotions. His life is in Chicago, and his family is in Mexico.

At the end of the day, if we don't get Terzic, our only real option in that spot is Blazevic, and honestly, that would be a total disaster.
Mirsad is definitely going to be just as good, if not better, than Lackovic in the near future. And if we're talking strictly about offensive play, he's got a real edge. You can't even compare them when it comes to defense, though. Terzic is already one of the elite defenders in all of Europe. He might not be in the same league as Dominikovica or Dinarta, but he's right there just below them. In my book, he’s probably the best player in Europe playing that aggressive 3-2-1 formation. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but that's how I see it. I haven't seen anyone quite like him since Valcic (and let's be real, for the last few years, it feels like we and the Mexicans are the only ones playing that style anyway 😁).

It looks like we're still scouting for bench depth over in Canada. Maybe they've got a decent right winger hiding somewhere 🙏

This guy isn't in Canada, he's in Chicago.

frozentiger6 said:He isn't in Canada, he's actually in Chicago.

Hey, he was in Chicago!🙏 We really need to get all this stuff recorded in the recap.🙏

Well, if you're forcing me to choose between Blazevic or Terzic, there you go. Good luck picking.

If the kid wants in, why not? You shouldn't have to beg anyone for a spot, but if he's feeling it...

The talent is definitely there.

Besides, guys like Jovic, Smajlagic, Saracevic, and Puc were the ones carrying the national team during the World Cup in Atlanta, and none of them are even from here.