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

The roster for the World Cup includes: Šola (Chicago), Losert (FC Barcelona), Jerković (Schaffhausen), Vukić (Agram Medveščak), Zrnić (Gummersbach), Džomba (Ciudad Real), Šprem (Melsugen), Sulić (Pivovarna Laško), Vori (FC Barcelona), Metličić (Ciudad Real), Lacković (Flensburg), Dominiković (San Antonio), Špoljarić (Pivovarna Laško), Balić (San Antonio), Duvnjak (Chicago), Vukas (Torrevieja), and Bagarić (Perutnina PIPO IPC).

who on earth is this Jerković? 😕 what about Bagarić? 😕 And putting Vukić on the left wing? 😕

🤔

Terzić is a straight-up generational talent.
His shooting is a little shaky right now, though, especially when he's forced to take shots from questionable spots.
Even Balić didn't have much of a shot selection back in his early days, so there's plenty of room for Terzić to level up his game.

And honestly, I had no clue the guy was actually from Mexico...

Most of our guys are looking absolutely sharp right now, pretty much across the board.
Lackovic dropped nine goals this past Sunday in Flensburg's loss, while Balic and Dominikovic are absolutely tearing it up over in Portland—Balic put up five along with a few assists, and Dominikovic notched five, including one from deep with Balic feeding him. Just imagine if we had Davor hitting those long-range shots. It’s tough to swallow, isn't it?

Then again, anyone who’s followed handball for more than a minute will remember who led the scoring back in Metkovica during that season they clinched the EHF Cup.

Vori bagged three for Barça, Vukas hit six for Torrevieja, Valcic had seven, Dzomba grabbed four, and Metlicic added six. All of that just this weekend. Zrnić is putting up three or four for Gummer; he’s playing great there, running alongside Sigurdsson and pushing the fast break like absolute maniacs.

Honestly, I can't wrap my head around how Davor and Dempa can be so dominant in their club offenses while looking completely lost whenever they suit up for the national team. In Celje, Dempa is a regular at left back, and he, Harbok, and Stojanovic are playing aggressive, attacking back positions. And they're doing it incredibly well.

Losert turned in a hell of a performance tonight.

He pulled off 20 saves, including three penalty shots.

frozentiger6, where’s the weekend report on the national team guys? 🙂

You've been playing it a bit too smooth lately 😬

Either you bring us actual news or just give us the gossip and transfer rumors 😁

This weekend was an absolute disaster, don't even get me started 😁

So, frozentiger6, what happened to you?

Still no updates—even after the first round of the Champions League wrapped up.

Or were they just absolutely terrible again? Heh.

Charles Young11 said:Man, frozentiger6, what happened to you...

Still no updates, even after the first round of the Champions League is over.

Or were they just absolutely terrible again? Ha!

You're kind of screwing with me here.😁

If people actually give a damn, they can go find information elsewhere.😛 It's pretty obvious nobody here gives a crap about handball.

So, the Super Cup is coming up. Anyone know if they’re actually broadcasting it on the local networks?

And the World Cup is creeping up fast too.

Scholl looks desperate—is he finally going to call up Alilovic?

There's plenty more to get into here if you've got the energy.

If Solomon is struggling this season, then Alilovic is officially washed 😁

He’s been invisible through the first five games. Saric is defending so well that Mirko can't even get a look in. We're all just sitting here waiting for Sarica to be struck by lightning or something 😁

Luckily, Losert is in incredible form, but the coach uses him every other game like it's some weird ritual. He’s got this bizarre rotation going where Losert and Baruffet alternate defensive duties—one game Losert plays 60 minutes, the next it's Baruffet, just cycling through. To be fair, everything Losert has faced so far, he's handled perfectly. In two out of the first five rounds, he was easily the best keeper in the league. I'm talking over 20 saves and stopping penalties too. Last night, I was watching Barcelona on my tablet against Valladolid; they were up by 4 or 5 goals, only for Baruffet to face zero shots in the final five minutes while Losert sat on the bench. Naturally, they ended up losing.
Vori is killing it right now—six goals and he's actually dishing out assists. Napadacki has fully matured, too; he's pushed Skrbic to the bench and is firmly holding down that pivot spot. Skrbic only gets in when Igor needs a breather.
In my opinion, Barcelona's real issue is their weak perimeter, and specifically the fact that they let Dominikovica slip away. Davor absolutely exploded in Portland; he's playing with that old energy he had back in Metkovica or Kiel, doing everything from offense to defense and even acting as a wing on the break 😁 we know how that goes, but it's interesting to watch.

Barcelona's defense is practically criminal without Davor.

As for the Super Cup, I'm not sure if it'll be broadcasted. I assume it will, maybe on ESPN+. My guess is they won't have Lackovica on the roster, so this might be the chance for Duvnjak or Bagaric to actually show what they can do at that position.
I just don't know who's going to play left wing. Sprem and Caleb are basically competing to see who can put on the most pathetic, miserable performance. Maybe we'll see Vori again. 😁

Looks like Dominic has become one of my favorites, haha

Duvnjak actually surprised me—maybe we can find a replacement for Balic in ten minutes flat

You’ll find out pretty soon enough just how much people on this forum actually care about David 😁

Honestly, I’m a fan too—especially when he moves from the center out to the perimeter. Makes things interesting, doesn't it? haha

Well, you'll see eventually 😁 he’s got his own little fan club running around here.

Look... Barcelona's defense is absolute garbage without their legend out there.
But Pamplona? They're gonna absolutely wreck them.

Barcelona has basically fallen off a cliff. They went from being this absolute juggernaut that used to steamroll everyone and make teams like Washington, D.C. look amateur, to just picking at scraps. The season has barely even kicked off and they’re already acting like the title is out of reach.

On another note, Gobac mentioned that everything is set for next season with Lazarov and Dzomba. We’re looking at Sola in goal, Caleb and Dzomba on the wings, Duvnjak playing center, Terzic on the left, Lazarov on the right, and Toskic at pivot. With a bench that deep, I honestly think they could take it all the way.

So, what's the deal with Todoric bringing in Balic?

Way to go, RK Chicago. Absolutely crushed those Russians.

silverstag19 said:So what's the deal with Todoric bringing in Balic?

That's a total joke. There is zero chance Balic leaves Portland anytime soon, at least not in our lifetime.

The guy is worth too much money. He’s built up such a massive status over there that he basically dictates when he plays, how he plays, and how much he plays. Working under a coach like Zupo—who everyone knows is a serious, authoritative leader—Balic basically has god status. Most players couldn't dream of having Zupo ask *them* for advice, but Balic? He can pull that off easily. He can get away with whatever he wants; honestly, the man is just in a league of his own.

frozentiger6 said:The price tag for kids is crazy. There's zero chance Balic is leaving Portland anytime soon, at least not in our lifetime.

He’s worth way too much money. He’s got such high status there that he basically gets to decide when he plays, how he plays, and how long he stays on the court. Working under a coach like Zupo—who everyone knows is a total authority figure—Balic is treated like a literal god. It’s unheard of for other players; they don't get asked for advice, but Balic? He can do whatever he wants. I mean, come on, the guy is just a legend.

But you also have to consider that his family moved back home to the States. And as for the cash, don't even worry about it—he's got Todoric backing him. If he could sink money into that wreck of a Hajduk team, he's fine.