Part 1: Grass Roots vs National Team Focus: Recent National Team Losses Should Raise Doubts on National Team Focus

Posted on May 30, 2014 by John Ryan

How does a club team in Guadeloupe beat a national team from the U.S.? Answer: It’s start with superior youth development programs.

This past April the USA Women’s National Team traveled to Puerto Rico where they played several matches. They lost twice to the Puerto Rican national team, beat the Puerto Rican junior national team and lost twice to French Guadeloupe’s top club team, Intrepide. Depending on your perspective these results could be considered as either totally disheartening or a sign of mild progression. If your perspective is that of an old timer you’re disappointed as Puerto Rico is a team that the U.S. would typically beat by 10 goals or more. If your perspective is more recent it’s a sign of mild progression as the Puerto Rican team is roughly equal to the U.S. and we were able to play competitively against them in their home country.

More interesting to me, however, are the the two losses against, Club Intrepide, and the contrast it presents. Most Americans probably don’t know much about France’s Overseas Departments: Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion Island. I, for one, was fairly ignorant about them until I lived in France and started following French sports more closely. France’s national handball and basketball teams have several players from these Islands far removed from France. And athletes from from these islands also play on a number of club teams in France. I saw this first hand in the over 35 basketball league I played in while living in Paris. Trust me, those guys from the Caribe can play ball and this tall American player knew he was in for a workout, but also thankfully for some Ti’ Punch after the match.

Still, Guadaloupe has only around 400,000 inhabitants and the town of Sainte-Anne where Club Intrepide is based has 23,000 residents. How does a small town with very modest living conditions put together a club that can beat the U.S. National Team? Well, there are probably a number of reasons, but I would argue that the underlying reason is that the tiny town of Sainte-Anne has a better organized and structured youth program than what the entire U.S.has put together coast to coast. Most likely the players on Club Intrepide have been playing since their early teens, if not earlier. Whereas most of the players on the U.S. weren’t introduced to the sport until their 20’s.

U.S. Women’s Team: Modest Progress or Regression?

In theory, with 318 million people the U.S. can overcome its lack of developed youth programs by finding and training top notch athletes regardless of age. And, superior athleticism can indeed trump skill and experience if the athleticism gap is big enough. But, that’s a big “if” and these recent results are a pretty strong indication that the U.S. isn’t overwhelming it’s competition athletically. Instead it is simply a continuation of less than satisfactory results seen in 2011 and 2013. And, while Rome wasn’t built in a day there should be an expectation of better results.

Even more concerning is a not widely advertised loss that the U.S. Women suffered against West Point at the Collegiate nationals. (I did not see this match, but heard one of the commentators mention it during one of the other matches.) I suspect that the U.S side had some very recent additions to the U.S. Residency program, but there’s still no excuse for ever losing to a collegiate team. Residency athletes are supposed to be the cream of the crop, training on a daily basis and should be able to overwhelm a collegiate side. Still, I will say it’s not the first time a Service Academy side has played a National Team close: When I was a cadet at the Air Force Academy we narrowly lost a close match vs the U.S. National Team. Thing is, though: I was on the Men’s club team and we lost to the Women’s National Team. (Maybe, this gives you some perspective as to where I’m coming from when I make an assessment that not one single player on the current USA Women’s team would have made any of our Olympic rosters from 84 to 96!)

Don’t Blame the Athletes

I’d like to make some perfectly clear. I do not, nor should anyone else, blame the athletes for their lack of success. They are a hard working bunch making a lot of sacrifices to improve their game. They’ve been given the opportunity to train full time at a Residency Program and they’re doing their best to make the most of it. Heck, in many respects as a former national team player with modest skills I really identify with them and their dreams.

Taking Stock: Are Residency Programs the best place to spend limited resources?

No, if blame is to be assigned that blame goes straight to the decision makers. And, basically the fundamental question is whether it is better to direct resources towards athletes chasing the 2016 dream or towards efforts that will improve chances for U.S. success in 2020 or 2024. As someone who’s a already expended quite a bit of time and energy addressing this question it’s fairly clear where I stand. Although, written a year ago little has changed to alter my position. In fact, it’s hardened as 2016 Olympic Qualification seems more unlikely now, the Auburn program seems to be a bit on the austere side and the prospect of a U.S. hosted 2024 Olympics seems even more likely.

Some might argue that resources directed towards 2016 also helps the out years, but the reality is that there’s minimal overlap at this point in time. This is especially true if you look at the ages of both the men’s and women’s team. The women’s program at Auburn is especially long in the tooth with many players in their late 20s. Even worse in what I’ll generously call highly questionable recruiting the U.S. has brought in several rookies that probably range in age from 24-29. (I say probably, because the U.S. Federation doesn’t list the ages of it’s athletes on its website and ages were deduced by internet searches for their last year of college.) If out year success is desired it goes without saying that this sort of recruit should be the very rare exception instead of the norm.

The U.S. Federation hasn’t provided much in terms of rationale for this spending decision other than that previous residency programs have resulted in most successful national teams for the U.S. A true statement, but one that neglects a number of “Yes, buts” to include:

That previous success wasn’t all that successful: No Olympic medals and zero victories over top European sides in Olympic or WC competition.
European leagues are far more professionalized now: Virtually every top athlete in the world is now training and competing regularly in a professional environment superior to the club and national team regimens of the past, further widening the gap between what the U.S. can do with a residency program.
Our competition in Pan America is now much stiffer: Grass Roots development in Latin America has resulted in stronger national teams, both technically and athletically. And, their top players are now playing for top European clubs.
More post college opportunities for collegiate athletes: Playing opportunities with decent salaries abound for 2nd and 3rd tier athletes in many sports making recruiting crossover athletes even more challenging.

Quite frankly, I am totally perplexed that smart people don’t look at these stark realities and come to the same conclusion that I have: That a Residency Program focused on crossover athletes in their mid to late 20’s has very little chance of success. That it is a huge drain on very limited resources. And, that other paths and possibilities need to be considered, carefully assessed and pursued.

What are some of those possibilities? In part 2 I will identify some options for consideration but, only after I first take a closer look at the current club situation and the state of grass roots development in the U.S.

Proposed new format for Champions League causes the expected uproar

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Christer Ahl

Champions League becoming the playground reserved for the rich and powerful?

For several years now, there has been a strong sense that the EHF Champions League for men has yet to find its ideal format. The approach used in recent years does allow for a fairly large number of countries to have a team involved, but the drawn-out group stage has tended to become a predictable and boring period with many meaningless games. So there has been a lot of pressure for changes.

And now there is a proposal which seems to be gaining momentum after a preliminary agreement between the EHF and the association of the European top clubs, the FCH. The proposal is to replace the current format, which has 24 teams in the group stage, with a top division with 16 teams and a lower division with 12 teams. The proposal has the support of the majority of the top clubs but far from everyone is happy with the idea. In fact, it is strongly resisted in many places.

The problem is that different countries have vastly different circumstances. Leaving out those countries which really do not have a champion who is competitive enough to participate, the other countries essentially fall into three categories: 1) those rather few countries who have a league with many evenly matched teams, with a different champion every year, and with a strong following among the fans; 2) several countries where one or possibly two teams dominate completely, perhaps by tradition but more likely because of vast differences in financial resources and access to top players; and 3) Germany.

The new format, which would have four more games than currently for the teams in the new top group, suits the teams from category 2 perfectly. This would be Barcelona, Veszprem, Croatia, Kielce and several others. They would love to have more games in Champions League, which matters much more to them than the national league. But the teams from category 1 are of course upset for two reasons. Several of them would be excluded from a top group with only 16 teams; and if they do qualify, then they have to play more such games at the expense of their national league which still matters to them.

But Germany is really the crux. Typically there would be four teams from Germany in Champions League who all have a good chance to qualify for the final four or at least to be in the quarter-finals. And by any measure, the German Bundesliga is by far the strongest national league. But it has one problem, which leads to stubbornness or selfishness in Germany and to resentment in the other countries. Bundesliga has 18 teams, but it is not the strongest because of that. Normally, there are 5-6 top teams, 5-6 other quite strong teams, and then 6-8 teams who are not of the same caliber. But all these teams, and other clubs who have a chance to qualify for Bundesliga, desperately want to keep the number at 18, so that they can have the chance to be in this top league.

Unfortunately, and for reasons that are not clear to me personally, the very top teams in Germany also resist a reduction from 18 to 16, perhaps out of some kind of national loyalty. It seems that the games that would disappear if the league was reduced would be offset by even more lucrative games in Champions League. And of course the many teams in other countries who like the proposed format think the Germans are selfish and resent the German attitude. I can fully appreciate that. But, while I see many advantages in a move towards a real ‘elite league’, I can also understand the attitude of those countries in category 1 who resist the whole idea.

In fact, they argue along the same lines as many currently do in the context of football. Recent voices have been heard with arguments that UEFA has really created a closed and unfair system, where year after year roughly the same teams from the same small number of countries monopolize the places in the group stage of the Champions League. By that time, most of the champions of the about 50 countries in Europe have long since been eliminated from the competition. Their chances are only theoretical. It seems that at the same time, football and handball have come up against this issue of basic principle: should there be a true ‘champions’ league’ or should we be moving towards some kind of ‘closed shop’ Euroleague for the rich and powerful elite. This is an important debate and a critical decision!

The legend, now in bookstores

Posted on March 14, 2014 by John Ryan

Svetlana Kitic in
action, and the cover of her biography

By Altay Atli

Handball biographies are a rare commodity, probably because publishers do not see any profits in this genre, or also because retired world-class handball players do not bother to put into writing their experiences and reflections on the sports. A recent exception provides a gem of story of a life devoted to handball.

The biography of Svetlana Kitic, a former Yugoslav handball player who is officially designated by the International Handball Federation as the “world’s best female handball player of all times”, is a must read for all handball enthusiasts. Titled “Ceca” after Kitic’s nickname, the biography written by Svetlana Vujcic, journalist and former teammate of Kitic, tells us the story of a woman who rose to the top against all odds, gave her all for the sports she loved and played at the competitive level for more than three decades. “There were good and bad days, tears, broken fingers, noses, jaws, but I would go through all that again”, says Kitic, “Handball is simply my life, the thing which fulfills me the most and makes me happy. If I wasn’t like that I wouldn’t have played it until I was 49. Yes, if I was born again, I would live my life exactly the same.”

The biography tells us actually two stories that are interwoven throughout. First there is the story of Kitic the legend, a handball player par excellence, who won a total of 21 club titles; silver and gold medal in the Olympic Games, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 respectively; gold, silver and bronze medals in world championships; and played a total of 202 games for the Yugoslav national team scoring more than 900 goals. Throughout the book, we trace her path, from the very early days in the Bosnian town of Tuzla when she “irresistibly resembled Pippi Longstocking”, to her beloved club Radnicki in Belgrade and on to clubs in Germany, Italy (where she was known as “Maradona in skirt”) and Spain before moving back home. We watch her developing a style, with her feints that break down the defense, her blind passes and bullet-like shots from the knee level sharply to the upper corners of the goal. We watch her perfecting her games, winning games and hearts, sometimes also making “the dumbest mistake, ruin the game, miss a goal many times” but “never tolerating surrender and lack of competitiveness.” Her exploits with the Yugoslav national team provide us with an in-depth overview of not only a successful athlete’s career, but of the history of European handball itself.

Then there is the other story: Kitic the human. What is a perfectly functioning and merciless goal-scoring machine on the handball court has a human face on the outside, with all her desires, fears, frustrations and, well, love affairs. Kitic got married four times and we see in the book that her relationship with her partners have frequently gone through turbulent times. Adding to this, the problems she had with clubs and the federation, with individuals in the handball world, financial troubles and externally induced situations such as the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999, we see Kitic trying to stand on her feet, never giving up, and surviving to score another round of goals in the next match. Whenever she needs solace she finds it in two places: her children and handball: “Handball didn’t take anything from me, fooled or deceived me, like people are capable of doing. It gave me everything in the world, and by making magic, it made… me.”

Kitic’s is a life of ambition, struggle and endurance. It is a life of handball. As Serbian coach Milorad Milatovic wrote, hers is a “story about the greatest female handball player of all times, the mother of three, wife and grandmother, the story about a great woman.”

A personal note: Zhongshan, southeast China, the year is 1999. The World Junior Women’s Handball Championship is in progress. Turkey and Yugoslavia are in the same group. Svetlana Kitic is the manager of the Yugoslav team, and the author of this article has the same job with the Turkish team… A talk I had with her, over a cup of rice wine, has been an amazing lesson for me on handball and life. It has been a real privilege, but for those who haven’t had it, the book, which is available in both English and Serbian, is recommended.

And a question to readers: Handball biographies, though they do not exist in large numbers, are/can be a source of both knowledge and inspiration for handball lovers, especially for young players. So, dear reader, whose biography would you like to read the most?

Pivotal USA – Puerto Rico Match likely to determine nonqualifier

Posted on February 27, 2014 by John Ryan

The North American and Caribbean Men’s Handball Championships will qualify 4 teams for this summer’s Pan American Handball Championships in Uruguay. With 5 nations participating this means only 1 nation won’t punch their ticket for Uruguay. There’s still quite a few games to be played, but with Puerto Rico having lost their first two matches by large margins they appear to be the weakest team. Mathematically, there best hope is a win today against the U.S. which is the only other team without a victory. The U.S. lost 21-15 against Cuba in its only match so far. Following a 13-5 deficit in the first half the U.S. played much better in the 2nd half, actually outscoring the Cubans 10-8. Based on that performance the U.S. should be able to get a win and all but punch their ticket for Uruguay.

Match time is 5:00 PM (U.S. Eastern Time) and will be streamed live at the link below.

Tournament Standings: Link

Webstreaming website: Link

Youth action in the Mediterranean

Posted on February 26, 2014 by John Ryan

Egypt won the Mediterranean title, beating Tunisia

Guest columnist, Altay Atli, is a lecturer in international relations and economics based in Istanbul, Turkey. Altay is a former handball player, a former handball manager, a former handball journalist and forever, a handball fan. His work involves a considerable amount of travel and the opportunity to see handball played in many parts of the world. In this article he reports on the recently completed Mediterranean Handball Championship and its emphasis on youth development.

Last week, Chieti, a small town in Central Italy a few miles away from the Adriatic Sea, hosted the Mediterranean Men’s Handball Championship. Eight countries littoral to the Mediterranean, namely Cyprus, Egypt, France, Italy, Libya, Montenegro, Tunisia and Turkey, took part in the event, which was won by Egypt after a penalty shootout thriller against Tunisia (36:34). The championship went largely unnoticed in international sports media, something that can be attributed to the fact that the championship was for under 17s. However thanks to the live streaming provided by the organizers a large audience could enjoy the quality of handball played in Chieti.

This championship makes us rethink the feasibility and the merits of regional events that include participants from more than one continental federation. At professional level international handball, each continental federation has its own busy schedule, which, when global events such as the world championships and the Olympic Games are also taken into consideration, seldom leave any space for regional events in a tightly packed calendar. This is why events like the quadrennial Mediterranean Games fail to attract the crème of the region’s handball to their ranks. Given the hectic schedule of professional sports, developed handball countries either prefer to take their reserve teams to such events or they do not participate at all. The most recent version of the Mediterranean Games, held in June 2013 in Mersin, Turkey, illustrates this trend. In the men’s competition, which was won by Egypt, handball giants like France and Spain did not even take part, while in the women’s competition, which was won by Serbia, developed countries (such as France) either did not participate or competed with junior teams. For instance, from the 16 players Serbia had in Mersin, only five made it to the roster that played the final of the World Championships in December.

In other words, at the senior/professional level, regional events such as those organized in the Mediterranean, do not offer a bright prospect. However, at a lower level, they can be meaningful. The Mediterranean Handball Confederation, which operates since 2003, organizes the Mediterranean Championships on an annual basis for both men and women, and these events are, as the web site of the confederation suggests, “preferably reserved to young athletes.” If the focus had been on senior teams, both the confederation and the championship could have been doomed to irrelevance in the face of the increasingly competitive and commercialized environment of professional handball. By targeting the youth, however, they can serve the sports in other, more purposive ways

First and foremost, the Mediterranean Championship can help the development of handball by providing talented young players with the opportunity to gain international experience. In Chieta, all the players, and particularly those from countries like Libya and Cyprus which do not have strong national competitions, gained high level competitive experience, while some of them including Egypt’s Hassain Anis, Tunisia’s Ghachem Oussama and Turkey’s Halil Ibrahim Ozturk, managed to win international recognition thanks to their successful performance. In the meantime, the championship also offered a platform for young referees to make a debut in international handball. The final match was umpired by the young Italian couple Francesco Simone and Pietro Monitillo, who are on EHF’s candidate referees list, and together with two more couples from Italy, two from France and one each from Turkey and Tunisia, they have taken an early important step in their careers. In brief, the Mediterranean Championship contributed and is likely to continue to do so for the development of handball by giving young players and referees the opportunity to perform at the international level and enter the spotlight.

Youth handball development in the Mediterranean is also important at a different level. The region in question has been going through a difficult period. Southern Europe is still suffering from a financial crisis and youth unemployment is a painful fact of this region. Northern Africa is undergoing a transformation in the post-Arab spring period and the youth is at the center of this process as well. The Asian coast of the Mediterranean, not represented in Chieti, is currently the most problematic part, with the civil war going on in Syria without an end in sight. Empowerment of the youth is a vital requisite for restoring stability in the region, and youth interaction through sports, culture and education, both within and between countries, is the key here. Handball cannot create miracles in this respect, but its contribution can be useful.

Handball in Hong Kong

Posted on February 12, 2014 by John Ryan

Hong Kong
team taking on China in the Hong Kong International Handball
Championships

Today’s guest columnist is Altay Atli, a lecturer in international relations and economics based in Istanbul, Turkey. Altay is a former handball player, a former handball manager, a former handball journalist and forever, a handball fan. His work involves a considerable amount of travel and the opportunity to see handball played in many parts of the world. Hence, this article on handball in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong appears to be all about skyscrapers, financial centers and noodle shops, yet there are many other faces to the city-state, including its citizens’ keenness on and its government’s support for Olympic sports. Although handball is not a crowd drawer, at least for now, growing interest in our sports makes it likely for Hong Kong to be more visible on the international handball scene in the near future.

Handball arrived in Hong Kong during the early 1970s with students returning home from Taiwan. The league was launched and the national teams were formed in the 80s. It was in this period that both men’s and women’s national teams have competed in the Asian Handball Championship finals, an achievement that could not be repeated after 1989. After a period of hibernation, handball in Hong Kong is now back on the rise. National teams do not make it to the Asian finals, which are significantly more competitive compared to the 1980s, but they are recently obtaining good results in the international events they are taking part. One such event is the National Games of the People’s Republic China, which is kind of mini Olympic games where the provinces of China compete. Hong Kong, as a special administrative region within the People’s Republic, is taking part in these games, and in last year’s version held in Liaoning, the men’s handball team was ranked seventh, an important achievement considering the improving quality of handball in the mainland. The Hong Kong International Championships, held annually since 2001, provides another platform for the national teams to compete against international opponents, and so far strong handball countries such as Germany, Slovenia, Korea, Japan and China, as well as developing ones like Iran, Mongolia and the French region of La Reunion have taken part in this competition, enabling the teams of Hong Kong to gain international experience.

Handball leagues in Hong Kong are well organized providing the athletes with the opportunity to play as many matches as possible. There are currently four divisions in the men’s competition, and three divisions in the women’s, each division being composed of ten teams. A total of seventy teams for a small city-state of the size of Hong Kong is a significant number. Teams are made up of amateur players from Hong Kong, as well as expatriates and exchange students from European countries. Leagues run from October to April, and they are played in multifunctional indoor sports facilities as well as an outdoor court used solely for handball games. Having adequate facilities is important in Hong Kong, where space is one of the most precious commodities.

The Handball Association of Hong Kong, China (HAHKC) is the organization responsible for the development of the sports in the city-state. The association is funded by the government and its plans for the development of handball are based on two main pillars. One is the development of the player base through a systemized and well structured plan for different age groups, and the other is the attraction of larger audiences through beach handball.

The development plan of HAHKC starts with the elementary training program for kids aged 12 and younger, and the intermediate training program for under 15s. Around one hundred school children are enrolled in these programs each year through a scheme financed by the Hong Kong government. Successful athletes are promoted to district programs from where they are selected into the young athletes training program for the age group between 16 and 19. After a competitive process, better players are taken into regional squads, which undertake overseas training camps every year, such as the one in Korea in 2013 and the one in Taiwan in February 2014. These squads form the player base from which the junior and senior national teams are selected.

This hierarchical structure offers a well-designed system for choosing talents and developing capabilities and skills. On the other side of the coin, beach handball is the instrument used to breed interest for the sports among Hong Kong’s citizens. In 2013, Asian Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships were held in Hong Kong, not on the sandy beaches of the Lantau island, but on a sand filled court right at the center of the buzzling town. It was a wise decision by the HAHKC, which chose to take the game to the people. A total of two thousand spectators watched the event, where the men’s competition was won by Qatar, and the women’s competition by Thailand. Hong Kong ranked fifth in both competitions.

This year the team of Hong Kong was invited to the Asian Men’s Handball Championship in Bahrain, but it could not make it there due to financial problems. Similarly, funding is needed for Hong Kong’s handball teams to compete in the XVII Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea this October, but so far prospects seem bleak. HAHKC officials point out that the government’s priority is to finance “sports for all” instead of competitive events. But perhaps, at the current stage of development, this approach serves handball better. Financing young players’ build-up is definitely more crucial for the future of the sports in Hong Kong and in time sponsors can be expected to enter the scene. Until then, Hong Kong needs to continue to implement its development plan and to gain more supporters through attractive events like beach handball. “We want to play more games with teams from other countries” says Chan Ming Hong, sports executive of HAHKC, “we want to learn more.” So far it has been a successfully pursued learning process for the handball community in Hong Kong. Expect them to do more.

Qatar defeats Bahrain in a dramatic final

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Christer Ahl

Rivals Qatar and Bahrain in a tough battle

Qatar were clearly the favorites in the Asian Championship, considering their recent progress and the special efforts they are making to have a strong team when they host the World Championship one year from now. And they lived up to expectations throughout the event, winning all their group matches with large margins and then defeating Iran in the semifinal.

But in the final they had to take on the home team, Bahrain, who probably had been the main surprise of this championship, for instance by winning their group ahead of Iran, Korea and Saudi Arabia. In the semifinal, the Bahraini had easily defeated the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain’s success has been made possible by strong efforts especially by the brothers Jaffar and Mahmood Abdul Qader. The final, where of course the Bahraini had strong crowd support in the fight against their rivals from Qatar, it was a very close encounter up to the very end. But to the frustration of their supporters, the Bahraini fell by a one-goal margin, 26-27, after 14-14 at half-time. It was a real battle, with tough methods and lots of provocations from both sides. A difficult job for the referees, but apparently a solid performance by Johansson/Kliko from Sweden.

As I reported earlier, the semi-finalists were already gaining spots in next year’s World Championship, regardless of the final ranking, where Iran today secured the bronze medals by winning against the U.A.E. The perennial top teams in the Asian continent, from Korea and Kuwait were a disappointment. As I have indicated, Korea failed to reach the semi-finals by the smallest of margins and got the fifth place by defeating Saudi Arabia in their final match. Kuwait placed seventh by beating Oman. But the real fiasco concerns the ranking of Japan in ninth and China in eleventh place, Japan has probably never before had such a weak showing, and China clearly has not made any progress following the Olympic Games. Should one draw the conclusion that the hegemony of the East Asians is now over, and that the Gulf States has once and for all by-passed them.

Looking ahead to the 2015 World Championship, almost half the field is now determined: Qatar; Spain (as defending champions); France, Denmark and Croatia from Europe; Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt from Africa; and now Bahrain, Iran and the United Arab Emirates from Asia. Nine of the remaining thirteen slots will go to the winner of the European play-off pairings in June, three will be determined in the PanAmerican Championship in Uruguay in June, and one place is for the winner in Oceania.

Bahrain determining the fate of Iran and Korea

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Christer Ahl

Bahrain’s failure to win the game gets Iran a place in the World Championship

When I have followed the Asian Men’s Championship closely in recent days, I have seen it coming: the opportunity for suspicions of ‘orchestration’ on the final day of the preliminary groups. And today the scenario was as intriguing as it possibly could be. In the final game in its group, the Bahraini had it in their hands to ‘decide’ whether Iran or Korea would join them in next year’s World Championship.

The background is that three teams qualify, in addition to Qatar, who are the hosts for the 2015 World Championships. With the format now being used in the Asian Championship, this means that the top two teams in each preliminary group qualify not just for the semifinals but also for the World Championship. This is because Qatar is the superior team and is already through to the semifinal from their group prior to the final game tomorrow.

In the other group, the top teams appeared to be Bahrain, Iran and Korea. Iran and Korea tied, 24-24, on the first day. Then Bahrain beat Korea 26-25 two days ago. So from a Korean perspective, today they first needed to win against Saudi Arabia, which they did (28-24), and then they were in the very awkward position of needing to trust Bahrain to defeat Iran. A tie would mean that Bahrain would still win the group and avoid Qatar in the semi-finals, but above all it would mean that Iran would get the second place in the group on better goal difference than Korea.

One can imagine the frustration felt by the Koreans. On several occasions in the past, they have suffered the consequences when some of the West Asians have ‘ganged up’ on them. One just needs to remember the fraud that was perpetrated against the Koreans in the qualifying event for the 2008 Olympic Games. So surely Korea would have reasons to be suspicious. On the other hand, given that Iran is seen by the Bahrain government as the culprit, when the Shiite population in Bahrain is revolting against repression from the Sunni minority regime, one would wonder why a Bahraini team would feel encouraged to give a helping hand to precisely Iran.

But the final result of the Bahrain-Iran game will clearly raise some eye-brows, because the outcome was 30-30, after a 17-14 half-time lead for Bahrain. Of course, the two teams seem relatively evenly matched, so such an outcome could be just a fluke. And judging from reliable reports, there are no indications of manipulation. The Bahraini really seemed to be determined to win the game until the very end. One must hope that this is also the way it was viewed by the Koreans, and that they instead blame their own inability to defeat Iran in the opening game. A flare-up of overt geopolitical fights and accusations is not what the handball world needs.

Championships in Africa and Europe: ‘Déjà vu’ all over again…

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Christer Ahl

The Algerians celebrate the victory of their men’s team

Europe

When a few days ago I predicted that Croatia, Denmark, France and Spain would move through to the semifinals, I was almost hoping that I would be wrong. An event needs some surprises to have real spark, but no other team was capable of causing any upsets towards the end. Poland came back from a weak start in the tournament, but it was not enough. In the fifth place game they lost against Iceland, who confirmed their remarkable ability to stay in the top group year after year. Sweden collapsed in the key games, and the young Russian team did not have the power and experience to make it all the way.

So in the semifinals, we had some rather thrilling match-ups, with Denmark being pressed by Croatia but holding on for a 29-27 win. The Croatians complained about everything being orchestrated to ensure a Danish win. Perhaps the Croatians have forgotten about the World Championship 2009 when they were the hosts and everyone else complained in the same way; not to mention 2007 in Germany which was even more flagrant. That is, whether we like it or not, part of the home court advantage. In the other semi-final we saw a real ‘roller coaster’, with France prevailing 30-27 against Spain. The bronze medal game was the usual kind of anticlimactic affair, with Spain finding slightly more inspiration and winning 29-28.

But who had expected that the final, in front of a fanatic Danish crowd, would become even more anticlimactic? And that we would have ‘déjà vu’ not just in the sense that the French would win their third European title, but that the Danes would collapse in much the same way they did in the World Championship final in Spain last year!? France pulled away with a 13-4 lead en route to a 23-16 half-time result. At that point, they had scored 23 goals on 26 shots, whereas the Danish attack looked desperate and unimaginative. The second half saw France play tactically smart, keeping the lead to between six and ten goals. In the end, all the back-up players got their chance to be on the court, and the result was 41-32 at the final whistle.

Referees in the final were Raluy/Sabroso from Spain, who had their international break-through three years ago when handling the World Championship final in Sweden. As I saw a former colleague put it in an interview: “they may not make fewer mistakes than other couples, but their style and personality make them more convincing”. Yes, a big part of the referee job is indeed to ‘sell’ your ability and your decisions!

In terms of qualifying for the World Championship in Qatar 2015, all the four teams in the medal games are now qualified. Nine slots remain for Europe, and in the draw for the ‘one-on-one’ qualification battles we got some really intriguing match-ups! The referees will really come under pressure in many cases. What do you think about Poland vs. Germany, or Greece vs. FYR Macedonia, or Hungary vs. Slovenia, and even Russia vs. Lithuania!? The other games may not be such ‘hot potatoes’ from a geopolitical standpoint, but there are no really easy ones among Austria-Norway, Romania-Sweden, Serbia-Czech Rep., Montenegro-Belarus, and Bosnia/Herzegovina-Iceland.

Africa

In Africa, the outcome was, if anything, even more predictable in terms of qualifying for the 2015 World Championships. Perhaps it was not so obvious that Algeria’s men would come out of top, ahead of Tunisia and Egypt, but surely these were the three favorites. Angola was the remaining semi-finalist. Among the women, we will see exactly the same three representatives from Africa in the 2015 World Championship as in 2013. But it may have been a bit of a surprise that Tunisia would be the winner, ahead of Dem. Rep. of Congo and Angola. The key here was a dramatic overtime win in the semifinal for Tunisia over Angola. The home team Algeria was the remaining semi-finalist.

PODCAST: Interview with Handball Commentator, Paul Bray

Posted on January 23, 2014 by John Ryan

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:09 — 6.0MB)

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Paul Bray, the dean of English language handball commentators

If you’ve been watching the European Handball Championships online you’ve surely heard commentator Paul Bray’s distinct voice and delivery. You may not be aware, though, that Paul has been a handball commentator now for 25 years. Back in 2007 at the Handball World Championship in Germany I sat down to discuss his handball background and how he got started as a handball commentator. We also talked a bit about the then nascent development of handball online web streaming. Six years later with every match of the European Championships coming through with pretty high quality video and English commentary Paul’s predictions have come true. (Interview is 13 minutes)

Side note: On many occasions in the past I’ve chastised the EHF for making it very difficult for fans to access on demand matches without first learning the outcome of the matches. Dead giveaways in the past have included pictures with smiling players being interviews and trophy hoisting celebrations. So far, with the nondescript Youtube channel it’s been fairly easy for a fan like me who can’t watch matches live to remain oblivious to the outcome prior to watching. (Yes, in my little world I’ve got some key final main round matches to watch yet.) Intended or not, thanks for doing this and here’s hoping there isn’t a change in the current posting strategy.

Euro 2014 Full length matches and highlights (on demand): Link

Championships all over the world

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Christer Ahl

Qatar 2015 is the goal for the top men’s teams in all the continents

The preliminary round of the African Championships for men and women finished today, even if almost all of the teams advancing to the semifinals were known already yesterday. On the women’s side, I had suggested that the main question was which other team would join the three recent World Championship participants in the semifinals. Not surprisingly the answer is Algeria, who were able to use the home court advantage. They won their group ahead of the team from Dem. Rep. of Congo. In the other group, Angola and Tunisia dominated, with Angola coming out as the winner (25 -19) in today’s encounter between the two. This makes for an intriguing semifinal between Algeria and Tunisia, and the other semifinal is then Dem. Rep. of Congo against Angola. The fourth-placed team will not qualify for the World Championship.

On the men’s side, Egypt and Tunisia were through to the semifinals prior to today’s game between the two, which Tunisia won by 26-20 after a commanding 15-7 lead at half-time. These teams had easily won against all their four group opponents. Third place in the group went to Cameroon. In the other group, Angola had defeated Morocco in the very first game, but then they surprisingly lost against Dem. Rep. of Congo. So today Angola first needed to beat the ‘other’ Congo, which they did convincingly (38-29), and then they needed to hope that Algeria would defeat Morocco. This also happened, as Algeria pulled away to 26-19, after 11-11 at half-time. Judging from the group results, Morocco was never really convincing; and as I wrote a few days ago, it may be good for African handball to have a Sub-Saharan team come through on the men’s side. The semi-finals will now be: Algeria-Egypt and Angola-Tunisia. The top three will go through to Qatar 2015. Algeria-Egypt promises to be a hard-fought battle.

In the European Championship, the teams in the Main Round groups now have one game left on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Denmark is already through as a group winner to the semifinals from Group A, while Iceland still has a chance to knock Spain out of the other semifinal spot. But this would require both a win for Iceland against Denmark and a loss for Spain against FYR Macedonia. It seems to me that Spain is too strong to allow that to happen. In the other group, the results today meant that France is already the group winner and that, on Thursday, we will have a Croatia-Poland game which directly decides who will be second and third in the group. Sweden had seemed to have a chance, but today they had a complete mental breakdown against Poland, following the near collapse against Russia two days ago.

And before competitions come to an end in Algeria and Denmark, the 16th Asian Men’s Championship will get started on Saturday in Bahrain. Twelve teams will be competing, initially in two groups of six. Three teams will qualify for the next World Championships in January 2015, but as this event will take place in Qatar, it means that the hosts have a spot guaranteed. Undoubtedly, the Qatari will still see it as a matter of prestige to do well now in Bahrain, and they are probably the favorites. But it takes a little bit of pressure off for all the other teams who could qualify even if they come in fourth. The format of the event means that the key is to come in first or second in the group and qualify for the semifinals.

Group A: Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Bahrain. Group B: Qatar, Japan, U.A.E., Kuwait, Iraq and Oman. Group A has the three top seeds as the main contenders, as China does not seem to have progressed since the 2012 Olympics. The host team from Bahrain will have a tough time. Group B might look just slightly easier, but a tough fight seems to be looming between Japan and Kuwait. On the basis of recent results, U.A. E. may also be capable of a surprise.

The IHF is providing support for both the African and the Asian events. In Bahrain, there are two referee couples assigned, Johansson/Kliko from Sweden and Pichon/Reveret from France, under the supervision of the Referee Committee member Ramon Gallego. In Algeria, ten African referee couples are reinforced by Cacador/Nicloau from Portugal, under the leadership of Manfred Prause, IHF/PRC President and PRC member Roland Buergi.

EURO 2014: All set for the main round without major surprises

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Christer Ahl

The Serbs can only watch when the French knock them out of the event

The preliminary group matches have now been completed and we can look ahead to the more interesting part of the event. Yes, there were some last-minute fights to avoid the fourth place in the groups and an early departure for home. But at the top of each group, with maximum points brought forward to the main round, we find the four favorites Denmark, Spain, France and Croatia.

Denmark had a relatively easy time, while it was a more close call among the other three teams in the group. However, from the outset it became clear that the Czech team really was not up to the level of its golden days some decades ago. By contrast, the Austrians confirmed the observations from recent months that the have made good progress. In the neighboring group, the reigning world champions from Spain were dominant. Iceland show the effect of missing some key players, and Hungary also failed to impress, but on balance both these teams were strong enough to hold off a very young Norwegian team.

Group C had France as the favorites, but the many injuries and new players on the team had made some observers speculate about a possible surprise. But the French seemed solid (and even had nicer uniforms than the traditional ones…) and won all their games. In my preview I described Russia as the team to watch out for, and their new generation of players with a modern style coach came through, at the expense of the Serbs who were very pale compared with when the played for the home crowd. To nobody’s surprise, Croatia and Sweden were the top teams in group D, with the Croats coming out on top. Belarus managed to beat Montenegro in the game for the final place in the main round.

It is now easy to believe that the four group winners, starting out with four points each, will also be the favorites for the places in the semi-finals. The key games Denmark-Spain and France-Croatia come right at the beginning of the main round. But even the loser in the Denmark-Spain game should be able to hold off the other teams in the group. And it is difficult to imagine that Sweden or Poland should be able to displace the loser from the France-Croatia game. So while the games may be more even and interesting in the main round, chances are that the fight for the semi-final spots will not be so exciting.

The referee performances have been a bit uneven so far. Some of the veteran couples have been unconvincing and some of the couples whose nominations seemed marginal have not been able to justify their nomination. It has been a bit frustrating to see that some decisions seem to come in ‘autopilot’ fashion, without the necessary ability to distinguish between serious fouls and smaller infractions which are exaggerated through ‘theater’ by the ‘victim’.

African Championships – Men and Women

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Christer Ahl

The competition in Algeria is about to start

While handball Europe is focused on EURO 2014 which just got underway, the African continent will start its championship tournaments in Algeria on January 16. This event, which is the 21st of its kind, combines the men’s and women’s competition and serves as Africa’s qualifying event for the World Championships in 2015 (hosted by Qatar for men and Denmark for women).

The African continental handball federation (CAHB) has 50 members, but only about a dozen of these countries tend to take part in the continental championships; the remaining ones participate in regional African competitions and in the African component of the IHF Challenge Trophy. This time there are 12 participants on the men’s side and eight among the women. The groups in the preliminary round are:

Men A: Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon and Libya
Men B: Algeria, Morocco, Angola, Congo, Dem. Rep. of Congo and Nigeria
Women A: Algeria, Dem. Rep. of Congo, Cameroon and Senegal
Women B: Angola, Tunisia, Congo and Guinea

Among the women, we have the recent participants in the World Championships in the form of Angola (16th place), Tunisia (17th), and Dem .Rep of Congo (20th). It seems that the only teams which could prevent those three from qualifying yet again in 2015 are the host country Algeria and Cameroon.

On the men’s side, the question is likely to be the perennial one: can anyone else prevent the medal round from turning into a ‘North African Championship’. For the continent’s sake, it would probably be a good thing if this trend could be broken. The best chances for that would seem to rest with Angola and Congo, who might have the strength to knock off Morocco in group B.