post

Refereeing – nothing replaces experience

Posted on by

Last week I wrote about the World Championship refereeing and characterized it as “fair and honest”.  I also noted that, overall, the standard was good if one takes into account that many of the referee couples did not previously have much experience from this type of event.  I have now received some feedback from acquaintances who were present in Sweden and felt that they I should have noted the inconsistency that was evident from couple to couple and also from match to match with the same couple.

I have to agree with these comments to some extent.  This kind of inconsistency was noticeable, although, as I emphasized, the teams in a match were generally treated in a very even-handed way.  To some extent, a lack of consistency (or a “clear line”) for instance in handling personal punishments can sometimes depend on a lack of clarity in the instructions received.  But here I felt that most of the concerns were related to a shortage of Championship level experience on the part of several couples.  When the pressure is on, then there is a risk that more spontaneity and reliance on sudden instincts will become apparent, as opposed to the ability to draw on years and years of experience with the same kind of situations in the same kind of atmosphere.

There is simply no easy substitute for experience.  If a referee needs to analyze and think about every situation and decision, instead of just relating it to his/her vast “archives” of game situations, there will inevitably be deviations from a clear line and instead a sense of relative inconsistency.  But this does NOT mean that the IHF policy for nominating referees is incorrect.  As I noted in my previous article, there is not much choice, as the previous generation of top referees is for the most part no longer available.  So it is a matter of making good judgments in selecting and supporting the best of a younger generation.

And it cannot be emphasized enough: it is not sufficient to make good selection decisions; these referees need a particularly strong education and nurturing to help make up for their lack of experience.  Of course, they need to be supported in their respective continents through optimal assignments as a preparation between Championships, something which particularly outside Europe is easier said than done.  But the IHF needs to see them as a group that constantly needs to be monitored and supported.  In addition to those who were in Sweden, there may be up to ten more couples who could be seen as legitimate candidates for the next Men’s World Championship in 2013.

This combined group simply must get special attention, not just through sporadic moments of observation and feedback, but through a massive and systematic follow-up effort.  While there are no shortcuts in making up for experience, this kind of close and personal monitoring will clearly contribute to increased stability and consistency.  I know from my own experience that the IHF Referee Commission has only limited resources, especially in terms of manpower.  But these resources can be supplemented, and especially used better through substantially increased financial resources.

Surely the IHF top management, including President Moustafa, will realize that the investment in the IHF Global Referee Training Program that has been so successful up to this point is just a start.  Now the continuous development of this asset must follow, without any constraints in political and financial support.  This is the only hope of having “the best of both worlds”:  young and talented referees who are suited to the fast-paced game but also trained and competent well beyond their years of experience.

post

Tunisia and Egypt lethargic on the court – ‘distractions’ had an impact?

Posted on by

When the group with the three most recent world champions (France, Germany and Spain) was referred to as the ‘group of death’, this was partly because it was furthermore believed that Tunisia and/or Egypt might be strong enough to surprise one of the three favorites.  It turned out, however, that both of these North African teams played below their recent standard, something that may well have rescued the feeble German team from even greater embarrassment.

Perennially among the key players on the Tunisian team, Megannem was this time unable to impress, and Tej had become a heavy and immobile version of his past figure.  The team played inconsistently and without real cohesiveness, despite drawing on many players with substantial club handball experience from abroad.  Egypt seemed listless and without their typical fighting spirit.  There were comments to the effect that the very late decision to bring back the German coach Lommel had led to confusion and divisiveness.  I cannot remember having seen such an unimpressive Egyptian team for many, many years.

I happened to witness the game between these two teams.  These rivalries are unpredictable: sometimes they offer very exciting spectacles but sometimes they are very disappointing.  This time it was about as bad as it can get.  The teams seemed to compete with each other not to win the game but to give it away.  Tunisia seemed to have a solid lead, mostly because the Egyptians were so error-prone.  But then suddenly Tunisia lost their thread completely, and within 12 minutes Egypt scored 9-0.  After that, Tunisia more or less seemed to give up.  And the usual tendency to cause a lot of stoppages by being down on the floor in exaggerated pain was worse than ever.  At times it was really anti-handball.

I did not have many opportunities to talk with my old acquaintances on the two teams and delegations.  And I did not want to get much involved with delicate matters.  But ‘off the record’ I got unsolicited comments from Tunisians along the lines:  “surely you appreciate that, while we try to concentrate, our thoughts are really elsewhere at this point in time”.  And an Egyptian comment suggested that they had indeed had occasion to discuss a bit with their brethren, even though nothing overt had yet taken place in Egypt at that moment.  One cannot escape the sense, however, that this group of Egyptians, like perhaps the broader population, was ‘seeing the writing on the wall’ and was beginning to worry about what might happen.

Let us hope that in future international events the two teams will come back to old form and with a new spirit of pride and determination.  And more important than what might happen on the handball courts, let us be optimistic that the evolution will turn out to be what our many friends in these two proud countries are hoping for!

post

NBC to broadcast 5 hours of “7 on 7” Olympic Team Sport

Posted on by

This weekend, one of the major USA TV Networks, NBC, will have an unprecedented 5 hours of live coverage of a 16 nation tournament for a relatively unknown Olympic team sport with 7 players to a side.  The sport is fast paced, features crisp passing, physical contact and high scoring.  Unfortunately, for us Handball fans, the 7 on 7 sport is Rugby 7s, not Team Handball.

My adopted home of Las Vegas will be hosting the 4th leg of the Rugby World 7s tour.  Rugby 7s is a modified version of Rugby that features fewer players per team (7 vs 15) and much shorter games.  The Rugby World 7s tour plays in 8 cities world-wide and tournaments are played out in rapid fashion over two days in a festival style setting.  Rugby successfully lobbied to get the 7 on 7 version of the game on the Olympic program and it will make its debut at the 2016 Olympics.

I’ll be attending the event and hopefully speaking with NBC and USA Rugby 7s executives and maybe see if we can convince them to do the same for Team Handball.  If you have time check out the event on TV this weekend and let me know your ideas are concerning a similar event for our sport.

Hollywood Reporter:  NBC, Universal Sports Bet on Rugby: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/nbc-universal-sports-bet-rugby-98136

NBC Rugby 7s Page: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35910886/ns/sports-rugby_7s

Live TV Coverage is Saturday, February 12, 3:30 – 6:00PM ET and Sunday, February 13, 4:30 – 6:00 PM ET

Additional Internet coverage is also available at http://www.universalsports.com/

post

This time Argentina is the pride of PanAmerica

Posted on by

Following Cuba’s short period of glory in the late 1990s, culminating with an 8th place in 1999, PanAmerica’s representation has mainly been a matter of Argentina and Brazil.  But Argentina never placed better than in the 15th-18th range, despite the sensational triumph in 2003 against Croatia who later went on to win the gold medals that year.  And Brazil often got the upper hand in the PanAmerican finals against Argentina, but in the World Championships they had to be content with positions in the range 16th-24th.

So it was really a special moment, especially for Argentina but also for PanAmerican handball as a whole, when Argentina now managed to qualify for the main round in Sweden and then went on to finish 12th.  And to make it clear, it was not a fluke that gained this position; it could easily have ended even better!  Already in the preliminary round, where Argentina shocked the handball world with a 5-goal win against hosts Sweden, they could have brought one or two more points with them to the main round.  They lost 23-24 against Poland, in a game where only the lack of experience made them come out at the losing end.  Similarly, both a one-goal loss against Serbia and an overtime defeat against Germany could easily have been turned into victories.

But the main thing is that Argentina really played a very attractive handball, with a sophisticated and quick-footed offense and a spirited and tenacious defense that frustrated most opponents.  I heard spectators and TV commentators expressing amazement over the abilities of the young team from Argentina.  And their relative youth and lack of international experience is what both make their success this time and their prospects for the future so remarkable.  Their top scorer, Federico Fernandez is 21, and their great trio playing club handball for Torrevieja in Spain is also very young (Diego Simonet 21, Sebastian Simonet 24 and Federico Vieyra 22).  Another outstanding contributor was the goalkeeper Matias Schulz who is 28.  Perennial team captain Andres Kogovsek is the contrast at 35.

It is clear that the performance of Argentina was an eye-opener for many, and that it will help increase the respect for PanAmerican handball.  Brazil was clearly not at their usual level this time.  They were missing several key players, including their main star Bruno and their top goalkeeper.  As a result, the Brazilians were somewhat resigned to a modest outcome and tried instead to integrate several younger players.  One could even say that they used a World Championship as a preparation for the upcoming PanAmerican Games in October, where the continent’s one and only automatic slot for the 2012 Olympics is at stake.  And the Brazilians know now that they must be at their absolute best to have a chance to knock off Argentina.  That will be quite a duel in Guadalajara!  But for the first time PanAmerica might have a serious chance of qualifying TWO men’s teams for the Olympics, by also making good use of the subsequent qualification tournament.

The third PanAmerican team participating in Sweden was Chile, much to the delight of the numerous Chilean immigrants in Sweden.  Clearly they would have a long way to go to reach the level of Argentina and Brazil.  But unlike some previous Championships where the performance of the No. 3 team was negative PR for the continent, this time the Chileans showed a bit more.  They played in an optimistic style and showed a relatively more advanced type of handball, with at least 6-8 players showing good technical and tactical skills.  Especially the Feuchtmann brothers took the opponents and the spectators by surprise.  It seems that the Chileans might be able to establish themselves as medal favorites in upcoming men’s events in PanAmerica.  Of course, there is some hope that the Cuban government one day will resume the support of their team and that the ‘North Americans’ will return to old levels, but the other contenders will probably find it difficult to remove the Chileans from the medal podium.

post

USA Team Handball’s Egypt Connection

Posted on by

A strange twist of events resulted in USA Men’s National Team Captain, Mark Ortega, witnessing history in Egypt. Looking for a better training opportunity in preparation for the upcoming PANAM Games 2nd Chance tournament Mark moved to Egypt in January to train with fellow teammate Adam El Zogby’s club team, Al-Ahly, in Egypt. In two video reports, Mark chronicles Adam’s recovery from ACL surgery, life in Egypt and his search for a club to join. What starts as a handball travelogue seems starts to take a dramatic turn as protests in Egypt engulf the country. Video 2 ends with the protests starting and a discussion with a Cairo cab driver regarding their significance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY6Rcpx9Xto&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCcmSYU6GNs&feature=player_embeddedUSA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpPpey64_k&feature=player_embedded

Team Handball’s weekly report on athletes playing overseas reports that Adam El Zogby is continuing his recovery and is safe and sound in his apartment situated a little over a mile from El Tahir Square.

USA Team Handball: Mark Ortega Profile.
USA Team Handball: Americans Abroad Report.

post

Oh la la — France loses to Qatar — perhaps just ‘comme il faut’

Posted on by

Following the IHF Council meeting on January 27, there was a sense of ‘deja vu all over again’…  Just a couple of months ago, Qatar surprised many, and angered some, by winning the rights to host the World Championship in football 2022.  Now the IHF President was getting ready to reveal the name of the host for the 2015 World Championship.  French representatives seemed tense but hopeful – surely it would be enough to rely on recent years of successes on the court and a reputation for being able to organize events!?

But, au contraire, out of the envelope came the dreaded 5-letter word: QATAR!   A philosophical French representative was heard mumbling: c’est la vie…   but the more typical representatives were instead commenting to the French media in terms of ‘deception immense!’ (Note: deception in French means disappointment) ‘How could this have happened’, they seemed to ask.  ‘What did they do to avoid this defeat’, might have been a more relevant reflection.

Two other candidates never seemed to be in the running, namely Poland and Norway.  The Norwegian bid was heard being described as lacking in conviction.  And the Poles seemed to have done a great job of explaining in writing everything that might have been needed to answer serious questions.  But had they done any ‘selling’?  Yes, technically speaking, the only ones voting on the matter are those Council members who are not from one of the candidate countries.  But in this day and age of constant bombardment of advertising through a multitude of media, is it not obvious that a serious contender needs to create a ‘hype’, an ambience of having the winning product?

So what did the French do, en route to the final decision-making in Malmoe.  Well, they relied a lot on reputation, they used their proud French team as the ‘poster boys’ par excellence, and they seemed to feel it would be a bit too ‘gauche’ to do any heavy selling of their bid.  This may have been a major faux pas.  By contrast, the Qatari spared no effort (or riyal) to draw attention to their bid and to what would be special about a Championship hosted in their country.  The rented a banquet room and hosted a reception in what looked like a large-size Bedouin tent, with Middle Eastern food as the piece de resistance, but also with plenty of sophisticated advertising material and some small souvenirs available.

Of course, advertising and appearances are not the only considerations.  In a global sport there are different ways of enhancing the growth outside the traditional handball countries.  One of them is to allow a non-traditional, non-European country to host the Men’s World Championship every now and then.  After four consecutive events in major European handball countries 2007-2013, perhaps it is ‘comme il faut’ that one of the few non-Europeans that is likely to have capacity for such an event gets a chance in 2015.

Moreover, when Spain applied for 2011 (and later on were rewarded for 2013) they argued rather awkwardly and arrogantly that they should get the votes for 2011 simply as a major handball country that had never organized the event.  At least they were correct on the fact.  But France organized the Men’s Championship as recently as in 2001 and the women’s event in late 2007. So are they really overdue for another chance?

I do not personally know if Qatar ‘deserved’ to win, whatever this means.  But I have the sense that just because there were/are some concerns about football and 2022, it may be too easy to taint handball and 2015 with the same brush.  Also, the ‘noveau riche’ do not tend to get much respect.  But just as we accept that our teams are winning and losing, I think it now behooves the international handball family to rally around this event and do everything to ensure that it creates the global propaganda that we all are hoping for and that our sport needs.

post

New focus for the offense (and for the referees)

Posted on by

During many years, one of the more difficult and controversial aspects of the game has been the struggle between the pivot and the defender(s) on the 6-meter line.  The difficulties partly result from the fact that much of the struggle occurs long before the ball gets anywhere near the pivot. The pivot tries to get into a good position to receive a pass, or at least wants to disrupt the defense to make it easier for the teammates to shoot from the backcourt.  But the reliance on the this approach depends on the availability of a strong but agile pivot.

All of us can think of many such specialists over the years, but in this World Championship I was surprised to observe that very few teams really had a first-rate and effective pivot. Yes, Gille and Vori were as difficult as always to get a grip on, but Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Iceland all suffered a bit from not having outstanding pivots this time.  Among the other teams, Myrholt from Norway may have been one of the few to give his team an edge.  So this may explainwhy there were not so many scenes where the players were seen wrestling or falling to to the floor at the 6-meter line, without a clear indication of who really initiated the battle.  I am sure that the ones who were particularly greatful for this were the referees, who had been prepared to have to focus a lot on this situation.

By contrast, it seems that several teams had instead concentrated on developing a more effective attack from the wings.  I saw several absolutely superb players with very elegant and surprising moves.  Especially Denmark impressed, with at least two or three such specialists, even if none of them got on the All-Star team.  The attacks from the wing were typically facilitated by unsually fast ball movement, which caused the defense to have to move laterally and then often helped an attacker to get an amazing amount of space and a very good angle for a shot.  But many of the wing players were also real acrobats, who needed very little space to have room for a quick and surprising move from the corner.

It also seems that both the attackers and the defenders have become considerably more sophisticated in executing the wing play and the defense against it.  In the old days, the attacker wanted to get away from the defender, avoiding contact.  Now it is common that the attacker seeks a slight and quick body contact, just enough to gain some extra momentum for a spin move.  Similarly, the defenders are aware that taking a big step into the attacker, using legs or arms will always be too obvious, creating a risk for a 7-meter throw and/or a personal punishment.

But this means that the referees have a new area of difficulty.  If both players are moving towards each other for what could be seen as a ’50-50′ contact, there may be no reason for action.  But just how much body contact should the attacker be allowed to iniate without being seen as guilty of an offensive foul?  Surely it should not be allowed to make the defender lose his balance and prevent him from blocking the shot or to force him to step into the goal-area.  And the defender who now uses ‘small’ methods to have an impact on the shooter!?  A last-second minor hip movement/tackle, where arms and legs are kept demonstratively still, will have the necessary (illegal) effect, but it is awfully difficult to observe.  (Do you remember the situation where Dalibor Doder got injured against Spain.  There was no 7-meter or 2-minute suspension against , but in some strange kind of justice Doder incurred an injury…).

post

Disastrous German decline

Posted on by

When the German women failed to qualify for the main round in the European Championship last December, one thought that this was about as low as it could get for German handball.  The German women just needed to avoid losing by more than 7 goals in a game against a mediocre team from Ukraine, and miraculously the Germans lost by 9.  This meant that the team will now have to face the strong Hungarians in play-off games for the right to participate in the Women’s World Championship in November.  And if they should fail to qualify, then the chances of participating in the 2012 Olympics are also gone.

But most observers figured that the Germans, one of the traditional powers of handball and the base for the superior Bundesliga, would get their revenge in the Men’s World Championship.  After all, the Germans won the gold as recently as in 2007, albeit with a bit too much advantage of playing at home.  And they were close to the medal round in 2009, so surely they would be at roughly the same level again!?

Of course, the German coach/icon, Heiner Brand, had done his best in recent months to sound pessimistic and frustrated.  He had talked about injury problems, the lack of adequate time of preparation for the team due to the Bundesliga schedule, and also the notion that German players were being ‘crowded out’ by all the foreign star players in the Bundesliga and therefore not getting enough playing time.  It almost sounded as if Heiner Brand wanted to set up an alibi in the case of a negative surprise.

I think one than needs to point out that Germany has two goalkeepers of absolute top class, and that among the court players there were 7 players with 90-170 international games to their credit, and another 5 with 40-70 games.  Not exactly an inexperienced group…  And do not tell me that anyone on the German team is seriously lacking in playing time in Bundesliga.  It may turn out that some younger talents who have been on junior national teams but have not yet reached the level of the senior team are having their opportunities affected to some extent.  But there can be no suggestion that the Germans are worse off then their counterparts from other countries, many of whom spend their year playing for clubs in mediocre leagues.

In any event, the German team did not look like it usual self in the preliminary round.  They benefitted from the fact that the Tunisians and Egyptians were not nearly as strong as in recent years.  In the game against a Spanish team that did not seem to wake up until half-way through Championship, the Germans really had the game in their hands but managed to throw it away despite their many experienced players and really strong goalkeeping.

In the main round, they seemed to come with a new attitude, taking on the previously undefeated Icelandic team with a spirited style and lots of energy.  They won the game, perhaps in part by being allowed to play an overly physical game, but it seemed that they might now be ready to win their next two games and protect their small chance for a semi-final slot.  But instead it was back to the listless style, and both games were lost.  The Germans mostly looked confused and helpless on the attack, and without the necessary cohesiveness on defense.  So the only win came in the placement game against Argentina, where Germany after much effort managed to win by one goal and avoid the bottom ranking among the teams in the main round.

Shocked German supporters and journalists seemed to have difficulties in understanding what had happened.  This result now means that Germany failed to secure a slot in the qualification tournaments for the Olympian Games.  The only remaining chance would come through a sudden resurge and a top position in the European Championship next January.

Heiner Brand has a contract through the next World Championship in 2013, but there was strong speculation that he would announce his early resignation directly after the game against Argentina.  What has now instead happnened is that he has announced he will stay on under ‘certain conditions’.  And here we are back to the issues of more preparation time for the national team, at the expense of the Bundesliga schedule.  And the issue of limiting the contracting of foreign players on the Bundesliga teams again seems to be back.  But the Bundesliga clubs quickly have shown a lack of sympathy, and the the German Federation vice-president has already speculated in public that Brand might soon decide to resign after all.

What a mess!  Clearly the German handball ‘pyramid’ is still capable of fostering young talents, if one judges from results in European and World Championships at the youth level, so the long-term prospects do not seem so bleak.  And like most traditional ‘powerhouses’, the Germans must accept that there are some ups and downs, so that medals cannot be guaranteed in every World Championship.  But right now it seems that the Federation, the Bundesliga and all other stakeholders really need to ‘roll up their sleeves’ and start pulling in the same direction.   German handball fans will to some extent be absorbed by the fate of their club teams, but they will not have a lot of patience with two faltering national teams!

post

2012 Olympic Qualification Update

Posted on by

We’ve updated the 2012 Olympic Qualification page to reflect the recent results of the Men’s 2011 World Championships.

https://teamhandballnews.com/2012-olympic-qual-men/

By winning the title France has joined host, Great Britain, in qualifying for the Olympics in London next year.  Ten spots in the twelve nation tournament remain to be awarded.  Four spots will be awarded to the Continental Federations (Europe, Pan America, Asia and Africa) and 6 spots will be awarded via 3 IHF Qualification Tournaments.

The IHF has decided to use the same format that was used for 2008 Olympic Qualification.  Three round robin tournaments (with 4 nations participating) will be plaayed from 6-8 April, 2012.  The top 2 teams from each tournament will qualify for the Olympics.  Teams will be seeded in these tournaments based on the recently completed World Championship results and the results of upcoming Continental Qualification events.

The nations that placed 2nd through 7th (Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Iceland and Hungary) have qualified for IHF Qualification Tournaments.  The World Championships also decided the rank order of the different Continental Federations.  Europe by virtue of France winning the title is ranked as the top Continent.  Pan America is second (Argentina, 12th Place), Asia is 3rd (South Korea, 13th Place) and Africa is 4th (Egypt, 14th Place).  The most significant ramification of the Continental ranking is that Pan America, by virtue of Argentina being the sole non-European team making the main round, picked up an extra qualification tourney spot.

The current seeding for these tournaments is as follows

Tournament 1:  Denmark (Host), Hungary, Europe (2nd), Africa (2nd)
Tournament 2:  Spain (Host), Iceland, Pan America (2nd), Europe (3rd)
Tournament 3:  Sweden (Host), Croatia, Asia (2nd), Pan America (3rd)

It’s fairly likely, however, that this seeding will be altered by the 2012 European Championships as Denmark, Spain or one of the other European teams that finished 2nd-7th at the World Championships will be strong candidates to earn the European Automatic Qualification bid.  This will then set off a cascading effect in terms of which teams will play where.  For instance, should Denmark earn the European bid the placement of teams would change as follows:

Tournament 1:  Spain (Host), Poland, Europe (2nd), Africa (2nd)
Tournament 2:  Sweden (Host), Hungary, Pan America (2nd), Europe (3rd)
Tournament 3:  Croatia (Host), Iceland, Asia (2nd), Pan America (3rd)

Commentary:  As I pointed out 4 years ago, I think most observers would probably consider this format flawed in that it’s fairly certain that the Continental Championship Qualifiers in Tournament 3 will be weaker opponents  than the qualifiers in Tournaments 1 and 2.  Tournament 1 will likely have Germany, Norway, or Serbia as Europe 2 and then either Tunisia or Egypt as Africa 2.  The teams in tournament 2 are likely to be Brazil/Argentina and Germany/Norway/Serbia again.  Contrast that to Tournament 3 where the likely opponents include Japan and Chile/Cuba.   You can pretty much ink in Croatia and Iceland as qualifying out of that tournament.  So, it’s pretty clear that a 3rd or 4th seed is better than a 1st or 2nd seed.  Granted, Spain and Sweden will still likely qualify, but why should they get punished for doing better at the World Championship?

There’s a number of ways that the IHF could have fixed this.  The simplest would probably be a draw for tournament seeding using 4 ranks of 3 teams each.  That would at least even out the likelihood of getting a 3rd European team in each tournament.  Another option would be to rank order the 6 teams that qualify via Continental Championships based on how well they performed at the last WC.  Regardless, it’s clear that the current system is flawed.  It’s probably too late to fix it now, but I guess maybe there’s a chance the IHF could get it right for 2016.

post

World Championship refereeing seen as fair and honest

Posted on by

Being the former President of the IHF Referee Commission, it is only natural that I received a lot of spontaneous feedback on the refereeing from old handball acquaintances during the Championship.  Of course, I also had my own observations from watching 27 games live and another 7 or 8 on television.  The feedback I received reflects what people see as the most important aspect, especially considering some bad experiences they may have had in the past.  “The referees are being completely fair and honest” is the best way of summarizing the comments I heard.

What my sources imply is that they understand that mistakes are inevitable and must be tolerated.  But as long as the mistakes come out roughly 50-50, as a sign of an unbiased and evenhanded refereeing, then there is general acceptance.  And clearly this matches my own observations.  Yes, there may have been some games where some individual mistakes may have come at a critical stage and possibly may have had an impact on the outcome.  But that is the ‘human factor’ in sports.  With so many games being decided with just a margin of just a couple of goals, also a very strong referee performance may include a critical error or two.

To some extent, I would ascribe the fair and honest refereeing to the emergence of a young new generation of referees.  As I intend to discuss in some future posting, their lack of experience may occasionally become apparent, and there may have been problems with some particular aspects of the rules interpretations in a game.  But these referees are at the beginning of what they hope to be a long career at the international top level, so they will not risk everything by being conspicuously, or even marginally, biased in their work.  They know that they have knowledgeable and alert observers keeping an eye on them, with video software available to capture and confirm any problems.

If anything, the young referees may in some instances have gone too far in instinctively deciding on the basis of their first impressions, somewhat ignoring ‘tactical’ considerations in their game management.  (I will get more into this in a separate posting).  In some other cases, they may have either been too eager to project toughness or, alternatively, a little bit lacking in courage in some situations.  But this is something totally different from bias or favoritism.

One might say that the IHF initiated a ‘youth movement’ at the elite level a number of years ago.  In part this happened out of necessity, with many older, more experienced couples retiring, and in part as a response to the increasing speed of the game requiring a stronger emphasis on fitness and agility. It may be too early to be sure, but it seems from the indications so far that the IHF can be proud of the emerging competence of the new generation of elite referees, especially their adherence to the motto of ‘honesty above all’.

post

No surprise: goalkeepers determine the fate of their teams

Posted on by

Thierry Omeyer’s key role in the successes of France is well-known.  And it is generally understood that a strong goalie performance can be the key to the outcome in any given game.  So it can be instructive to analyze the goalie performance of some of the top teams in the World Championship.

Most observers recognize that the goalkeeper coming closest to Omeyer’s steadiness and spectacular performances in recent years is Szmal from Poland.  This time he had less support than usual from his teammates, as Poland was hard hit by injuries both before and during the Championship.  Bielecki’s comeback is amazing, but he is not back to his dominant form.  Generally speaking, the Polish team at times looked heavy-footed and sluggish, and their final position as number 8 was rather telling.  But things would have been worse had it not been for Szmal’s fantastic performances in some of the games.

The most exciting young new goalie is undoubtedly Niklas Landin of the Danish team.  He may not yet be absolutely steady, as shown in the final, where he had been replaced in the early stages and then came back in and almost turned the game around single-handedly.  He has already been signed up by Rhein-Neckar-Loewen from the 2012-13 season.  It is interesting to note that both Szmal and Landin are part of the ‘stable’ of young and older goalies who are getting special training by the Swedish goalkeeper guru Claes Hellgren.

A big surprise was caused by the young Swedish goalie Niklas Sjoestrand, who is the second choice goalie for Barcelona but just barely made it onto the Swedish squad.  He narrowly beat out the veteran Beutler for the second slot and was seen as back-up for spot duty behind Mattias Andersson.  But some absolutely fantastic performances, especially against Poland and Croatia, quickly made him the top choice.  When other Swedish key players wavered or were injured, it was Sjoestrand who came through.  While he may not quite have matched Omeyer in the semi-final, he deserves credit for keeping Sweden in that game.

Another young Nordic goalie is Gustavsson from Iceland, who plays club handball in relative obscurity in Switzerland.  When he had top performances, then the Icelandic team looked almost invincible.  But when he was more ‘human’ then the team was a rather pale copy of the ‘viking’ style and attitude so often displayed in recent years.  The veteran Ege in goal for Norway had a similar Championship.  Being perhaps a bit more steady, he nevertheless oscillated between fantastic and more average.  What was noticeable in the case of both Norway and Iceland was the lack of a solid back-up in net.

A surprisingly mediocre goalkeeper performance may have contributed to the relative lack of success for Croatia this time.  By contrast, the surprising performance of Argentina, the only non-European team in the main round, has a lot to do with the amazing job of their goalkeeper Schulz, who has had an anonymous existence in the Spanish second division.  One would imagine that more lucrative offers in a fancier setting will now await him.

Spain started out in a rather feeble fashion in the earlier stages where they did not really look like a medal contender.  The whole team seemed mediocre and uninspired at times.  On paper, Sterbik and Hombrados should have constituted a strong goalkeeper combo, but it was not until late in the event that Sterbik finally showed his abilities and helped his entire team lift itself a couple of notches.  In particular, he was instrumental in securing a win in the bronze medal game.

Finally, another team with a strong combo was Germany.  Both Bitter and Heinevetter had games where they looked brilliant, although sometimes their top form seemed to hold up for only part of a game.  But one thing is clear, the final ranking of the disjointed and listless German squad could have been even worse without their generally strong goalkeeping.

post

Budget-conscious Swedes ‘sold’ part of the home court advantage

Posted on by

It has become increasingly common in recent decades that two countries join together and organize a World/European Championship.  But it is surely more unusual that the one and only organizer, in this case Sweden, more or less gives away home court advantage to one of the main rivals, Denmark.  This is what Sweden did, quite knowingly and for strictly financial/budgetary reasons, realizing that this might come back and haunt them on the court.

Malmö is located just some 20 minutes away from Copenhagen, just across the bridge.  But Sweden still had Denmark play both the preliminary round and the main round in Malmö, in front of crowds totally nominated by Danes.  And this even though Sweden knew that they would play in this group in the main round, after having started out with strong crowd support in Göteborg.  The fanatic Danes had even bought up most of the tickets for the main round in advance!

So it was really lucky for Sweden that the final match in the main round against Denmark was not a matter of managing vs failing to advance to the semi-finals;  instead it was ‘just’ a matter of avoiding France as an opponent in the semis.  Denmark won the game.  And then, can you imagine, the Danish fans had become so spoiled that they were genuinely upset and protested loudly when they realized that Sweden was finally using its privileges as organizer and the right to play the semi-final against France in the 12000-seat Malmö arena, while Denmark was ‘relegated’ to the 4000-seat arena in Kristianstad, 90 minutes further away from Copenhagen.

A frantic ticket swap effort ensued, both on the internet and outside the Malmö arena.  Danish supporters with tickets to Malmö now scrambled to find scarce tickets for their game, while peddling tickets to the Sweden semi-final in tough competition with the scalpers.  In the end, both teams really got overwhelming crowd support, but only Denmark managed to take advantage, beating Spain.

More generally, the Swedish way of organizing the event was indeed characterized by budget considerations and cost effectiveness.  Typically, the IHF and the organizer insist at the outset that “this will be the best Championship ever”.  And then the hope is that the IHF President will indeed use the key phrase ‘best ever’ in his post-event press conference.  But this time he pointedly chose a more modest label.

Certainly, the organization was not weak and error-prone.  The Swedes are experienced organizers of handball events, and they have the necessary infrastructure.  They know what it takes to put on events that are technically solid and offer all the services needed.  But the problem is that participants, especially the teams and the media, are used to being pampered in an unlimited manner, just for the sake of image and positive feedback.  Such extravagance is not the Swedish approach.

Instead the Swedes could point to having exceeded their budget estimates in all areas, including ticket sales.  And IHF could boast with a TV coverage to more countries and to larger aggregate audiences than ever before.  Of course, the number of tickets sold was not as huge as in Germany 2007 with consistently larger arenas. But the focus is more and and more on television coverage and an adaptation to ‘new media’.  The web cast coverage was a matter of special pride to the TV rights holder, UFA sports.