One day before the semi-finals of the European Handball Championship against Germany, the Croatian national coach, Dagur Sigurðsson, criticized the game plan of the European Handball Federation (EHF). “I have to take part in this circus here. It’s an absolute disgrace,” said the Icelander in a three-minute monologue at the press conference before the game on Friday: “The EHF is not interested in us players or in the team.”
The 52-year-old, who coached the German Handball Federation (DHB) selection from 2014 to 2017 and won the European Championship with the team in 2016, was referring to his team’s tournament schedule. Different than Germany graduated Croatia his main round games in Malmö, Sweden and recently had to play two days in a row.
“Put us on a bus like frozen chicken”
According to Sigurðsson, on Thursday without a game, the Croatian team traveled for four hours to Herning, Denmark, where the semi-finals and final will be played. Germany, on the other hand, has been playing in Herning since the start of the tournament.
“Anyone who knows anything about sport knows that two days less rest in a twelve-day period with seven games is a hell of a lot,” said Sigurðsson, who also complained about the conditions for the players: “The next morning they put us on a bus like frozen chicken and drive us here. And we’re nowhere near the training hall.” According to him, his team travels 45 minutes from the hotel to the hall.
The EHF described Sigurðsson as a “fast food company” that does not care about the quality of the games. “They just want to sell. They hire artists to put on a great show. They don’t care about anything else,” he said. “They advertise with the slogan ‘Pure Greatness’,” he said, referring to the EM slogan. “Really? Is this pure awesomeness? It’s absolutely shocking.”
German team also sees competitive advantage
The DHB showed understanding for the Croatian national coach’s harsh criticism. Team manager Benjamin Chatton said before Sigurðsson’s statement: “We have an advantage. As far as the load is concerned, we have an imbalance in the tournament tree.” It is important to use this “competitive advantage”.
Germany’s national coach Alfreð Gíslason agreed with Sigurðsson: “He’s absolutely right and I’m sorry.” However, the Icelander also warned against underestimating the Croats. Gíslason described the two victories (32:29, 33:27) immediately before the European Championships as “training games that don’t count at all.” He expects “a very tough game in the sense that the team is unlikely to be able to surpass itself. They have great character and they will come in with a great atmosphere.”
