It is quite possible that Dagur Sigurdsson is familiar with the angry speech of former Bayern coach Giovanni Trapattoni: The Icelander played as a professional handball player for the Bundesliga club LTV Wuppertal in the “What’s Allowed Strunz” year of 1998.
With his tirade before the European Championship semi-final against Germany (5.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Handball Championship, on ARD and on Dyn), Sigurdsson was in no way inferior to the Italian “empty bottle” creator from football. Croatia’s national coach was angry that his team had to play in Malmö on Tuesday and Wednesday and that the next morning they were transported four hours from southern Sweden to the Danish venue of Herning – “like frozen chicken on a bus”.
In particular, the European Handball Federation (EHF), which is responsible for the tournament and its conditions, took aim at Sigurdsson. The association is like a “fast food shop”: “It doesn’t care about quality, it just sells.”
Sigurdsson: This is “unfair” and “shocking”
The officials don’t care about how his players are doing, nor about the fact that he didn’t have time for training or a team meeting until Thursday evening. This is “unfair” and “shocking” and makes the EM motto “Pure Greatness” seem like a mockery.
Can the lack of regeneration of the Croatian players be made up for with mentality? The young team, which builds on the performances of stars Domagoj Duvnjak, Igor Karačić and Ivan Pešić, who retired last year, likes to cover offensively, which the Germans are not very comfortable with. “The important thing is that you don’t give them the feeling that we’re being impressed by it,” said Renars Uscins, Germany’s top scorer in the tournament.
Since a small handball eternity, the Croatians have been known for their feats of strength. For the fact that they go to work with enormous energy and emotion until the last second of the game. The Hungarians were the last to realize on Wednesday at 25:27 that a nice lead against last year’s World Cup runners-up wasn’t necessarily enough.
Having competed in all 17 European Championships so far, Croatia is in the semi-finals for the tenth (!) time. So far it hasn’t been enough for the really big European Championships: Croatia won three silver and bronze. There was gold at the Olympic Games (1996 and 2004) and the World Cup (2003). “We came here with big dreams – now we are living those dreams,” said playmaker Luka Cindrić before the duel against Germany.
“I understand that the planning was not ideal”
Two questions arise: How much strength do the Croats have left? And how calculated was Sigurdsson’s outburst of anger? Should he perhaps provide the final motivational kick because the “us against everyone else” outsider role suits the Croatians so much?
National coach Alfred Gislason saw the Croatians’ exertions. “I understand that the planning was not ideal.” But the Icelander was increasingly annoyed by the questions about his compatriot’s outburst.
In the evening, the EHF commented on Sigurdsson’s attack on them. The schedule was known long in advance and coordinated with those involved, including the national handball associations. The federation couldn’t resist pointing out the similar European Championship schedules in recent years – “for example the 2018 European Championship in Croatia”.
However, the EHF indirectly admitted that the semi-final participants from Herning (Germany and Denmark) recently had an easier time than the Croatians and the Icelanders, who played on Wednesday and had to arrive on Thursday. “It was known that the teams from Malmö faced a more challenging situation,” the federation said.
It should also be mentioned that Icelandic national coach Snorri Steinn Guðjónsson did not complain about any stress on Thursday.
