Velimir Petković is making his selector’s debut in big competitions. Until his arrival in Russia, the experienced expert played exclusively in club handball, and now he has the task of trying to return the trophy team to the paths of old glory.
The Russians traveled to Poland on Saturday for a preparatory tournament, where they will play against the hosts and Algeria. From January 6 to 8, Russia will play in Argentina with Argentina and the B selection of Spain, before going to the World Cup in Egypt, where they will play in a group with Belarus, Slovenia and South Korea.
Russia has a lot of problems with injured players, among them Vinogradov, Santalov and Atman.
-It happens because the competitive calendar in handball is made by people who only look at marketing and money. So we have played 12 games in the last 45 days (CSKA). Of course, that leaves consequences on handball players. It should be borne in mind that these are not just matches, but most often long trips before and after matches. Players just don’t have time to recover. In general, the injury situation is one of the biggest problems of European handball at the moment. Many careers will soon be interrupted because of that, but obviously we can’t do anything about it, we have to continue working in such conditions. Many coaches of European clubs and national teams are in a similar situation now.
How do you view the holding of the World Cup in these conditions?
– Honestly, I was convinced that he would cancel. I have known Hasan Mustafa for a long time, and I am sure that the organization will be the best possible given the circumstances. I talked to Petar Nenadić, who is preparing for the Champions League final four with Veszprem. He told me that they were preparing for the trip to Cologne as if they were going to Mars, the measures are so strict. Imagine then how it will be in Cairo.
-The second question is what the teams will look like in the championship, we know how many top players gave up. Many will come with a reserve team, so we will definitely see some new, young people on the field.
During the interview, Petković spoke about Pavel Atman on his own initiative, emphasizing that he did not train a better player than him.
-Pavel is a unique player. When he got injured and fell on the taraflex, I felt like it had happened to me. As I get to know him better, I am more and more aware and surprised by his qualities. He is a combative, disciplined player with a clear head, a leader on and off the field. All these qualities of his are equally developed.
– I have to say honestly, he is the best player I have coached in my life, and I do not want to offend the guys all over Europe with whom I have collaborated. Atman started playing his best handball, and I hope we will achieve a lot together. I am very sorry that he did not „fall into my hands“ before – the Russian coach for Handballfast described his left back.
