Velimir Petkovic promised himself many years ago not to return to work to the Balkans, however, last November he agreed to take Croatian Zagreb. Despite the bright start of the team under the guidance of the former head coach of the men’s national team of Russia, the leadership of the two-time European champion recently parted with the 68-year-old specialist.
Petkovic explained in detail in a one-hour conversation with Handballfast correspondent what had happened. Besides, he told why he considers Mathias Gidsel to be an alien, regards Timur Dibirov as the best left wing in the world, considers Valentin Buzmakov a friend for life.
— You worked in the former Yugoslavia as a coach only once, at the begging of your coaching career, and in the first season as the head of native Borac from Banja Luka you won the trophy, the IHF Cup in 1991. You’ve been formed as a coach later in Germany and after four years spent in Russia you took Zagreb last November. You have often said that you would never return to the Balkans, but you finally did it 33 years later. What was the determining factor in this decision?
— Indeed, I always said I would never come back to the Balkans, except on vacations, to the sea or to visit friends and relatives. Meanwhile, Germany became the new home for me and my family. I spent four wonderful years in Russia, returned full of impressions, with deep satisfaction, I met many good people. Considering the current political situation, after returning from Moscow sometimes I got into unpleasant situations in Germany and Croatia, while communicating with people who are hostile to Russia. But I never let anyone insult Russia and its people in my presence.
I read a lot, try to find information about events that interest me and I use arguments in conversations with such people, I often manage to open their eyes. I’m happy when I see that my arguments prevail in the struggle with those spread by the media with its own agenda. Many people simply have incorrect information. Germany is a specific country where people work all day. The German comes home from work around 5 pm, his wife feeds him dinner, he turns on the TV, reads newspapers and forms his opinion, it is also "served". He doesn’t have time for reflection or a more careful analysis of what is happening, and in principle, to discuss Russia in Berlin and Zagreb is completely different from conversations in Banja Luka, where people have great empathy for Russian people.
— Somewhere around the story with your transfer to Zagreb appears in the frame. So how did the club’s leadership manage to convince you to break the promise you gave to yourself?
— Everyone knows I didn’t want to come back here. I was going to work out another contract in the Bundesliga and end up with coaching. In anticipation of an invitation from Germany I received an offer to head Zagreb which is still highly regarded in the West due to a pair of titles of European champion. Besides, the national team of Croatia is traditionally highly ranked in handball world. I refused within a month, didn’t even consider this option. I have relatives in Zagreb, I often come here, I have many friends here, former players I’m friends with, but I never even thought of working here.
But two people were very persistent — general manager of RK Zagreb Bozidar Jovic, my former player from Borac, and Zoran Gobac, a key figure in the men’s handball in Croatia. They called me every day requesting to take the club in a difficult situation — Zagreb had one victory and six losses at the start of the Champions League, a disastrous result… I constantly refused, but eventually I made a mistake and agreed to head the team.
We were tied by a long-lasting friendship, I told them I was fully aware of the club’s history, that coaches are changed as gloves, three are changed annually, regardless of the result. Zagreb is a specific club with a particular environment, which is hard to work in, that is why I said: "Let’s not spoil friendly relations, I’m destined for the same fate like all my predecessors". I was told: "No, it is not so, you are special, you are good at what you do and we know you quite well!" After these words I accepted the offer.
— How do you feel after premature parting? Are you disappointed?
— Honestly, yes. We made a fantastic start, having beaten Magdeburg, the winner of the Champions League the season before. The arena with capacity for 15 000 people was empty at that match, and 13 500 people gathered in the stands at penultimate home match against Kolstad! In the last round, when we lost the chance to reach the play-offs, 7 thousand supporters came to the match with Kielce! We woke up handball fans, played really well, everyone admired our handball and then everything changed in a month and a half.
— You made a strong start, having coped with Magdeburg, brilliant Matej Mandic made 20 saves in that match. Seven months later the same Magdeburg goes to the Final Four and your Zagreb has undergone some slowdown in the championship of Croatia. What caused the downturn?
— Right after the match with Magdeburg I told the club’s leadership that in order to fight in the Champions League with such strong rivals we need 16 high-level players instead of 8-9, while other places in the application are filled with juniors. We beat Magdeburg with a brilliant game, Matej held a stunning match, but when you have a reduced rotation you can’t repeat such game every third day. The same Magdeburg is perfectly staffed, headed with a strong coach, 16 players of about the same level are under his guidance, and this team is ready to play the long game.
— What was the reaction of superiors, did they hear you?
— I told the managers that we wouldn’t be able to repeat it in every match, we lack the depth of the composition. Those 8-9 players, who bear the whole load, they will run out of steam. Handball is a man’s game, it’s impossible to sustain this pace. That is why I insisted on strengthening the squad to have at least 13-14 high-level players. But the executives told me not to worry and that my primary goal is to build a team that will be competitive in the Champions League next season.
That was our agreement, but even with this squad we played brilliantly in Szeged later, outplayed Pick which had beaten Barcelona in away match shortly before that. Then we were excellent in Aalborg, led 4 balls, but the referees robbed us in the end. The team shot its wad, but following its elimination from the Champions League, there was a slight decline.
— Have you figured out its reasons?
— Felix Magath once told me: "In a sport where you have to play once every three days the player can give his best only if there is a "deep" composition and there is a proper changer who will allow him to rest a little. Or if there is remarkable chemistry in the team, a true family atmosphere for the player to perform with complete dedication every match". We didn’t have such atmosphere in Zagreb.
The club changed 15 coaches in 10 years, and it means that there is always someone disappointed in the team. Someone doesn’t like the coach, someone is boycotting him, but there are also those who regret when the coach, who was good to work with, leaves. This is how discontent appears in the team, every coach’s dismissal causes a couple of dissatisfied players. Now imagine that after several dismissals you likely have five-six players who might not be very happy about a new coach.
— Downturns during the season are unavoidable, no matter what team is being discussed. Barcelona also doesn’t perform perfectly in the championship of Spain, the favorites for the championship title of the Bundesliga stumbles now and then, Veszprem ceded in the final of the Cup of Hungary and was left outside the Final Four of the Champions League… How to lead functional readiness and the level of individual skills of the players to a common denominator in order the team could pass the distance of a season as evenly as possible?
— Ivano Balic, Nikola Karabatic and Mikkel Hansen could play at 80% of their capabilities against weaker rivals and it wouldn’t be noticeable. But the players, who don’t refer to the cream of the world handball, can’t give 100% without affecting the team’s result, they lack skill. Yes, we also experienced a slight decline in the championship of Croatia, but continued to win at the same time. However, the management considers itself entitled to fire coaches whenever it wants, enter the locker room and determine the tactics, jump down on coaches and players… If the chief jumps down on the coach in front of the players, the last one automatically loses authority among the wards, he immediately ends up as a coach, and the management of Zagreb behaved this way with every mentor.
— You also didn’t become an exception, did you?
— It happened to me recently, when we played in away match with Nexe Nasice (Zagreb beat the main competitor in the fight for the title in the championship of Croatia with a score of 28:25 on March 23 — Handballfast). We ceded two balls after the first half, I entered the locker room and the general manager got mad and shouted at the players. He is my former player, my child I had trained since he was 8 and brought to the national team of Yugoslavia. And he feels entitled to shout at players.
I went up to him and said: "Jovo, calm down. Let me work, to lead the team to victory is my goal, everything will be fine". I said these words slowly, calmly like a priest, he left the changing rooms after that. I didn’t push him, only put my hand on his chest gently and slowly headed for the exit. He also started moving backwards, however, still shouting at the players, but he left the locker room eventually.
But it was the first time when a coach clearly asked him not to interfere with his work. Eventually, we won this meeting with a three-goal difference. We never saw each other again, but I’ve heard rumors that he was angry with me and threatened to expel me. Once our physiotherapist came up to me and said: "Please, go and see Jovic and settle this quarrel". I answered that there had been no quarrel to settle — I didn’t kick him out of the locker room, I just said in a calm voice: "Settle down, everything will be fine".
— The tension culminated the other day, when Zagreb hosted Nexe and the rival scored a point in the capital for the first time ever (the meeting, held on may 3, ended in a draw 31:31 — Handballfast). What exactly happened after the match?
— Since then I’ve heard repeatedly that he would pull me out, that he would never forgive me, and then we played with Nexe at home. We played poorly, the match ended in a draw, but nothing was lost, Zagreb remained to be the main favorite for the championship. And then he came again to the locker room, furious, and started yelling: "I will talk, not you!" I said: "Ok, you will speak first, then me", to which he responded: "You won’t say a single word!' I repeated: "I will speak out after you". And then he began threatening the players and me, blamed us. He jumped down on Timur Dibirov verbally at a certain point. Timur stood up, came close face to face and said: "You won’t go against me personally, I won’t let you talk to me like that". At this point I wanted to take the floor and Jovic said: "You can’t, I’m your boss!" "No, you are my former player. If you have the strength of spirit, listen to me", — I answered. He opened the door and left. I received a message in the evening: 'See you at the meeting in the office tomorrow at 10 am". My assistant called me the same evening, he turned out to be at dinner in the same restaurant, where Jovic was. He told me: "Chief, I respect and love you. I was at dinner, they will dismiss you tomorrow, be ready to it". I replied: "Ok, thank you".
— Was it the same meeting, when you were fired using the wording in a press release that the contract was terminated "by agreement of the parties'?
— Yes. I came to the office at 10 am the next day. Four of them are sitting together, and the club’s director Vedran Shupukovic said: "I will be brief. We thought about yesterday’s draw and about what had happened in Nasice and decided to separate, we fire you". A said: "All right, if you made a decision I agree with it, but I just want to tell you, Jovic, one thing — it is not the reason for parting. A month ago you were all so excited about our play in the Champions League. The only reason for this is that I hurt your ego in the locker room. We had no quarrel, but since that day people tell me that you threaten me, getting ready to dismiss me. Fire me, what are the problems? Just let me ask you, why have you been begging me for a month to come here? Didn’t I tell you and Gobac: "Don’t touch me, leave me alone, I’m in Berlin, we will just spoil friendship. We've known each other for 30 years, you kicked out so many coaches and you will kick me out, we both know it". In conclusion, I said: "Next time I will be in Zagreb we won't meet for a cup of coffee, why did you do that?"
— What was the response?
— He said there was discontent among the players, that they supposedly complained about me. I told him not to involve players, I spent every day with them, talked to them, they are great, they work hard in training, fulfill coaching instructions, we have excellent relations. Every team puts players to the foreground when it wants to expel the coach. That is why I emphasized that he shouldn’t involve the players in this story.
I said that I accepted their decision and added, that I was very disappointed that they were doing stupid things and continued in the same manner as before and would never become a great club. At the end I asked what they were going to write in the press release. "I will wait for the statement and comment on the situation after that", — I said. Jovic only briefly answered: "We will write that we part by mutual consent, we won’t say anything about the players, that’s it". He added that the terms of the contract would be fulfilled, I would be payed the money owed, I would keep the rented apartment and company car for a while. "Thank you, goodbye", — I responded and walked out.
— Didn’t you communicate with the media at once?
— One Croatian journalist called me at the exit of the club office. He asked me to comment on the situation, I replied that I had no comment, but I wished Zagreb happiness and luck. He thanked me, we said goodbye. When I got home, I went online and saw that release stating that the leadership "felt a certain discontent of a large number of players". I sent a message to Jovic: "You broke our agreement, witnessed by three your colleagues. Now it’s my turn and I will tell what really happened". "Everything is correctly written, not a single word hurt you", — he answered. I took a picture of the statement, circled the sentence about the players’ discontent, sent him a wrote: "Goodbye forever, keep well, it’s all over!" And then reporters started calling me, I’ve already given a couple interviews to the German mass media. Not yet in Croatia, everything is under their control here. Everyone knows what happened in Nasice, everyone understood that I wouldn’t keep my post and expected such outcome. But again, the hurt ego is the only reason for dismissal.
— Let’s get back to the Champions League. You turn the course of the game in a probably decisive match for the 1/8 finals against Kolstad after the backlog in 4 goals and make the advantage of 3 goals, but eventually you give a point to the rivals. How can you explain this roller coaster? Psychology, misfortune or something else?
- It was our greatest opportunity. I expected that if we had beaten Kolstad, in the last tour against Kielce the arena would have been packed to the gills, 15 000 people. With such a fantastic support in this atmosphere the referees also would have worked out properly. Not to mention the refereeing the match with the Norwegians, we had to win that match. When the match ended, the leadership sent a letter to the President of the EHF Michael Wiederer with highlight reel of moments with inappropriate refereeing. In particular, there is a video of our last attack where with an equal score the referees were whistling us "in the player" and instead of making "plus 1" we find ourselves in a situation when the Norwegians in their last attack take seven steps 20 seconds before the final siren. The referees remain silent, the players of Kolstad are playing for time, the time is running out and the match finishes without a winner instead of giving us the ball, as well as the chance to win. In other words, besides the problems we experienced due to a limited rotation, we had to fight with biased refereeing. I haven’t mentioned it before, because I didn’t want to focus attention on it.
— How did the incident in the locker room after the home loss from Nantes (goalkeeper Matej Mandic suffered in a fight, initiated by the left back Milos Kos) disrupted the atmosphere in the team and affected the outcome?
— Judge for yourself: we lost the first goalkeeper, he missed two months with a steel spoke in a cheekbone. Without proper training he returned to the site to help us by his character, at the same time the fear remained. Matej isn’t in optimal form yet. In parallel, we lost the starting left back, who is the best goal-scorer of the team. After that Srna and Pavlovic came back from the World Cup with injuries. The first one recovered later and the last one, our only centre back, hasn’t played a single match yet. These are all objective circumstances, answering the questions concerning form decline. It was hard, but I never complained and didn't talk about the injured, because I didn’t want to devaluate the contribution of those who were healthy. I have always said that they are the best and the only ones I can count on.
— Igor Belyavsky is one of the players, who attracted attention this season. You had a decent understanding of his potential even when you were the head coach of the national team of Russia. What strengths would you note in his game? What does he need to improve to be among the top-5 players in his position?
— I’m one of those who suggested Zagreb signing Belyavsky. In the midst of work on the transfer I shared my impressions about Igor with the club’s management regarding matches against Belarus, provided a video, helped with advice. He is the best player of Zagreb at the moment, it’s a mid-level team without him. He has a fantastic potential to become a top level player. I asked the club’s leadership to extend the contract in advance for another year and to raise his salary immediately. Otherwise, he will leave. He played several matches in the Champions League brilliantly, and coaches and agents follow it. If there is an invitation from a stronger and more titled club and this thought settles in his head, Belyavsky won’t play here at that level. The executives supported my suggestion, talked to Igor. As far as I know, negotiations were successfully completed, but nothing has been signed yet.
Concerning playing qualities, Belyavsky is a fantastic player, a fighter who works in both attack and defense. He never gives up, has a great throw, he is strong in playing 1 to 1, he has everything that modern handball requires. Obviously, all this should be developed, improved. He shouldn’t become complacent, but it is definitely not about him. He is the one who goes to the gym after the workout and continues training with Timur. I always ask him: "Are you tired?", and he replies: "Belarusian never gets tired!"
— Timur Dibirov is a living legend of the world handball. How will you remember your cooperation?
— I will keep the best memories of him, our friendship, training and games, Timur is a wonderful person and a top-level player. He is 41 and he never asked to be released from training. My workouts are very demanding, highly intensive and surely not a gift for a 41-year-old man, but he never asked to give him a break, he was always the first in every sprint, on every throwing workout. When Talant Dujshebaev recently came to Zagreb with Kielce, we met during the morning workout the day before the match, Talant saw Timur and asked: "Doesn’t Petko allow you to miss the morning training?!" And Timur replied: "No, no, I personally want to work every workout!".
He scores goals from a zero corner, he can hit the goal like no one else. He is a player who knows everything about handball and can become a top coach tomorrow. Timur will return to Russia and certainly won’t retire, he is active 24 hours a day. He will remain in handball, I am just not sure in what capacity, and it’s valuable to Russian handball, regardless what had happened in the past. Old disagreements should be overcome, it’s wrong to have such a person in your surroundings and avoid using him at any function in sport.
— Srna, Glavas, Klarica, Mandic, Pavlovic are the new wave of Croatian handball. How realistic is to keep these players in the team for a long time? Should they go abroad to continue progressing?
— I suppose they should, the only issue is a correct timing of leave. It’s not the same when a player leaves without completing the development. In the West it’s possible to progress only through gathering experience and game practice against strong competitors, but if you already stepped over certain steps in personal development, you are unlikely to liquidate these gaps abroad.
— Srna has already signed a contract with Montpellier. Who else from those five is ready to go abroad?
— Glavas was negotiating, but didn’t receive an adequate offer, though he is also ready to play at the top level. Klarica, Mandic and Pavlovic are not ready, and the last one is still injured, in addition. A remarkable generation of handball players has grown in Croatia which will stay at the top for a long time, if everything goes well.
— Glavas flashed brightly at the World Cup in the t-shirt of the national team of Croatia, and what kind of fighter he is could be seen in away match of Zagreb and Aalborg, when the team fought for getting into 1/8 finals of the Champions League — despite the injury he played brilliantly, scored goals, and when he couldn’t continue playing, he came out to perform penalty kick, though he was already limping…
— He had a hamstring injury, and he came to Denmark injured. We had agreed before the match that he would play until he would feel pain. He showed me in the second half that he was no longer able and I replaced him and after that I let him perform only seven-meter throws. He still has this problem, he hasn’t recovered completely. Filip is a very hardworking and smart guy and I’m happy that he played so well at the World Cup-2025. He drew the attention, though he was the second option on the right wing after Mario Sostaric.
— This season you met with Nantes, Barcelona and Magdeburg, the teams that reached the Final Four of the champions League. Can you describe each team with a couple of strokes?
— We didn’t have chances only against Barcelona, we could have beaten all other teams, despite injuries and limited rotation. Probably, we lacked one player in rotation to beat Aalborg and Nantes. In the match against the French in Zagreb we were getting close to "minus 1" a few minutes before the end, the referee records Dibirov’s foot fault, then a highly questionable whistle blew and instead of leveling the score, the rival makes "plus 3" after a minute or two.
By the way, we we in the "group of death". I don’t understand how the EHF could put Barcelona, Magdeburg, Aalborg, Nantes, Kielce and Pick in one group. Six brilliant teams, three winners of the trophy, last year’s finalist of the Champions League, the French who proved their strength by reaching the Final Four later, and the Hungarians who almost knocked out Barcelona from the tournament.
Magdeburg is my favorite in Cologne. I like the work of the young coach Wiegert, his professional growth I’ve been following from the begging. The leadership made a cool move by appointing him as the sports director as well — he decides whom to buy, unlike other clubs, where a manager buys a player and then tells the coach: "And now you train him!" Wiegert clearly understands whom he needs. The team is played together, there is a system, there are two players on each position, who complement each other.
Meanwhile, the system works all 60 minutes. Magdeburg never gives up, that is why it won the almost lost match in Veszprem. It was great, I was pleased with their success. Moreover, they awaited the return of injured Magnusson and Claar. Of course, they will lack Musche, who dropped out recently, but they have brilliant Mertens on the same position.
— Are the current problems of Barcelona the result of downtown of form, busy schedule and does Carlos Ortega simply leads the team to the peak shape closer to the end of the season and fight for the trophies?
— Words need not be wasted on Barcelona, they have everything to win the Champions League. Concerning current problems, I’m acquainted with Ortega, I’m on good terms with Konstantin Igropulo. When we played with Barcelona in away match, I met Konstantin in our hotel, we had a long conversation. Everything is possible, much depends on how the coach leads the team to the peak shape. They can afford to lose a certain match in the championship of Spain. It usually happens under heavy loads, probably, they worked hard on physical training within a week or two and it affected the whole team’s performance.
Honestly, I don’t like their performance in defense, they rely heavily on Nielsen, who is a great goalkeeper, but it wasn’t his day in the return 1/4 final match with Pick, and the team failed to compensate for it. Eventually they lost at home and almost flew out of the tournament. If the referees had appointed a seven-meter throw in favor of Pick with a one-goal difference a minute and a half before the end of the match, the Hungarians could have doubled the advantage and received a real chance. Top-level players gathered in Barcelona, it’s a top team which reach the peak shape in the Final Four, but let me repeat once again, it is highly dependent on its goalkeeper.
— You fought with Nantes at home as equals for almost the entire match and ceded only at the very end…
— Nantes is a good team which has been performing at the same level for 3-4 years already. They have a phenomenal Minne, one of the best centra backs in Europe, the left back Briet, two left-handed right backs, very tall Abdi and a little lower Bos, one is great in the distance, the other knows how to outplay 1 in 1, they complement each other well. There are also three great line players in the squad. It’s a balanced team with a fighting temper, they’ve been playing together for a long time without changes, all of them play both in attack and defense. They’ve been through an injury of Minne and he «killed» us here in Zagreb, for example. We held a good scouting, but he created us the biggest problems, scored balls and played a key role in their victory, he is a brilliant player. During his injury Nantes coped somehow, but he returned to the most important 1/8 and 1/4 final matches. Pesic in goal is worth mentioning, he was great in a return 1/4 fine match with Sporting (the Croatian goalkeeper reflected 16 throws out of 45, having shown 36% of reliability — Handballfast). He played against us brilliantly as well. He is formally the second goalkeeper of Nantes of veteran age, but he was always on the top in key matches.
— What is your forecast for the upcoming Final Four? How do you assess the chances of your former team Fuchse Berlin, does it have a chance for an unprecedented in the club’s history double in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga?
— The other day I talked to my friends from Germany, they believe that Fuchse Berlin will win both trophies. I don’t think they will take both, their choice of players is also not so wide, it’s hard to fight on two fronts.There is a couple of young guys who sit on the bench since the management invested a lot of money in the leading 5-6 players. Thereby, they had to save on the rest, that is why young guys appeared in reserve. There is a player-alien in Berlin. An alien! An alien in both defense and attack. I showed my players how Gidsel recently scored a goal in the counterattack in the match with Aalborg, how he was gliding across the hardwood floor almost to the front line, stood up, ran to defend and intercepted the rival’s pass, it was incredible! Perhaps, he was specially motivated since the Danish were the opponents, but he prepares for each match. He is a fantastic player, it’s impossible to stay with him, if you put two or three against him, he will find a way to pass, and Berlin will have an extra player on another part of the site. He is unstoppable, when he is on fire.
— How about his skill to move body in a jump when he throws on goal? He gets off the site for almost a meter and a half, but his body remains in a horizontal position — when a block appears in front of him, he regroups in the air and bypasses it and throws through an open gap in the defense.
— And not only this, pay attention on his throwing power! He launches rockets from this underlying position. Rockets! I met players with a powerful throw in my career, with a cannon in their hands, but they threw from the support or in a jump. Gidsel throws from any position with the same power! Moreover, they are perfectly played with Andersson, besides, they have Milosavljev in goal, who can always reflect 15-20 balls, great Marsenic in the line… Fuchse Berlin is able to beat any rival, and it means that it can win the Champions League. Regarding the others, I suppose that only Nantes has no chance to win the trophy in Cologne.
— Do you continue to watch Russian handball? Did you manage to see the final of the men’s Cup of Russia, what are your impressions?
— I watched all important matches of CSKA, Zenit, Chekhovskie Medvedi, Victor, Permskie Medvedi in this season and also the matches of the women's clubs Rostov-Don and CSKA because I feel sympathy for Lyudmila (Bodniyeva — Handballfast), we have very good relationship. I became acquainted with Irina (Dibirova — Handballfast) in Zagreb through Timur and felt sympathy for her too. Now I have two favorite women’s teams and I don’t know what to do in the finals, whom to support. I talked on the phone to Lyudmila a few hours ago. When CSKA ceded to Dinamo-Sinara in Volgograd, I wrote her that nothing was lost and it was possible to fight back, that she shouldn’t give up.
I watched the final of the men’s Cup, Zenit surprised me with such a weak play. It is a big victory of CSKA, but I didn’t expect that Zenit would fail on its home court in front of its own fans. They have many newcomers, it’s the begging of a new story, and that played a role, probably. I admit, I never liked the playing style of Zenit, but, as we know, tastes differ. Anyway, I expect a completely different situation and a great struggle in the finals of the men’s Super League.
— Do you keep in touch in Russia with anyone else, except Lyudmila Bodniyeva?
— We are in contact with Viktor Kireev. We worked together in Fuchse Berlin and retained close friendly, almost family relations. I often talk to Lev (Voronin — Handballfast), we remained friends, and I call Valya (Valentin Buzmakov — Handballfast) more often than anyone else, almost every other day. Valya is my friend for a lifetime, he helped me for four years, he was always around, we constantly supported each other. I’m happy that he becomes a top-level coach, he achieved a lot with the team which is, probably, the weakest in composition among those I have already mentioned, but at the same time it beat all leaders of the Super League. I watched that penalty shootout series against CSKA in the quarter-finals and when Permskie Medvedi blurred the last one, I was upset as if it was me who lost. I follow Russian handball very closely, I didn’t leave it, except that I don’t sit at the arena.
— What are you going to do next? You once said that your desire to get ahead of Alfred Gislason in the list of coaches, spent the highest number of matches in the championship of Germany, is an inducement to return to the Bundesliga. The Icelander is 30 matches ahead of you (680/650). Do you still wasn't to return to bypass him?
— I was disappointed with the refereeing in the Champions League to the extent that I’m not so much in love with handball. When I saw what mistakes the referees make, how they «correct» the result, I felt frustration. What had happened to me in Zagreb didn’t disappoint me. If I had been fired due to a poor result, I would have been disappointed, but, considering that the reasons are quite different — vanity, broken relationship — there is no place for frustration. I will stay for about a month in Zagreb, then we will go to the sea with my wife, we have a flat in Rijeka. We will rest and return to Berlin after that. Then I will go to see my sons in Tel-Aviv and Basel. I didn’t have enough time to communicate with them, I’ll use the opportunity to see them more often.
— Not a word about the Bundesliga…
— I specifically didn’t say what I was going to do! I will get some rest and an offer from Germany will definitely come. If it is interesting, I will accept it. I don’t want to head a team that doesn’t work. I’m a hard worker, why should I need a team that finishes a match with a score of 40:36, like recently Fuchse Berlin with Aalborg, for example? What is it working on in defense? Gidsel and Andersson are playing, let’s go! There is no work, no defense, and I like handball which is based on strong defense. If a team that is used to work hard, and such teams definitely exist, offers me a contract, I will consider it. When handball was invented, it consisted of defense and attack. Now there is no defense, and handball without defense is not that sport I used to love.
Photo: СПОРТСКИ ЖУРНАЛ, Mondo Ba, the press services of HC CSKA and HBC Nantes
