February 1, 2023 - Goran Perkovac, the captain of the Croatia national team that won gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, is the new coach of the Croatia men's handball team. 

Hrvoje Horvat is no longer the coach of the Croatia men's handball team. Immediately after the World Handball Championship, where Croatia took ninth place in the overall standings, the Croatian Handball Federation assessed that result as a failure, but also prolonged the decision on Horvat's fate until the statement of professional coordinator Lino Červar. The decision has been made, and Horvat has been removed from his position. Goran Perkovac will succeed him.

Goran Perkovac was the captain of the Croatia national team that won gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The native of Slatina was also the world runner-up at the World Champs in Iceland in 1995, the European bronze medalist in Portugal in 1994, and a double gold medalist from the Mediterranean Games. In addition, Perkovac was the coach of Switzerland, Greece, and Germany for many years. 

"After the last meeting of the Croatia men's senior national team at the World Handball Championship in Sweden and Poland and the victory against Bahrain (43:32), i.e., 9th place, the Croatian Handball Federation informs the public that it is not satisfied with the achieved result and considers it a failure. The minimum goal placed in front of the coach and the national team was the quarter-finals.

Since it has not been realized, the Croatian Handball Federation is waiting for the statement of professional coordinator Lino Červar about the status of the coach and the further sequence of events. Namely, the Croatian Handball Federation system is set up so that the coordinator proposes the national team coaches. After that, the decision is adopted or rejected by the Croatian Handball Federation Board of Directors," HRS announced eight days ago.

Horvat was Červar's assistant on the national team and succeeded him as the coach. However, he failed to return Croatia to the top of the world handball, and he will be remembered for the bizarre interview after Croatia's last match at the World Championship in Sweden and Poland.

Recall Horvat stood in front of RTL cameras and started the conversation by creating a heart with his fingers and directing it toward the camera.

"At the moment, I can't wait to see my family, then I will decide on my future," he answered. When asked about a possible resignation, he opened his mouth, pretending to answer whether he had the support of the Croatian Handball Federation. However, he didn't want to say whether that result was a failure. Instead, he said that he made some promises and that those were too intimate answers.

Source: Index.hr

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July 4, 2022 - Croatia will face the USA and two yet-to-be-revealed African teams in the 2023 Handball World Cup group stage in January. 

Croatia will play in Group G, and its opponents will be the United States of America and two African national teams - the champion and the third-placed team from the championship there, which will be held in July.

Coach Hrvoje Horvat spoke about the interesting draw: 

"We wanted to avoid the European teams from the third and fourth pot, and let me remind you that Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, and the Netherlands were there, and we succeeded. The champion of Africa and the third-place finisher from that continent certainly deserve maximum attention. Theoretically, it can happen that it will be Egypt and Tunisia, which is a completely different story, and the draw no longer looks so simple. But we'll see what happens. The good thing about all this is that we can already start scouting and analyzing them because the championship for these national teams starts in ten days. I would only like for us to be complete and not repeat a situation like at the European Championship in Hungary when we had corona. I do not doubt that Croatia will be in good form. It's a good draw in the sequel as well. I am an optimist and believe we will be great at that championship."

At the World Cup in January next year, 32 national teams will compete, which are divided into eight groups, and the group in which Croatia is in the second round crosses with group H, where Denmark, Belgium, Bahrain, and an African national team, which will take fourth place in the continental championship.

The Handball World Cup will be held from January 11 to 29 next year.

Handball World Cup 2023 (groups):

Group A (Krakow): Spain, Montenegro, Chile, Iran

Group B (Katowice): France, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia

Group C (Göteborg): Sweden, Brazil, Africa 2, Uruguay

Group D (Kristianstad): Iceland, Portugal, Hungary, South Korea

Group E (Katowice): Germany, Qatar, Serbia, Africa 5

Group F (Krakow): Norway, Sj. Macedonia, Argentina, Netherlands

Group G (Jönköping): Africa 1, Croatia, Africa 3, USA

Group H (Malmö): Denmark, Belgium, Bahrain, Africa 4

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated sports section. 

March 29, 2022 - The Croatia handball squad for the upcoming 2023 World Championship qualifiers against Finland has been named. Croatia will play the first match away on April 13 and in Varaždin on April 16. 

After the recent national team gathering in March, the Croatia men's senior national team will get together again in April. During the upcoming EHF week from April 11 to 17, 2022, the second round of qualifications for next year's World Championships will be played. Croatia is also participating in the second round of qualifications.

Croatia will meet Finland in the 2023 World Championship qualifiers. The first match will be hosted in Vantaa, on April 13, 2022, at 18:00. The return match will be played at Arena Varaždin, on April 16, also at 18:00.

Coach Hrvoje Horvat announced the list of players for the upcoming matches. There are 21 players on Horvat's list and nine more on the reserve list.

Croatia handball player list

MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
MATEJ MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
DOMINIK KUZMANOVIĆ – RK NEXE
DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE
IVAN ČUPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
FILIP GLAVAŠ -HC TRIMO TREBNJE
VERON NAČINOVIĆ – MONTPELLIER HB
ŽELJKO MUSA – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
MARIN ŠIPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCA
IGOR KARAČIĆ – LOMZA VIVE KIELCE
ZVONIMIR SRNA – RK PPD ZAGREB
MARKO MAMIĆ – SC DHfK LEIPZIG
TIN LUČIN – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
IVAN MARTINOVIĆ – TSV HANNOVER-BURGDORF
LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB
HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – CB NAVA

RESERVE PLAYERS:
JOSIP ŠARAC - FRISCH AUF GöPPINGEN

JAKOV GOJUN - RK PPD ZAGREB
MATEO MARAŠ - HC EUROFARM PELISTER
LEON ŠUŠNJA - ORLEN WISLA PLOCK
IVAN PESIC - TVB 1898 STUTTGART
KRISTIAN PILIPOVIĆ - CADET SCHAUFFHAUSEN
DAVOR ĆAVAR - RK PPD ZAGREB
VLADO MATANOVIĆ - RK PPD ZAGREB
ANTE GADŽA - RK VARDAR 1961

COACHING STAFF:

HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH
IVANO BALIĆ, COACH
IVAN STEVANOVIĆ, GOALKEEPER COACH
ŠIME TOMAŠEVIĆ, CONDITIONING COACH
ŽELJKO KERCEL, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
FILIP ŠIMUNOVIĆ, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
KREŠIMIR ROTIM, DOCTOR
DOMAGOJ GAJSKI, DOCTOR
IVICA UDOVIČIĆ, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL TEAM
IVICA MARAŠ, SPEAKER AND TEAM MANAGER
ZDRAVKO MIRILOVIĆ, TECHNICIAN
ZORAN ČULK, VIDEO (from April 13, 2022, Varaždin)

Source: HRS

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

November 6, 2021 - We will watch Croatia handball against Slovenia in a friendly match in Novigrad tonight as part of the national team's European Championship preparations, which have been taking place in Poreč all week. 

The Croatia national handball team will play a friendly match against Slovenia today at 6 pm in Novigrad, broadcast on HTV 2 for everyone at home, reports HRS.

After short preparations in Poreč all week, Hrvoje Horvat's team has a match that will serve as preparation for the European Championship, which will be held from January 14 to 30, 2022, in Hungary and Slovakia.

Respecting the recommendation of the Civil Protection Headquarters, due to the increasingly difficult epidemiological situation, the number of spectators in the hall is limited.

"One demanding phase is coming to an end, and it was a critical phase for us because we have entered certain changes. There is a big responsibility on new players, but I believe we will respond to all these challenges. Marin Šipić felt his shoulder a little, it is nothing serious, but we invited Grahovac to take his place," said coach Hrvoje Horvat when announcing the friendly match.

According to the announcements coming from Slovenia, the national team should arrive with their complete squad. Slovenia did a great job qualifying for the 2022 European Championships. They won four and lost only one match, with one draw. At the last European Championship in 2020, they won 4th place. In Egypt, on the other hand, at this year's World Cup, they finished ninth.

The last official match between Croatia and Slovenia was in France at the World Cup. In the fight for bronze, Slovenia then celebrated 31:30 and thus reached its first and only world championship medal.

Croatia did not have Luka Cindrić during these preparations, and Fran Mileta sat out after a serious injury in a recent game. Luka Šebetić also has minor problems with his heel, but he should be available to the coach, just like Ivan Pešić, who has a sore neck.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 25, 2021 - The Croatia handball player list for two June meetings against Spain in the EHF EURO Cup and a friendly against Egypt have been announced. 

The Croatian men's team coach Hrvoje Horvat has published the list of players he is counting on for the remaining EHF EURO Cup match against Spain and the friendly match against Egypt. There are 18 players on the list, along with seven more on the reserve list, if one of the invitees gets injured.

The national team will gather in Poreč on June 21 at 11:00 and will stay there until June 26 when it leaves for Spain. As it is known, the weekend before, Poreč will host the finals of the Men's Cup, so some of the players will already be there.

The remaining EHF EURO Cup 3rd round match between Spain and Croatia was originally planned before the World Cup, on January 9, 2021, but was canceled due to a snowstorm in Madrid.

The new date is June 27. A day later, the national team will play a friendly match against Egypt, which is preparing for the Olympic Games in Spain. The Spanish Handball Federation has yet to confirm where the match will be played. 

Hrvoje Horvat, men's senior national team coach: 
"The list includes most of the players who recently played against Slovakia and Hungary, but also some new names that we also want to check out. We have secured second place in the EHF EURO Cup, so the match against the European champions does not have any special competitive nature, but we want to see how these young players can cope with the handball giants. On the other hand, Egypt is waiting for us, which was fourth at the 2021 World Cup. It is a great opportunity to see players against a physically very powerful team that plays handball a little differently. It is important to note that both matches are played outside the so-called 'national team week,' i.e., the official calendar of the EHF, so we had to rely on players from domestic clubs or leagues that have finished their competitions."

CROATIA HANDBALL PLAYER LIST

1. MORENO CAR – RK NEXE

2. DINO SLAVIĆ – ABANCA ADEMAR LEON

3. MARIN JELINIĆ – RK NEXE

4. VALENTINO RAVNIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

5. KARLO GODEC – RK DUBRAVA

6. VLADO MATANOVIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

7. FRAN MILETA – RK NEXE

8. LEON ŠUŠNJA – ORLEN WISLA PLOCK

9. NIKOLA GRAHOVAC – RK PPD ZAGREB

10. VERON NAČINOVIĆ – RK CELJE PIVOVARNA LAŠKO

11. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE

12. ANTE IVANKOVIĆ – RK DUBRAVA

13. TIN LUČIN – ABANCA ADEMAR LEON

14. FILIP VISTOROP – RK PPD ZAGREB

15. ZVONIMIR SRNA – RK PPD ZAGREB

16. LUKA LOVRE KLARICA – RK PPD ZAGREB

17. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – TREMBLAY EN FRANCE HANDBALL

18. TOMISLAV SEVEREC – RK NEXE

RESERVE PLAYERS:

1. MATEJ HRSTIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

2. BORNA MANCI MIČEVIĆ – RK NEXE

3. FILIP PERIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

4. GIANFRANCO PRIBETIĆ – RK NEXE

5. DAVOR ČAVAR – RK PPD ZAGREB

6. SANDRO MEŠTRIĆ – PAUC HANDBALL

7. IVAN BUDALIĆ – MOSER MEDIKAL UHK KREMS

COACHING STAFF:

1. HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH

2. IVANO BALIĆ, TRAINER

3. NINOSLAV PAVELIĆ, GOALKEEPER TRAINER

4. MILJENKO RAK, CONDITIONING TRAINER

Source: HRS

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

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March 23, 2021 - Celebrated former Croatia national handball team player Ivano Balić should soon join the national team staff to assist coach Hrvoje Horvat in the coming period.

24 Sata reports that Balić should act as Horvat's first assistant, and Igor Vori, who has played a double role so far, should remain only the national team's sports director in the future.

While the news about Ivano Balić's engagement is still unofficial, sources close to the Croatian Handball Federation have revealed that Balić agreed to accept the offered position of an assistant coach. The formality of the appointment and official announcement will be at the HRS Board meeting and then at the Assembly, in the second week of April, immediately after the Easter holidays.

The first next action of the Croatia national handball team is the EHF EURO Cup, a competition in which the teams that directly qualified for the European Championship in 2022 will compete: Spain and Croatia as finalists of the last European Championship and Slovakia and Hungary, which as hosts do not have to play qualifiers. The EHF has organized a special competition for these four national teams, which continues on April 26.

As it is usual to send invitations to players two weeks in advance, it is expected that the association will complete the procedure of appointing Ivano Balić as soon as possible. Given the current epidemiological situation, it is not yet known where all the matches will be played, but Croatia should play in Varaždin. The possibility remains to play two matches with the same opponent on the same court if it is easier to organize it due to other countries' epidemiological situation.

At the end of January, Lino Červar proposed Ivano Balić as a candidate for the new coach after Červar resigned from the post but retained the coordinator position for men's handball. The unnatural and illogical position in which the former coach proposes his successor should also be discussed in the Board and the Assembly.

After the debacle at the World Champs in Egypt, Lino Červar was succeeded by Hrvoje Horvat, who had the advantage over the other two candidates: Slavko Goluža and Ivano Balić. At that time, the board of directors did not even consider Balić as a candidate, with the explanation that he did not have the necessary license.

"After an exhaustive discussion and detailed analysis of each of the offered candidates, it was determined that Ivano Balić, unfortunately, does not have the required credentials to perform the function of the coach. Of the two remaining candidates, the Board of Directors member, who is busy with work obligations, decided to maintain continuity in the work of the national team and decided to appoint Hrvoje Horvat as the coach of the Croatia men's senior national team," HRS announced at the time.

In the meantime, the handball team was left without the Olympic Games at the qualifying tournament in Montpellier, France. Still, the HRS leadership stood behind the Croatia coach and entrusted him with leading the team in the coming period. Ivano Balić's engagement should give him additional strength and authority in his attempt to return Croatia to the top of European and world handball.

Until now, Ivano Balić has worked as a coach of the junior national team. He has a coaching license but not a "master coach," which is necessary for the coaches who lead the national teams in the biggest competitions. However, Balić regularly attends lectures and should get a license this year so that he could sit on the bench as the national team coach in the future.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 21, 2021 - National team coach Hrvoje Horvat reveals the future of Croatia handball. 

In its 26 years on the world stage, Croatia handball has participated in 35 of 37 major competitions and won 14 medals. The Olympic handball tournament in Tokyo is the second big competition without Croatia, 21 years after Croatia failed to qualify for Sydney. 

Hrvoje Horvat took over the team after Lino Červar resigned after the World Championship in Egypt. A month and a half later, with only three days of preparation, Croatia failed to turn the story around and missed out on the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

Hrvoje Horvat is only now starting his representative career, and only now will he show why he was elected to the top position.

In an interview with Jutarnji List, national team coach Hrvoje Horvat looks into Croatia's future. 

Have you gotten over Montpellier?
"We hurt. Of course, we wanted better, and it is not pleasant, especially not in this way where you have achieved part of the goal and plan. I’m talking about the game against France, something we could have influenced where we didn’t last. It will haunt us all for a while longer. The wounds are deep, the older guys to whom it was supposed to be the crown of their careers found it hard to accept and survive, but we have to move on. It's a sport. Sport does not allow for long celebrations after victories, nor long mourning after defeats."

Was three days too little time to change anything from Egypt?
"We knew we didn't have time to do big things. We tried to speed up the game as much as possible to score an easier goal, and I would say that we succeeded, but with two rotations, which are our biggest problem, we did not succeed much. The game fell hard on us because of that, and it is a matter that we have to solve urgently in the future. We will do that with a new selection of players."

What is your vision for a new Croatia?
"You should be very careful here because the best should play in the national team. We again have to look long-term and forward. The primary selection has to change; we have to speed up the game. 60 minutes to attack the full zone, where you spend a lot of energy. Without transition, it’s hard to endure an entire game. I want us to be variable in defense, like in the game against France from 5-1 to 6-0. While we had the strength, there were also results. Goalkeepers definitely need to support us more. That is the second biggest problem we have at the moment.

A shot from outside is a cancer of our wounds, and these are the most respected players in handball. Our priority in that sense must be the younger categories; we have to hone our talents and build players. This may not be a key segment of our game in the future, but it is a segment without which high-level handball cannot be played. The crucial problem is the change of defense - attack. My philosophy is that with the defense we try to close the central part of the zone; we have to work the density to avoid being attacked from the middle where the goal is the biggest and widest. We have to ask our goalkeepers to defend us well from wide positions. We have to do that by working with smaller categories all the way to seniors. I see the future. OK, we have potential, but the situation needs to be resolved quickly."

Does Croatia have the potential to do that?

"The luxury of big clubs are rotations; the players are used to that. Before, the coach had a problem getting the player out because he was angry, and now the players are asking you to put them on the bench to take a break. We have to adapt to that because the preparations are very short. There will therefore be situations where we will have to compromise, but with one good selection, we can significantly reduce that risk."

Is Croatia's defense the problem?

"In my opinion, the defense was very good, but when the opponent's goalkeeper has 14 saves, and ours 5, it significantly changes things. If it was the other way around, we would talk differently. Secondly, I said a bigger problem than the defense was because we changed two players who significantly slowed down our game. We won't do that anymore."

How do we resolve the goalkeeper issue?

"We need to draw the line and start solving problems. We will have to be fast first hand, but we also have to count in the long run. In general, already at the next gathering, we will have a picture of how I imagine it from the wings, goalkeepers, attacks because we do not have much time, the Euro is in just six months, and there we want to be good and competitive in a different way."

Horvat believes there will be a lot of changes.  

"All the guys understand the situation. We may have had drama in history, but healthy and open communication solves everything. I don't mean to brandish a sword. A player plays in the national team because he deserves to play in the club and fulfills what we want.

In the first selection, we will introduce two or three new names by positions. And that will be it; we don’t have time to change constantly. We have to go to the European Championships with a vision of what we can build by 2025 and the World Championship we are hosting. We should know that the World Championship is important to us two years before qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024. The backbone must be known already at the Euros. Here, one should consider the problems with form, injuries; this cannot be avoided. But the backbone will be known.

I'm looking forward to the challenge; I'm ready for it. I think I did a good job in Dubrava, Našice, so I will do it on the national team."

You can read the full interview on Jutarnji List.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 11, 2021 - Croatia handball departs for Montpellier after a short preparation in Zagreb ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament this weekend.

The Croatia men's handball team has completed three short days of preparation ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament hosted by Montpellier from March 12 to 14. This is a new challenge for Croatia that ensures a spot in Tokyo at the Olympic Games this summer. 

New coach Hrvoje Horvat and his professional staff had only a short time to prepare for the competition in France, refreshing the players who competed in several matches recently and preparing the others who have played less.

The schedule in Montpellier is hellish. In three days, the national team will face three extremely difficult rivals; the first against the best national team of all time, and the host - France - on Friday, the always improving Portugal on Saturday, and a clash against one of the best African national teams on Sunday - Tunisia.

Due to COVID-19, the World Handball Federation has allowed each national team 20 players. Up to 16 can be on the player list for each match, and five changes are possible. 

As it is known, Hrvoje Horvat had 21 players at his disposal during these short preparations. Since he has the most numbers in the outside positions, he decided to drop Matej Hrstić. The valuable member of PPD Zagreb thus stays at home. 

List of Croatia national handball team members:

1. MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
2. IVAN PEŠIĆ – HC MEŠKOV BREST
3. MATE ŠUNJIĆ – US IVRY HANDBALL
4. IVAN ČUPIĆ – RK VARDAR 1961
5. ZLATKO HORVAT – RK METALURG SKOPJE
6. MANUEL ŠTRLEK – TELEKOM VESZPREM HC
7. DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
8. ŽELJKO MUSA – SC MAGDEBURG
9. MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
10. ILIJA BROZOVIĆ – TSV HANNOVER -BURGDORF
11. KREŠIMIR KOZINA – FRISCH AUP GOPPINGEN
12. LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCELONA
13. DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
14. IGOR KARAČIĆ – HC LOMZA VIVA KIELCE
15. MARKO MAMIĆ – SCDHFK LEIPZIG
16. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
17. IVAN MARTINOVIĆ – HC HANNOVER -BURGDORF
18. DOMAGOJ PAVLOVIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
19. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – TREMBLAY EN FRANCE HANDBALL
20. ŠIME IVIĆ – HC ERLANGEN

The Croatia national handball team has been to the Olympic Games five times so far and won gold in Atlanta and Athens.

The Croatia handball team travels to France on Thursday.

Source: HRS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 9, 2021 - The first Croatia handball player list under coach Horvat has been released ahead of the Olympic Qualifiers next month. 

The new coach of the Croatia men's senior national team, Hrvoje Horvat, has published a list of 21 players he is counting on for the Olympic Qualifiers to be held in Montpellier from March 12 to 14, 2021. As is already known, Croatia is in a group with France, Portugal, and Tunisia. The two best national teams from each of the three groups will compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Apart from Montpellier, qualifying tournaments are also played in Berlin and Trondheim.

The player list also includes two well-known names who were not in Egypt at the World Championship - Luka Stepančić, a member of MOL-Pick Szeged, and Domagoj Pavlović, who plays for Melsungen. Both of these players were injured and could not compete in Egypt.

Croatia handball player list:

1. MARIN ŠEGO – MONTPELLIER HB
2. IVAN PEŠIĆ – HC MESHKOV BREST
3. MATE ŠUNJIĆ – US IVRY HANDBALL
4. IVAN ČUPIĆ – RK VARDAR 1961
5. ZLATKO HORVAT – RK METALURG SKOPJE
6. MANUEL ŠTRLEK – TELEKOM VESZPREM HC
7. DAVID MANDIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
8. ŽELJKO MUSA – SC MAGDEBURG
9. MARINO MARIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
10. ILIJA BROZOVIĆ – TSV HANNOVER -BURGDORF
11. MARIN ŠIPIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB
12. LUKA CINDRIĆ – BARCA
13. DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK – THW KIEL
14. IGOR KARAČIĆ – HC LOMZA VIVA KIELCE
15. MARKO MAMIĆ – SCDHFK LEIPZIG
16. HALIL JAGANJAC – RK NEXE
17. IVAN MARTINOVIĆ – HC HANNOVER -BURGDORF
18. DOMAGOJ PAVLOVIĆ – MT MELSUNGEN
19. LUKA ŠEBETIĆ – TREMBLAY EN FRANCE HANDBALL
20. LUKA STEPANČIĆ – MOL – PICK SZEGED
21. MATEJ HRSTIĆ – RK PPD ZAGREB

Hrvoje Horvat, the men's senior national team coach, on choosing this lineup:
"The skeleton of the national team is in some form as it was in the last two gatherings. We only hope that all the players on the list will be healthy and able to respond. There are no big surprises as far as players are concerned; there is very little time. My right hand on the bench will be Igor Vori, and I will not have a classic assistant coach. Matija Bilušić will sit on the bench as a goalkeeper coach, and I am happy to strengthen the staff with the goalkeeper coach. Two new physiotherapists, Goran Krušelj and Matija Rajnović will deal with this part of the job. A slightly thinner headquarters, but I believe that this is the right path and that we will show it."

When announcing his list of players, Horvat also announced the composition of the new staff. Thus, for the beginning of his term, Horvat will be without a classic assistant. The goalkeeper's coach remains Matija Bilušić, who also performed this task during the World Championship in Egypt. In the future, he will train goalkeepers and sit on the bench next to the coach. The new physiotherapists of the national team are Goran Kruselj and Matija Rajnovic. The rest of the staff remains unchanged. In other words, there are still Dr. Krešimir Rotim, Dr. Tomislav Kukin, director of all Croatia national teams Ivica Udovičić, sports director of men's national teams Igor Vori, who will continue to be on the bench, spokesperson and team manager Ivica Maraš, and technician Zdravko Mirilović.

Coaching staff:
1. HRVOJE HORVAT, COACH
2. MATIJA BILUŠIĆ, GOALIE COACH
3. MILJENKO RAK, CONDITIONING TRAINER
4. GORAN KRUŠELJ, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
5. MATIJA RAJNOVIĆ, PHYSIOTHERAPIST
6. KREŠIMIR ROTIM, MEDIC
7. TOMISLAV KUKIN, MEDIC
8. IVICA UDOVIČIĆ, DIRECTOR OF ALL NATIONAL TEAMS
9. IGOR VORI, SPORTS DIRECTOR OF MEN'S TEAMS
10. IVICA MARAŠ, SPOKESPERSON AND TEAM MANAGER
11. ZDRAVKO MIRILOVIĆ, TECHNICIAN

Source: HRS

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.  

January 28, 2021 - Former assistant coach Hrvoje Horvat will lead the Croatia men's handball team as the head coach after Lino Cervar's resignation. 

HRS reports that through a telephone session, the Croatian Handball Federation Board of Directors accepted the resignation of coach Lino Cervar. At the same time, the Board of Directors received a proposal from the Coordinator for Men's Handball, Lino Cervar, for three candidates to lead the Croatia men's senior national team - Hrvoje Horvat, Slavko Goluža, and Ivano Balić.

After an exhaustive discussion and detailed analysis of each of the offered candidates, it was determined that Ivano Balić, unfortunately, does not have the necessary credentials to act as a coach. Of the two remaining candidates, the Board of Directors, by a majority of votes, with one vote against and one abstention, and the non-declaration of a member who is busy with work obligations, decided to maintain continuity in the work of the national team and decided on Hrvoje Horvat as the coach of the Croatia men's senior national team.

Hrvoje Horvat, the new national team coach, commented on his appointment: 
"Thanks to the Board of Directors for trusting me. I am delighted. I would also like to thank the entire Croatian Handball Federation for these eight years of working with younger ages and Lino Cervar's assistant. Through all these years, I have gathered a lot of experience and knowledge, and I believe that it will help me lead the Croatia men's senior national team. Thanks, of course, to Mr. Lino Cervar for proposing me. I am aware of how much responsibility and obligation it is, but I believe that I can respond to all challenges and successfully lead Croatia."

The Croatia handball team will gather this spring for the critical Olympic qualifying tournament, which will take place in France in March. 

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