MADRID, 31 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s handball team was received this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) after winning the bronze medal in the World Cup, which was played in Poland and Sweden from January 11 to 29, a tournament in the that the ‘Hispanics’ once again demonstrated their “competitive gene” to become “one of the best representatives of Spanish sports in history.”
The players, led by the national coach, Jordi Ribera, were accompanied by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta; the president of the COE, Alejandro Blanco; and that of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM), Francisco V. Blázquez.
He was in charge of opening the act, asking to “value” what the squad has achieved since they won world gold in 2013 -the second in the history of Spanish handball-, a medal that was followed by nine other metals in big tournaments. “We have to realize that we forget successes very quickly. We fight with other federations with more budgets, this speaks of the ‘Hispanic gene,'” he highlighted.
“It’s something historic, it’s a bronze to savor and enjoy. It leaves us in an optimal position to qualify for the Games. The continuity of medals seems simple, but doing it year after year is the most important thing,” he added about the feat.
And for Blázquez, the keys are “work, humility, sacrifice and respecting the rival”. “Talking about Hispanics is talking about values, about fighting every second and every minute. The team can lose, but it is capable of recovering, that’s how we Spaniards are, perhaps we are not the biggest or the strongest, but we are the ones who have that DNA within that makes us be the most competitive”, he praised.
Thus, he took the opportunity to praise the work of the coaching staff, led by Jordi Ribera, trying to “give the game as much liveliness as possible and add tension”. “After the scare against Norway, I can say that I don’t need a heart check. This is the Hispanic gene, every game is a war,” he commented on the quarterfinals against Norway, a duel in which Spain won after two extensions.
Ribera himself took stock of a “very demanding” World Cup, in which it was also “important to get the pre-Olympic place” for Paris 2024. “From the quarterfinals we had our eyes on the illusion of being able to reach the final We got the best Norway, we gave the spirit that there is not a lost match”, he recalled.
GUARDIOLA: “SPANISH HANDBALL IS HEALTHY AND STRONG”
“Before Sweden, the team is always capable of going forward, after mourning. It is capable of facing a match for bronze in front of 22,000 people. In attack it was a great game,” he praised. “We have set up a project with a lot of people around us. We wanted to create a common identity, a project of identity and involvement,” the coach concluded about the work that is also carried out in lower categories.
A vision that they share inside the locker room, with captain Gedeon Guardiola as the greatest exponent. “Year after year, this team has that gene. When the youngsters come to the team, they are aware that they have to come with that attitude. I don’t worry about managing the team, but with these people it is very comfortable on a day-to-day basis. You don’t have to demand a lot from them, because for them to give their best, it’s thanks to the efforts of previous generations,” he said.
“We are getting used to it, but that is good, it means that Spanish handball is healthy and strong. It is a reflection of the work of all the coaches and shows that people come with a lot of desire and ambition,” he added, before confessing that the The quarterfinal match against Norway is “one of the most emotional matches” of his career. “These are games that make you grow as a team. That is the ‘Hispanic gene,'” he said.
For his part, Abel Serdio, one of the eight rookies in a World Cup with the Hispanics, stressed that this bronze “speaks very well of the work being done in the national team” after a few years of “generational change.” “I used to enjoy myself from the sofa, and now luckily I have to experience it on the track and it has been a great experience. The key is the team,” he said.
The president of the COE, Alejandro Blanco, was in charge of closing the event with words of “thankfulness, gratitude, support, recognition and affection” towards the team. “You make a wonderful group. You are the best handball in the world, you are making an author’s team, Jordi (Ribera), an enviable group,” he said.
“The most important thing is to play to win, and you show it in every game. In a moment of maximum tension we saw that the team has no limits”, he applauded in reference to the goal by Dani Dujshebaev and “half of Spain” in the last second of the quarterfinals. “It’s because of your competitive gene. You are one of the best representatives of Spanish sport in history,” he celebrated about a team that “has to opt for gold in Paris 2024.” “By trajectory they deserve it,” Blanco settled.