MADRID, 17 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The national men’s handball coach, Jordi Ribera, was grateful for the renewal until 2028 and assured that he hopes to “correspond to this important vote of confidence” that the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM) has had in him so that he continues to be ” the visible head of a global project” that sees more important than sporting results.
“I want to thank the RFEBM for its trust, especially its president, who has had me since day one and for the trust in this third cycle. I hope to reciprocate this important vote of confidence,” Ribera said at a press conference after its renewal was announced last Wednesday.
The Catalan recalled that upon his arrival he could not “guarantee medals” but he could dedicate “24 hours” to handball. “Things have gone well in a sport where every day there are more demands and it is more difficult to compete and, however, Spain continues to be there because of the work of clubs and players who are capable of going out and perfecting their performance,” He pointed out, admitting that because he has “a totally different character”, he argues “many times” with President Francisco V.Blázquez. “I manage the sports field and he many more, I see things in one way and he tries to point it out, but we always reach a consensus,” he clarified.
For the coach, all the achievements of the men’s Absolute team since he arrived “are everyone’s merit.” “It has been a pride to be the visible head of this project, where the idea was to make it global, especially in my area, and generate a common model for all categories so that all players felt closer to the Absolute,” he remarked. he.
In this sense, Jordi Ribera, who estimated at “600” the players with whom they have been working in the CAR of Granada, saw it as “fundamental to know that this had continuity.” “The successes were there before, but somehow we have maintained that level and even raised it,” said the coach.
He also considered that “the objectives have been more than met.” “When I arrived in 2016 it was not a very good time, we had been left out of the Games and there were many questions, which continued after the 2017 World Cup where Croatia eliminated us in the quarterfinals by one goal,” he said.
“Starting in 2018, a different stage began, Spain was European champion for the first time, then came the immaculate European Championship of 20, where the most important thing for the players was qualification for the Tokyo Games and there they achieved a worthy medal. (bronze) for all the circumstances, setbacks, demands of the group and for the players who said goodbye to that stage and deserved it,” added Ribera, who also gave a lot of value to the 2022 European Championship where, despite the changes , they reached a third consecutive final, lost to Sweden, and showed that “despite everything, Spain was still a competitive team.”
And despite these successes, he insisted that what leaves him most “satisfied” is the “global project” because “it has never” been considered “a ‘medallitis’.” “We have generated a number of people around this project and there are 100 coaches in the CAR of Granada. There is no greater pride than when you leave to see that a great global job has been done,” he stressed.
“After the World Cup I said that my idea was to look for a club, but the same thing always happens to me and I change when I am with the national team for a month and a half and I do a lot of things that I couldn’t do in a club. That’s why we decided to maintain a cycle more than that I am very excited and for which I guarantee the maximum of work and a selection that must continue to be of maximum demand. Furthermore, I have been living in Madrid for seven years and I feel very comfortable, it is also an important point to stay,” he stressed. .
In any case, he asked to “go little by little” with the young people who are breaking out. “It helps that there is a model from the base. People come stomping, but they are still in their first experiences and it is important that they go through stages and that we do not accelerate them by giving them more responsibility than they should have,” said the Catalan, for the that it is “a motivation” to be able to face 2028 where the European Championship is at home and the Los Angeles Games with a group that he has formed.
And Jordi Ribera reiterated that they continue to be “a team under construction” and that they continue to “try to regenerate.” “The fact that 80 players have entered says that this is a team with open doors and that has generated motivation to counteract the conditions of other teams,” he explained.
“We are a competitive team, which always fights and plays differently, and which also always has its feet on the ground. We should never feel superior to others, but we should never be below the rest either. When we lose that perspective, that day We will start to lose,” said the coach.
BLÁZQUEZ: “I BELIEVED IN JORDI FROM THE BEGINNING”
For his part, the president of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM), Francisco V.Blázquez, confessed that this was “a very special day” and that Jordi Ribera is a person who “treasures work and involvement.” “When he came from Brazil, many doubts were generated and many people questioned the moment and other names came to light, but we were looking for the profile of a trainer, a competitor and a lover of our sport, someone who could lead the project of the men’s handball,” he highlighted.
“Jordi has made our team reach the sky, with him we have been European champions for the first time, but above all there is the base project because we had a very large plot of land behind us and the objective is to work with the present, thinking in the future and without forgetting the base,” the leader continued.
Blázquez asserted that he believed in Catalan “from the beginning.” “We had our differences, as it should be, because he tries to fight for his field and take more important steps so that the teams do the best. For me it was important to have a coach who is demanding with himself, with his environment and with the RFEBM because it makes me demand myself in the search for resources. It is not a question of economics but of a project and I appreciate your concern so that I think more about this project and to reach the 2028 European Championship with the highest expectations,” he wished.
“I never want to take contractual agreements beyond my mandate and Jordi is not going to work with someone who does not want to work, but what happened in 2020 was not fair either, where we had to wait until the last moment for an agreement, I also have to ensure the future of our technicians. I don’t usually commit, but I don’t like people living in uncertainty because we are talking about a project,” said the president who will have to run for re-election for the next cycle.