Celebrated Croatian handball coach Lino Červar, who has taken over Macedonian club Eurofarm Pelister, sharply criticized the state of Croatian handball, especially youth development, and urged that we must follow Slovenia's example.
Lino Červar, the celebrated Croatian handball coach who led the national team to Olympic gold in Athens in 2004, World Championship gold in Portugal in 2003, and numerous other medals, is not resting even at the age of 76. After coming out of retirement, he took over the Macedonian club Eurofarm Pelister and immediately began building the team according to his well-known recipe, but he also took the opportunity to speak to Sportske novosti about the burning issues in Croatian handball.
Červar is currently with his new team at a training camp in Zreče, Slovenia, where he has been getting to know the players and laying the groundwork for the season over the past ten days. "We've been working for about ten days now, and so far I'm getting to know the new team, and they're getting to know me. I'm trying to explain to the players what is expected of each one individually," said Červar. Eurofarm Pelister faces a demanding schedule in the Regional League, the domestic championship and cup, and the European League, where they will face Germany's Gummersbach, Spain's La Rioja, and Poland's Wybrzeże from Gdańsk in the group stage.
In line with his coaching philosophy, Červar immediately brought several young players into the first team. "That's my constant motto, and it's what I work on the most. I've received some reinforcements compared to the team Pelister had last season, and I've brought in some young players. That's the only way to keep handball at a level that produces results, and many forget that. It's easiest to bring in players from outside, but that's not the right path..." said the experienced expert.
Červar closely follows the results of Croatian youth teams and is far from satisfied with what he sees. "Of course, I follow everything. I know the U-18 men's team was eighth at the European Championship, the U-20 players were 16th and didn't qualify for the World Championship, and I saw that the young women's teams also performed poorly at their tournaments," he listed. In contrast to Croatia, Červar highlights the excellent example of neighboring Slovenia, whose young handball players won silver and bronze at the same competitions.
He particularly praised the work of Slovenian coach Marko Šibila. "I congratulated Dr. Marko Šibila, whom I know well, and who led the young Slovenians at the European Championship. Unfortunately, in Slovenia, youth work is much better than in Croatia," said Červar. He attributes Slovenia's success in multiple sports to quality youth development, which, in his opinion, is a key problem in Croatia.
Červar was particularly critical of the practices of Croatian clubs, citing RK Zagreb as an example. "Look, Zagreb again has a team full of foreigners, with no players from their own academy. That's not how you create lasting value; that's just throwing money away. When it comes to the national team, we obviously can't do without players from Herzegovina. Our clubs should work better with young players..." Červar was clear.
He also reflected on his previous role at the Croatian Handball Federation, where he served as coordinator for men's handball. "I had some visions that didn't get through, and at the time, I left feeling misunderstood. Just as it's not good for Zagreb to buy players from abroad to justify investments with an occasional win in Europe, it's also not good for the national team to mask obvious problems with an occasional medal," he asserted.
He stressed that the only right path is for the best coaches, like Dr. Marko Šibila in Slovenia, to work with young players. Although he is aware that this creates "enemies," Červar does not shy away from publicly stating his views. "There are many who agree with me, but they don't say it publicly. I will always do so if it's for the good of Croatian handball," he concluded.
Despite all the criticism, Červar looks at his new job with enthusiasm. "My Macedonians have welcomed me warmly again, I feel great and I enjoy what I do. I'm an enthusiast and I'm still in love with handball, and as long as that's the case, a man stays young regardless of age..." said the coach, who will return to Macedonia with Eurofarm Pelister on August 13 to continue preparations for the season.
