New coach in Constanta

Two defeats in their first two VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League matches and another in the domestic championship were too much for HCM Constanta. 

Club bosses fired their coach, Jovica Cvetkovic, on Thursday evening.

Cvetkovic was appointed head coach of the Romanian champions in July 2010, just two months after the former coach, Zoran Kurtes tragically passed away due to a heart attack.

Now former assistant coach, Eden Hairi, was been appointed as the new coach of the team.

“My dream is to continue the work Zoran Kurtes started with this team,” Hairi said to the Romanian website “Handbal Volei”.

“He is the one we should never forget, he was an outstanding coach and a remarkable person. With him, HCM had the greatest results in the Champions League, as well as in the domestic championship.

“The players know me very well, I know them very well, so it will not be any problem to immediately start improving our play,” he said.

Hairi is now at his third spell as coach of Constanta. Each time he was appointed during crisis periods just to be replaced shortly afterwards.

Hairi continued: “Even when the managers brought someone else to replace me as head coach, I didn’t get angry with them. We both agreed that it’s the best for the team to stay here and to continue as assistant coach. I knew my time would come again.

"Now we want to play well in Ciudad Real, our next opponents in the competition. I want people to see that Constanta has a good team, even if we’ll lose the match.”

The former Spanish and Valladolid assistant coach, Alexandru Buligan, will continue his work in Constanta, as assistant coach and goalkeeper coach.

HCM Constanta is now last in Group D of the VELUX EHF Men’s Champions League, after losing against HC Croatia Osiguranije Zagreb (home) and SG Flensburg-Handewitt (away).