Haber returns to coach Czech men to former heights

1972 Olympic medallist Vladimír Haber has stepped into the same river for the third time. The 63-year-old, who signed a one year contract, replaces Slovakian Martin Lipták as the head coach of the Czech Republic's men's handball team and he is ready to bring back the successful 1990s during which the team belonged to Europe's top ten.

In 1996, during his first posting as national head coach, Haber steered the Czech Republic to a sixth position at the EHF EURO and his first task is to qualify for the 2014 edition of the continental championships in Denmark.

His second stint went from 2000 to 2002 and Haber now returned to the job ten years later and he has no time to waste. In less than a month (31 October) his team will face Israel in Zlín in a qualification match for the EHF EURO 2014.

„We will manage to qualify,“ he promised in an interview with the Czech website idnes.cz. The two other opponents in Qualification Group 2 are Montenegro and 2007 world champion Germany.

„Handball is played for people and we want people to like our game. But at the same time the results must not suffer, because nowadays if you have no results, you have no money. I would like to combine clever Czech handball with current world trends. This is the way for us in all team sports,” says Haber who won handball silver with Czechoslovakia at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games.

The team's backbone will remain unchanged under the new coach. Filip Jícha, 2010 World Handball Player of the Year and sharpshooter of VELUX EHF Champions League winner THW Kiel, will obviously play an important role in Haber's plans who, as Jícha, stems from the Czech city of Pilsen.

“Filip has been deployed in various positions and with many different roles in the past, but for us he will be the most valuable as a back court player, the dangerous shooter who can either execute on his own or set free his teammates,” said Haber, who will be assisted by Jaroslav Hudeček.

Predecessor Lipták was in charge for four years. His contract expired in June several days after his team failed to qualify for the 2013 World Championships in Spain.