All the young dudes

It was a Classico of its time! It was a long day for the players. A late start meant that each team had a long time to think about the game, to focus, to concentrate; to be sure they would be at the top of their game for a crucial match.

The "Florijani" turned out in force in the Zlatarog Arena for a throwback to the glory nights of Celje, long past. Like a mountain spring, the first murmurings of 'Celje, Celje, Champions, Champions,' began until it became a torrent of undulating passion as the home team burst through the banner that read: "Once Celje, forever Celje".

The lights were low, but the spirits were high as each player received a throaty roar from all of the 6,000 fans that packed the arena, between seated and standing room only. If Zagreb had any doubts as to the importance of this contest, they were quickly quashed in an outpouring of Celje pride that would be enough to make even the most seasoned veteran quake at the knees.

And quake they did. The young team of Zagreb had no answer to the wave after wave of attack and defence, from Celje, coupled with the force of the rising tide from the crowd that greeted each goal or each unforced error.

This match was littered with turnovers and technical fouls from both teams. 31 combined don’t tell the story of how refreshing it was to watch a match like this. Perhaps we are somewhat spoiled by the technical expertise of the more established teams, and therefore can be critical of a game where mistakes became the norm rather than the exception.

But for me it was brilliant, to see that young players need the time to learn, that they should be allowed the space to completely lose it, because in the end they will only learn. The fact that so many were on view at the same time, meant the game was played with an innocence and naivety that brought soul back to handball.

It was riveting, for all that, because you never knew when you would see a passage of play of sublime skill, or a double dribble that would be unacceptable from an under-15 player.

Outstanding performers

Dvorsek, the mastermind of youth coaching at Zagreb, now the head coach, has been pulling his hair out for years trying to tease out the best in young Croatian handball, and it is no wonder that he is completely shorn of his locks.

But it would be unfair to only blame young heads for their display and by the way, there were copious problems for Celje in that regard as well. The truth is the defence of Celje was outstanding.

Zvizej, Poteko and Sliskovic were outstanding. The fluidity with which they moved from 6-0 to 5-1 to 4-2 was impressive and it strangled the life out of Zagreb.

Sliskovic completely outshone Mandalinic, giving watching Croatian national team coach, Goluza something to think about, but also Stepancic and Valcic could not cope with the power and pace.

The Celje goalkeepers had only 20% saves in the game, but the defence in front of them, either, didn't allow for a shot, or if one came it went wide. Truly, it was brilliant. At a vital stage in the second half, when it seemed like no one could, or wanted to score a goal, Leskak, back-pedalling like a clown on a unicycle saved a penalty lob from Horvat and followed it up with a sublime one on one save against Josip Valcic.

This just seemed to add legs to Celje and a cheeky Kempa and some extraordinary individual play from Lekai, Skube, Sliskovic and Zelenovic allowed the home team to add insult to injury for Zagreb.

Before the game, Matic, the Celje coach, bemoaned the fact that he had no Toskic to marshal his defence, whereas Zagreb had Tonci Valcic.

He needn't have worried, because one man stood out like the last rampart of a castle to be breached. He was preternatural on the day. Luka Zvizej, an EHF Champions League winner with Barcelona in 05, was the outstanding player on the day.

If the old adage that defence wins games is true, then he won the match for Celje. He was amazing. He pushed his teammates and himself to the physical limit. He was always in the right place.

He seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and he gave a master class in the number 1 position of the 5:1 defence. His was the major contributing factor to a host of mistakes made by the, much vaunted, Zagreb attack.

Even writing this, I am fondly reminded of coaching youngsters in Ireland. They put a smile on your face when they do something extraordinary and bring you back to the tactics board when they are unable to carry out your instructions.

I cannot explain the game better than that. It wasn't a Classico in the purist sense. If the crowd had not been present it could have been a damp squib.

However, they were and it wasn't. I loved every second of being there and the very nature of the game gave it an intangible quality. At a time when money and professionalism dominate sport, this was pure unadulterated probity. The pressure remained, but sport won out.

As this is the final blog of the year 2013, I would like to thank all the players and coaches for their time in interviews, for the skill and determination they bring to our fantastic sport of handball. To thank all the clubs that welcomed me as a friend on my trips away from home. To thank the TV guys who make my job so easy.

And to the fans: well you are the greatest in any sport.

Happy Christmas and I hope to see you all in 2014.