András Nemeth steers Hungary towards Women’s EHF EURO 2014

Last week it was announced that Andras Nemeth becomes new head coach of Hungary’s women’s national team, bronze medallist at the EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia.

The background to the announcement was one of the saddest to imagine, as the position became vacant after the previous head coach, Karl Erik Böhn, lost his battle against cancer and passed away at the beginning of February.

The 60-year-old Nemeth has been in charge of the women’s national team already on two occasions. For the first time for a very brief stint in 1998, for the second time from 2005 to 2007, a period during which he won bronze with the squad at the World Championship 2005.

He takes it with humour that he has been appointed again.

"I’m a record holder," he says laughing. "Because this is the first time in Hungarian handball history that someone has been able to be in this position three times."

Up until the end of the 2012/13 season Nemeth had been coaching Austrian women’s handball powerhouse, Hypo Niederösterreich, with which he reached the final of the Women’s EHF Champions League in 2008 and won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 2013.

His contract with the women’s national team runs until summer 2016 and the Rio Olympic Games at which he wants to steer the team close to the medal ranks, as he reveals to ehf-euro.com.

ehf-euro.com: What will be your first steps in your new position?
Andras Nemeth:  We have to build a new team. A team that can be successful at the EHF EURO 2014 in Hungary and Croatia first and then also on the road that leads us to the Olympic Games 2016.

There are brilliant players in our team, for example Anita Görbicz, Zsuzsanna Tomori and Zita Szucsánszki and we have also young and talented players.  I would like to give them the opportunity and eventually we have to find the strongest squad.

ehf-euro.com: Who else will be part of your team?
Andras Nemeth: I’m looking for members of staff, although the team manager has already been found. I thought I need someone who is different from me and found the best.

I’m a man, she isn’t. She was a goalkeeper, I played as a left back. She is young, I’m 60 years old.  She is pretty and I.... So, the Hungarian team’s manager is Katalin Pálinger who finished her career one and a half years ago.

She was my player in the national team earlier; we became bronze medallists at the World Championship 2005 together. She knows both me and the players because they used to play together in the Hungarian national team or at Györi AUDI ETO.

ehf-euro.com: What is the aim of the Hungarian national team this year?
Andras Nemeth: We have a very important year, because we will play in front of the Hungarian fans at the EURO 2014. We would like to show our best face, to do our best. We need to work a lot, but I believe in our effort and the team .

ehf-euro.com: Last season you worked with many of World Championship winning players from Brazil when you coached Hypo Niederösterreich.  What do you think about Brazil’s gold medal? What was the key of their success?
Andras Nemeth: They believed that what they do is the best for them. They were strong physically. They worked very hard for the success and now they have a gold medal.

I think it is very important that the players believe in the work we do together. When we worked together in the club, they believed they can be better and better.

ehf-euro.com: What has happened with  yourself since you were head coach last time? Are you different now?
Andras Nemeth: I appreciate the early periods and by this time I can see my mistakes from that time.  I think I will do things in a different way, and on the other hand the routine is very important.

The past years have given a great deal of experience to me both in Hungary and in international handball life. I like to use it for the success of the Hungarian national team.

Large photo: HHF / Péter Cseh