Slovenian legend and four-time EHF Champions League winner Uros Zorman serves as assistant coach to Ljubomir Vranjes in the Slovenia national team. Alongside that, he is coach of club Trimo Trebnje, who had a successful group phase in their first EHF European League season.

This centre back decided to end his playing career in 2018 and then became the second coach for Kielce. Zorman, considered the best playmaker in history of handball for many, spent 10 years in Poland and now awaits the duel against their national side in the EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers. The match is on schedule for 9 March at 20:10 CET, live on EHFTV.

“I’ve spent 10 years in Kielce and I know Poland very well. Poland had a good tournament at the World Championship in Egypt. They’ve introduced some younger players. Playing good in defence with a strong goalkeeper duo is their strength. Poland have a touch of the Spanish system and we have to be careful about left back shooters and counter attacks.”

A challenging week for Slovenia

Slovenia sit in qualification group 5 together with Netherlands, Turkey and Poland. They have played two matches so far — both against Netherlands. Vranjes’ team overran their opponents in their first encounter, but the rematch saw a 27:27 draw.

“We played only against the Netherlands. While the away match was good, we underperformed in the second match. I think we should have won that,” says Zorman. “Next is Poland and we aim for the win. We have to show a good performance before the Olympic qualification. Slovenia has a great team full of confidence.”

Slovenia have a tight schedule ahead of them, as national team week brings them one EHF EURO 2020 qualifiers match and the Olympic Games qualification tournament. The tight schedule is due to reshuffling as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought many difficulties for sport globally. Zorman emphasised the difficulties many elite sportsman face, with handball no exception.

“It’s hard to keep up the pace with so many matches. After the World Championship in Egypt ended, many players had catchup matches alongside regular ones. Now, instead of having preparations only for qualifying to either the EHF EURO 2022 or the Olympic Games, we have four matches in only six days. We have to be strong, give our maximum strength and always keep our heads high.”

Every team and individual surrounding handball has worked hard to keep handball alive during the difficult times. The season has been challenging and has meant changes in every national team — and Slovenia is no different.

“We struggle with some injuries, especially on the positions of left back and wing. We still have to see who the lucky 16 are for the match against Poland. We will give our best on the court to achieve our goals,” concludes Zorman after the first day of preparations of the national team.

Road to the Olympic Games

Right after the EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers match against Poland, Slovenia will travel to Berlin, where they will try to secure their place at the Olympic Games. They face Algeria, Sweden and Germany. Winning over Poland would be a good base prior the Olympic qualifier matches.

“It’s a dream for every player to be part of the Olympics Games. As I said, we have some difficulties in the team and this qualification tournament comes with the wrong timing. We are aware that we will have to win against one of the favourites: Sweden or Germany. We believe in our team and I hope we will have a positive score after this hard team week.”