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In what is going to be a prelude to the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship, which Qatar is set to host for the first time in January next year, the IHF Super Globe tournament begins today at the brand new Qatar Handball Association Complex in Duhail. |
The seventh edition of the championship will pit continental club champions against each other. But the bigger challenge will be for the organisers, as it will serve as a first test event for the World Championship.
However, the hosts seem to have left no stone unturned in providing world class facilities, with three new stadiums built for the marquee event.
In total, eight club teams from five continents will compete for the trophy in Doha. Oceania champions Sydney University from Australia and Tunisian club Esperance Sportive de Tunis, the African champions, will play the opening match, set for a 1 pm start today.
There will be three more matches on the day, with the big one between defending champions FC Barcelona (Spain) and local outfit Al-Sadd, scheduled after the opening ceremony which will be held at 7 pm.
The other teams in fray are European Champions League winners SG Flensburg-Handewitt (Germany), Pan-American club champions HC Taubaté (Brazil) and two more Qatari clubs—El Jaish (Qatar/Asian club champions) and wild card entrants Al Ahli, the 2014 Qatar Handball Cup champions.
The group matches will be played on the first three days before the tournament takes a break on Wednesday, September 10. Then the two best-ranked teams from Groups A and B will face off in the semi-finals on September 11. The final will take place the following day.
Barcelona will once again be the frontrunners to clinch the title. The Spanish team, who beat FC Hamburg in the final last year, have been strengthened by the arrival of Iceland winger Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson and Tunisian left-back Wael Jallouz.
Captain Victor Tomas feels his team and Flensburg are the contenders but says it won't be an easy ride for them.
“Flensburg and Barcelona are the favourites, but in handball anything can happen, particularly in an event like the IHF Super Globe. Al-Sadd and Esperance too have are quality teams. We will focus on our own performance and we will try to win all the games,” he said.
“The IHF Super Globe is getting more and more prestigious year by year. The most important European teams are competing, the Asian teams have signed strong European players and improved their level. The African teams, such as Sahel and Esperance, have strong squads too. It is a pleasure to play in this competition and we will fight to win the title for the second year in a row,” Tomas added.
Flensburg, who beat Barcelona in the Champions League final in the penalty shootout, will be hoping to repeat the act again.
Their Swedish duo of coach Ljubomir Vranjes and team captain Tobias Karlsson are in charge of Flensburg and they will be plotting one more title for the German club.
It won’t be easy for Flensburg though. They have had to bring in new players after the experienced stars left the club after last season.
“We have reconstructed our team and integrated some new players after some experienced stars left last season. The IHF Super Globe is the perfect base to rehearse the team for a long and tough season," Vranjes said.
“We are fully focused on our performance in this case, not on the opponents. We will try to bring our concept of handball on the court as well as possible. In the end we will see how far we can go against these totally different opponents,” the coach added.
Captain Karlsson was looking forward to a potential final against Barcelona. “The anticipation of facing the best team in the world is always huge. A final against Barcelona is always something special,” he said.
As for Qatar, the hopes will rest on Asian champions El Jaish, who have had a 10-day pre-season training camp in Zagreb, Croatia last month. The team, coached by Zoran Kastratovic, also played three friendly matches against Croatian teams—RK CO Zagreb, Varazdin and RK Dubrava, in what was an ideal preparation for the Super Globe.
El Jaish, who finished third last year, look stronger this time, having signed a clutch of quality players. Three high-class European players—Hungarian goalkeeper Nandor Fazekas, Montenegrian right-back Zarko Markovic and his compatriot, goalkeeper Goran Stojanovic —have bolstered the squad.
Egyptians Hachem Mamdouh, Ahmad Lahmar and Hassan Yossri and Tunisians Mosbah Sanai, Slim Hedoui and Haykei Megannem are also the new signings.
The Teams
Group A: SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER), El Jaish (QAT), Al Ahli (QAT),
HC Taubaté (BRA)
Group B: FC Barcelona (ESP),
Espérance Sportive de Tunis (TUN), Sydney University (AUS), Al Sadd (QAT)
