Handball journeys

We are now ten days away from the start of the Men's handball world championships.  A new challenge, some of you know what/why, for the same result?  I will be a happy citizen if either  that of 2005/2013?  Or that 1995/2001/2009/2011/2015/2017? is to  My diary is as follows: London Berlin Munich Berlin Cologne Hamburg I will not attend the final day in Denmark as I have already experienced a chaotic yet successful return from Herning back in January 2014 with three short unexpected and impromptu 'VIP' moment(s).

There is a slight frailty as the big event looms. It is J-15. There is a sudden excitment. I am about to unveil a new chapter. Will I be able to perform my new duties? Are my favourite teams ready to play well? Will the atmosphere in the German league be reproduced in the arenas of such hyped Championships? I thank the IHF and the media team who accepted my application. Will I get new fans like Napoleon?

After the Arsenal defeat at the bogey away ground (St Mary's), I was eager to watch using 4G or wifi on the coach back to London the handball final but would miss the last three minutes and the medals ceremony owing to technical glitches. The semi-final was astonishing and the final was gripping. Our friend Paul Bray is frankly gutted because, much as we love him as a person and knowledgeable handball fan/commentator/player/manager he could not stop showing signs of frustration with France wrestling with their opponents. During the Rio games it was shocking how he would suppport any team playing against France in the men as well as in the women's competition. At this Euro championship he also ignored some basic handball principles when France were in the semi-final and the final against contentious decisions by the Spanish and Danish referees respectively. Referees and commentators are part of the game but they should remain neutral and unbiased.  At the start of the second

La derrota ante Holanda con el golpe franco en el ultimo instante tras el gol del empate conseguido por Carmen Martin ha desencadenado en dudas en el seno del equipo ya que perdieron ante Ungaria sin jugar.  Hoy es precisamente en esos malos momentos que necesitan mi apoyo. Estoy en Londres y no en Nancy. Me da pena el desenlace de la primera parte ante Alemania. Hay una especie de fallo en la comunicacion y la eleccion de las combinaciones no me parece acertada. Ojala cambie el partido tras la media parte. Aupa ESPANA. Hay que luchar. Cabe pelear.  Unos minutos ya en la secunda parte me gusta mas el animo de las Guerreras ! Animo Espana ! Vamos. A por la remontada ! Una derrota de 6 goles. Que pena. Los arbitros han sido pesimos sobre todo con unos saques de 7 metros para Alemania mientras no le otorgaban a Espana durante la secunda parte cuando Espana empezaba la remontada. Tampoco merecia tarjeta roja la supuesta falta de Carmen Martin. Con 0 puntos no podra Espana sonar por

A challenging week-end as we swapped  between the Men's Champions League and the Women's European championships. For obvious reasons I no longer travelled to France but I am able to watch the games from the UK. It does feel a bit awkward not being in the arena listening to our dear friend Paul Bray. You imagine Mireia's mum sharing precious moments of her time with a versatile French handball fan. Nerea Penea had an excellent 25 minutes ensuring her team was confortable against Croatia. Maybe the team appeared overly confident because the second half was not very good from the Spanish perspective. France lost to Russis and I was so tired that I even went to sleep instead. Mireia did well despite of two exclusions. A younger generation from Croatia is to gain more experience as Spain fielded a mixture of very experienced players and younger hungry talented players.    Figure 1 : Nerea Penea against Slovenia at the World Championships 2017 in Trier (Germany)

In 2015 we flew to Qatar. That was four years ago ! We saw a lot of fascinating matches and we had players fully committed to the cause. As usual I supported France and Spain. France will be in Germany's group in 2019. Spain are the current European champions whilst France are the current world champions. Spain are in a tough Group B. It will make up a very exciting Main Round. At the moment I am waiting for a good piece of news and if it does happen it will be awesome.     

On a trip across Europe, there is always time for some sweets and a good read. We always wonder what type of surprise is coming our way.

Je reviens d'une escapade parisienne qui inclua le match PSG (33) - Szeged (31) Au cours de l'echauffement on vit avec plaisir joueurs des deux equipes se retrouver comme de bons vieux amis. Notamment les liens espagnols par la selection et/ou Ciudad Real. En revanche le match se passe dans une ambiance de 'footeux' et non celle d'un vrai match de handball. Les ultras du PSG viennent chanter sans rapport aucun avec le score. Du plus haut siege des tribunes de Coubertin on ne peut pas faire de belles photos ni voir l'evolution du score et/ou du temps mais on peut voir les strategies developpees par chaque entraineur. Les arrets de Rodrigo Corrales en premiere mi-temps. Sagosen et Gensheimer ont presque marque les deux tiers des buts parisiens. On aura vu quelques belles combinaisons mais peu de buts d'ailiers. Peu de penaltys et peu d'exclusions. 

Usted estaba perplejo. Le vi cuando volvi a ver el partido! Vaya empate ! A raiz de los aciertos de la generacion Costantini, cabe recalcar el auge posterior del tecnico de comunicacion Claude Onesta

Se burlaba con mucha ternura de mi bufanda del Ciudad Real cuando estaba a punto de jugar en el Barcelona Intersport Le gustaba compartir el platano con el publico en el dia muy frio de Kristianstad  Le prometo, como lo hicimos en Londres vamos a conseguir otro trofeo, a por la quinta estrella !  Surtido de aquellas muchas bromas historicas

Luc Abalo inspira une visite au stand de musique a Kristianstad.  Luc Abalo rigole toujours quand il voit les supporters fideles, de Doha a Herning en passant par Zaragoza ou Paris.  Luc Abalo produit de belles peintures hors des terrains,  d'ou le nom pratique de 'pintor'

A couple of games were very exciting. Un ours curieux et du nom Bruno visite Goteborg dans un ciel clair ou gris pendant l'euro feminin de 2016.

Lors des JO 2016 de Rio, il est a noter que l'equipe de France de handball  n'a pas reussi la passe de trois titres a la suite. Quel dommage ! Le Danemark eut beaucoup de chance. 

During the EHF 2016 in Poland  fans were able to see that Krakow is a beautiful city full of history and tradition

The longevity of handball players can be assessed through of the prism of trophies. Herein a copy of the EHF 2016 trophy

This is Week 1 of the Champions League.   Despite a slightly lower intensity than anticipated   Rhein Neckar Lowen - Barcelona (35-34) and Veszprem - Kielce (29-27) were interesting matches.  Valur Sigurdsson and Sterbik were at their usual best.

How exciting to wear the Handball Spain 2013 official shirt from RASAN ! Gedeon Guardiola podra firmarla algun dia. Muchas leyendas ya firmaron.

In the tranquil city of Gothenburg, we enjoyed the Women's Euro in December 2016. A good coffee, a delicious pastry alongside the tournament's replica ball were the perfect combination as we faced genuine wintery conditions during rest days Chatting away with the Spanish players was the first thing I did once I had tidied up my room and gone out on the first evening. France battled fiercely against a very motivated Norwegian team The Netherlands team was really impressive. Their style of play was also very direct and quite refreshing. 

I n January 2016 we had a mixture of very experienced players and a couple of youngsters learning to handle the pressure of the international tournaments. Tweetie bird had a nice cup of tea with the French team players A journalist took a funny picture of the raucous French fans in the Krakow Arena. 

There is a genuine language of love when playing and watching handball. Look at the beautiful smiles and the genuine happiness The Danish young ladies cheered for Spain and Spain beat Russia in a very entertaining game Frederikshavn is welcoming this lovely contest

At the back of the French supporters coach in Belgrade in January 2012 we could hear voices such as that of the chief handballl editor at Handball Woche. Therefore, a year on, I wanted to have a picture with him even if I was working. Laura Agena, Jesus Gomez y Bruno estaban bajo la supervision de Inma en el centro media de Granollers, al desempenar el papel de voluntarios media Handbol 2013

Over the last twenty-five years Paul Bray has been the prominent voice of international handball for English speaking countries. He successfully manages handball teams in the UK He travels on business with Valero Energy. He also attends all Euro, Olympic, World Championships for Men and Women altogether. One day he gives me a lift to a West London station. The next day I hear him comment an Euro fixture. We were on the same BA flight from Belgrade earlier this year and I was able to hear his top 7 players he actually met/interviewed. I introduced him to my sister on the day of the Men's handball final of London 2012 as we bumped into him by the Westfield Stratford International station Herein a picture in Qatar at our hotel Herein a picture in Belgrade's  complex