„Maybe it’s in their genes that they play a very good ball and have a great one to one combat but what they sometimes need is to play more disciplined” says Kim Rasmussen about his Hungarian players. The Danish trainer took the team one year ago and he has a lot of plans. “Last year we had many injuries and we couldn’t play one game with our best available team. If we are at full strength, if everyone is on board, we can come much further” told Rasmussen.
Handball is one of the most popular sports in Hungary. The arenas always are well filled and the many children start playing handball at young age. “At the age of eight many children play handball. They enjoy really good education because they focus on basics like the ‘one to one’ play. Maybe this is the key to becoming a good handball player and there are very many in this country” he explained.
The Hungarian team often counts as one of the best teams in the world but who always fails because of themselves. “This was one thing I worked on when I got the opportunity to coach this team. Probably they don’t always have enough self-confidence, or just the contrary, they sometimes underestimate the challenge. They also play very individual and not as a team. Lately we played very disciplined during sixty minutes against a supposedly weaker team like Kosovo.” He continues: “On a good day every single player can win a game by her own. But if they have a bad day they can lose it too. Maybe now our game gets more boring but I want to strengthen up our defence. We have to throw fast goals and play intelligent in the offense. If we can turn this into action we can be very successful at the World Championship in Germany.
He couldn’t say how far they will come but he knows that they have to win the key games. “You can compare it to a puzzle. We want to win the five games during the preliminary round but they are not as important as the games number six and hopefully number seven. These games decide about the Championship” he explained.
It’s clear that their goal is to win every single game. “We don’t come to Germany to lose. We have a rough program in our group. But we can beat everyone. And I hate losing” he smiled.
But the Dane has to be patient. “This is my only team I coach I don’t have another club. So I longingly wait to the time I stay in the arena again. Until then I watch many games live or on TV. We meet many players who play in the Champions League at the World Championship. It’s my job now to analyse every detail that’s what it depends on” Rasmussen says. The Dane lives in Budapest. In December he pitches his camp in Germany. “I’m looking forward to the World Championship. The Championship is one next step towards the Olympic Games 2020 in Japan. We will be ready!”
