Dalibor Čutura, Momir Ilić and Alem Toskić started their coaching careers in the season infamously ended by the corona virus pandemic. Longtime pivotman of the Serbian national team, winner of a silver medal at EURO 2012 in Belgrade, a man who left his mark wherever he played, and his CV is full of teams such as Epoxy, Fidelinka, Partizan, Zagreb, Celje PL, Vardar, Gorenje, playing path he ended up in Churg, Hungary, where he took over the coaching staff in October.
Alem Toskić spoke for Balkan-Handball.com about plans for the future with the team that will play in the Europa League next year and will be stronger for Serbian internationals Mladen Krsmančić and Ivan Popović, that is, right back Slovenian Grego Krečić who arrived from Koper.
– All those players who came this year, came at my request. I am satisfied with what was done in the transition period. I know how much I can and I’m sure I can make even more progress. The club reduced the number of foreigners. I brought three players from the Balkans, the rest are Hungarians, who have shown in the previous six months that they have made great progress. There are no problems with them in business. They work, they believe in what they do – says the popular Toska and emphasizes Popović…
I am sure that Ivan will be a member of the Serbian national team. I give my hand that it will be so. I don’t go in because it hasn’t been like that so far, but I’m sure he has the quality, desire and will, and that he will be a member of the national team.
What goals will Čurgo have in the next season?
– The Hungarian championship is very tricky. Veszprem and Szeged are a special league. It would be better if they didn’t play that league, we have nothing to look for with them. Then comes Tatabanja, which had 16 national team players in its ranks this season. Balatonfured, Djindjos, Ferencvaros, Komlo, Oroshaza, they are all somewhere, you have a weaker day, you get 100% on your nose. We’ll see what the crown did. More serious teams have strengthened, I think the league will be tied from third to eighth, ninth place.
What is Čurgo like as a club?
– Very good, the organization and financial construction is very good. One of the most stable clubs in the league, salaries are not late for a single day, hours, working conditions are top notch. It all depends on one person. Janos Varga, the man is a lawyer, very powerful. People are very serious. The only drawback for the development of the club is that the place is small, it is difficult to bring players because there is literally nothing here. It has 5,000 inhabitants and 2,500 receives a hall. I was with Sergei Samsonenko in Vardar. I guarantee that Churgo has better conditions than Vardar. It’s a perversion. Center, hall, Olympic swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, cleanliness, appointment whenever you want, you train as much as you want. Really very good conditions.
You were loved in Skopje, you played well in the Vardar jersey, but your decision was to leave the club a year before winning the EHF Champions League 2017 in Cologne and return to Slovenia for family reasons. Do you regret the missed opportunity to win the most valuable trophy?
– When you return the film, there is regret for that, but who knows why it is good. We all know, handball, career, but there is another side to the coin. The boys won two titles, but they were in a very difficult situation. Some did their best for Vardar, and left the club with their heads bowed. I’m sorry about what happened. We were in three seasons on goal-two from Final4, and everything coincided after my departure. I am very glad for everyone. As many as 90% of the players played with me in that team, and also because of Raul who made the score. Everyone doubted, but he showed that anything is possible.
And then you spoke in selected words about Raul Gonzalez…
– When I talk about him, I get chills. I learned the most from Guzva (Nikola Jevremovic) at the start, he made me a person and an athlete, and Raul is number 1 in the rest of his career. He is a genius, a great indicator that authority is being built on the field. When he came to Skopje, it was a very tricky environment. The players should have been turned to the right side, but little by little, he succeeded. He won the Champions League and all the players advanced with him. I don’t see anyone who hasn’t progressed.
What is the secret of Spanish coaches? Here is Gerona who arrived in Serbia…
– As number 1, I respect what Spanish coaches do. They took everything, the right results, several Final4 their teams win. First you learn Spanish, then English in the world of handball.
THE ARRIVAL OF GEORONE MAKES A MOVE
There is a theory that the secret of the success of the Spaniards is that they stick to each other, and that is not the case with coaches from this area. Is there any other difference?
– There is a big difference, no one can approach them. Every part to every coach, we all learn, some still need to learn, but as they work, they are far far ahead of others. They all play by the same system, and they all manage to deceive each other. From Valladolid you have 5-6 top coaches, Pastor, Raul, Davis, Parondo, Pisonero, they are coaches who live house to house, play the same and cheat each other. It’s art. And where Dushebaev, Paski, Xema, Entrerios are, they are slowly taking over everything
How do you comment on Gerona’s arrival on the Eagles’ bench?
– That’s the right move. He needs maximum support, he knows how to do his job, that’s for sure, everyone says he’s good. He needs help to collect all the best that Serbia has. Let it work and it will make a result. There was always the question, „whether a foreigner, a local has no quality, they are strict domestic“… No, it’s over, the story is over. That man has knowledge, experience, he led Tunisia, that is a similar mentality. The right move is safe. I believe in him. I think everyone will respond and we need to start from the beginning. These are small differences, they are all close somewhere.
It is noticeable that we have a crisis in the position of pivotman after your departure, Stojković, Beljanski…
– When we do not have results, then we analyze more and go deeper. Many say „we don’t have a pivotman.“ They are all good players. Marsa (Mijajlo Marsenić) is no longer young, he needs to take over, he has experience and quality, someone needs to impose more responsibilities on him, that he is the one around whom the national team should turn. We should have two pivotmen, then the third one will knock out the other one, not eight. Ivan Popović was unlucky to be in Granollers, Figueras had a good striker. He didn’t have much time. What I watched when he played, I guarantee that he will be a member of the national team 100%. I believe in him a lot. He has the will, the desire, the incredible constitution, he worked with good coaches and he will succeed in the end – Alem Toskić is sure at the end of the story for Balkan-Handball.com
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