Over the weekend, the Hungarian men’s handball team was due to reunite in Budaörs after more than two hundred days, but eventually the reunion was canceled because several players tested positive for the corona virus. István Gulyás plans to invite seventeen players to the next gathering, if nothing happens by then.
„Even now, it was decided almost at the last minute that there would be nothing from the gathering. With nine players left, including three goalkeepers, the gathering would not achieve its goal, despite the best intentions „, analyzed the situation for National Sport, federal coach István Gulyás.
According to him, it is not known exactly how much the absence will hinder the further work of the selection, but that is not the most important thing for now, because the clubs are currently in bigger problems.
“The infected, symptomatic player is in quarantine for six weeks, but it takes him nine to ten weeks, or two and a half months, to regain his athletic performance,” Gulyás continued. „Players and coaches also have to be smart when they return, because the risk of injuries increases because the body is not yet fully prepared. It takes time for someone to get back in shape and there are no shortcuts, that has to wait. “
The selector is worried, because it is unpredictable who will catch the virus when, but he thinks that, if that has to happen, it is better to count on the cured players later. This unpredictability puts the expert service of István Gulyás, Chema Rodríguez and László Nagy in a difficult situation, as the list of those they can count on is constantly changing.
That is why the leaders of the national teams also have A, B and C plans, because they must be ready for the fact that those who have been given an episodic role so far can now come to full expression. And care must be taken to start working with as large a list as possible in the first round, up to fifty members, because a lot can depend on that later.
„The team has to be made up of the ones we nominated on the wide list, so we have to go as deep as possible,“ the coach added, citing the example of Peter Kovacsics, whom he could not use at the European Championships in January because there seemed to be enough people there. . „To prevent this from happening again, we need to call in four players for each position.“
Let us remind you that the Hungarian national team is expecting the „Euro Cup“ in November, with the participation of the national teams of Spain, Croatia and Slovakia.
