Asian champions Al Rayyan members are seen during a training session at Al Gharafa Sports Hall yesterday. Al Rayyan will play Etoile Sportive du Sahal, Taubate and Barcelona Intersport in their Group B matches. RIGHT: Tunisian side Etoile Sportive du Sahal players train during a session. BOTTOM RIGHT: Spain’s Jose Javier Hombrados, formerly of Athletico Madrid, holds up the trophy on the podium after beating Germany’s THW Kiel to win the Super Globe 2012 handball tournament in this file photo. Hombrados will play for Al Sadd in this year’s campaign.
DOHA: Qatar’s Al Sadd, Eljaish and Al Rayyan will be among the eight teams competing at the 2013 IHF Super Globe tournament which gets underway today at Al Gharafa Sports Club, with the aim of becoming the world’s best club side come August 30.
Defending champions Atletico Madrid will be absent from this year’s high profile handball event that features the continental champions as well as guest teams in what will be the seventh edition of the competition.
Some of the world’s top players will be on show during the six-day event and Qatar Handball Association President and Executive Director for Qatar 2015 (world championships that will take place in Doha), Ahmed Mohammed Al Shaabi said the three Qatari teams Al Rayyan, Al Sadd and Eljaish will learn alot from the tournament.
He said: “They will for sure gain a lot of experience at this tournament, playing against the strongest teams in the world. There is no doubt that this experience will help out Qatari National Team for the Men’s Handball World Championship 2015.”
Atletico Madrid, who defeated Germany’s THW Kiel 28-23 in last year’s final, suffered financial problems and the team was disbanded earlier this year.
Their replacement, debutants Barcelona Intersport, coached by four-time Spanish League coach of the year Xavier Pascual will be a dominant force throughout the tournament and will be eager to clinch their first Super Globe trophy in Doha.
Speaking of the tournament and replacing Atletico Madrid, Pascual said to Spanish media: “It’s a challenge we face with great enthusiasm but we did have to change the plans for the season.”
He added: “We are short of preparation but it is more than a title. As always, we want to win and this tournament only consists of the world’s best sides.”
The Spanish giants have seven players from the national team who triumphed at the World Championships earlier this year.
The club have also recently acquired French international Nikola Karabatic, who has won all of the Olympic, European and World titles twice with the national team, and Macedonia’s Kiril Lazarov.
Both players have experience of playing in this competition.
Drawn in Group B, Pascual’s side will face Brazil’s Taubate, who like the Spanish club, will be making their first appearance in the tournament.
Taubate defeated domestic rivals Pinheiros 25-23 in the final to book their ticket to Doha.
Speaking of the match against Barcelona Intersport, Taubate’s coach Marcus Tata admits the tie will be difficult. He said: “It is a big challenge. We know that Barcelona are a very strong team but we have great prospects.”
Also in Group B, will be Asian champions Al Rayyan. Coached by Croatia’s Illija Puljevic, who has just taken charge of the team at the start of the month is eyeing a semi-final spot.
He said: “I took charge of Rayyan on August 1, and have only had limited time to work with them. We’ve a fair chance of the reaching the semi-finals.”
Al Rayyan will be able to bank on the experience of Russia’s Filippov Vasilij, Croatia’s Vladmir Bozic and Moldova’s Maxim Butenko.
Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive du Sahal, champions of Africa, complete Group B.
In Group A, Al Sadd and Eljaish will be aiming to advance to the semi-finals but face stiff competition from European champions HSV Hamburg and Australia’s Sydney University.
Al Sadd are coached by Algeria’s Lakhdar Arrouche. The Algerian, who coached the Qatar youth team to the Asian title in 2010 is keen to give the local players experience in this tournament.
Arrouche said: “We didn’t want to recruit a whole new team just for the Super Globe. This year, our focus is to give more chances to local players.”
The hosts have signed former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Javier Hombrados for this year’s campaign.
Wild-card entrants Eljaish, who recently enjoyed a training camp in Croatia, can count on the experience of Nicolaj Markussen, a member of Denmark’s silver medal team at the World Championships in January to try and advance to the semi-finals.
Surprise European champions HSV Hamburg, who beat Barcelona Intersport 30-29 in a thrilling final in June, will prove to be tough competition for the Qatari sides.
Hamburg beat last year’s runners-up THW Kiel in the semi-final en-route to becoming the first team to win the EHF Champions League from the qualification stages.
Two-time European championship winner Hans Lindberg will be in action for the German side, who will be keen to make an impression on their competition debut.
The other side to complete Group A is Sydney University, who have recently signed Silvio Alvim, Christoph Scholl, Jonathan Lennstrom and Manuel Posbiegel to their team.
The Australian club booked their berth following a 51-41 win over Auckland Region Handball in May.
Coach Phillipp Enders, who has put his team under a strict training regime and have undergone intensive camps, will be eager to see his Oceanian team, be the first side to pick up their first points in the history of the competition.
The top two sides from each group (that consists of four teams) will advance to the semi-finals, that will take place on Thursday. The final will take place on Friday.
Teams who do not qualify for the semi-finals will play placement matches to determine their position. THE PENINSULA
