There it is, it’s done! France is sure to qualify for the European Championship to be held in Austria (from January 19 to 31, 2010) even before playing their last match against Latvia in Riga, on Sunday, June 28. A win or a draw was enough to secure this precious ticket, and the Blues fully met their commitments. The final score was decisive: 36 to 23.
A blustering start to the match!
From the kickoff of the match, made by the former goalkeeper of the French team and current ASPTT Nice player Valérie Nicolas, the Tricolors set the tone. Unyielding in goal with Daouda Karaboue at the top of his game (17 saves out of 40), and decisive in attack thanks to Nicolas Karabatic and Luc Abalo (10 goals each), the “Experts” led the game. With a smile on his face, 13-year-old Yohan recounts: “Abalo sped up the start of the match and Karabatic was the best throughout it.” And a supporter added, “I thought Portugal was going to be stronger, but I’m not at all disappointed to have come and to have seen the players up close.”
The score was already heavy for the Portuguese at halftime (22 to 10). Coming out of the locker room, the players of the Portuguese team did not give up; on the contrary, they entered this second half better (22 – 15). But that didn’t account for the French team, motivated as ever, who quickly regained their automatisms and definitively turned the game around. Karaboue, the French team’s keeper from the French Riviera, made an impression, as did Karabatic and Abalo who took charge of the show. Lobs, counter-attacks, hanging shots, the Blues strung together technical moves and won over the massive audience supporting them. The players were also thrilled with the victory: “We played a very good match tonight, a nearly perfect performance,” comments Luc Abalo. For Grégoire Detrez, this victory marks the beginning of well-deserved rest, “Our two previous performances were disappointing, but today we did it right, now we can go on vacation peacefully.” It was also an emotional evening for Xavier Barachet, a young 20-year-old player from Nice, who scored 3 nice goals during this match.
On the way to a historic triple?
The “Bronzés” (92), the “Barjots” (95), the “Costauds” (2008), nicknames given to the previous French handball teams have now made way for the “Experts,” in reference to the TV series of the same name. This unique nickname is no coincidence! When one sees Nicolas Karabatic, 25 years old, 1.95m, 102 kg, making finesse shots, the overpowering balls fired by captain Jérôme Fernandez, or the decisive saves by Thierry Omeyer, it’s clear that this team lives up to its name.
Olympic Champions in Beijing in 2008, World Champions in Croatia at the beginning of this year 2009, the Blues now only need to win the European title to achieve the historic triple: Olympics-World Championship-European Championship. See you in 2010 in Austria to support the “Experts” of the round ball.
More media coverage?
Although handball is not an extreme sport, it still provides plenty of excitement for spectators. “Seeing the players in real life is a chance, but I would also like to see them more often on TV,” explains Gregory, 18 years old. This sentiment is often expressed by fans, even though handball is the most decorated team sport in France. This is probably what Maxime Candau, a player for the French junior team and from Saint-Raphaël, who died in early June following a cardiac arrest, would have wished. A tribute was indeed paid to him before the kickoff of the game.
