TO 28 years after the only participationthe Italian men’s handball team will return to play World Cup in 2025: the Azzurri, after winning 32-26 at home in the first leg, also grabbed the success in the return away in Podgorica, Montenegro, beating the hosts again 32-34.
To the federal site the DT of Italy, Riccardo Trilliniexpressed his satisfaction: “A dream has come true for all of us. We had a responsibility on our shoulders towards all the fans, enthusiasts, coaches, male and female players, managers. They can all raise their heads when it comes to Italian handball. I believe that it is an improvement that has arrived little by little, but that it required an important result, we knew it. We started from afar in recent years“.
We then move on to ritual thanks: “I thank the Federation for letting us work hard, as had not happened previously. I thank all the players who have joined the national team in recent years, starting with Maione, Fovio, Skatar, Sonnerer, I would like to name them all. They transmitted a great mentality and helped us grow. And finally I would like to extend a special thank you to Dean Turkovic, so that he remembers that when the ball was hot, he always put it inside the near post. I don’t know how he did it, just like today: no one knows how, we came to win in Podgorica and we are very happy“.
HANDBALL ITALY EXISTS! Epic feat in Podgorica, historic qualification for the World Cup after 28 years!
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He is echoed by the blue captain, Andrea Parisiniwhich exudes joy: “We wrote history. I hope that this step can make people discover that this sport exists and that there are kids who make great sacrifices to make themselves known and to make them known. Today we did something crazy. It was one thing to come here to suffer, to manage the result, but we said to ourselves that they were the same as Thursday and we wanted to demonstrate that Conversano’s victory was not an episode“.
The keys to success: “We played our game, imposed our speed and did something special. I’m proud of these guys, of the movement, of the work that has been done in recent years, including beautiful moments but also failures, near-miss qualifications. This time we’re here. Let’s go to the World Cup. It will remain in the history of our handball“.
