The national men’s handball team for the first time in its history will take part in the final stage of the European Championship. The blue and white flag has flown in major competition finals since 2005, when the representative group competed at the World Championships.

At the “helm” of the Greek team is Giorgos Zaravinas, a man who can be called … Midas of Greek sports. He has participated as a player or coach in some of the greatest handball successes and with the help of his partners is planning a better future for the sport in our country. “There is a lot of talent in Greek handball,” he told kathimerini.gr.

Giorgos Zaravinas’ name has been associated with handball at a relatively advanced age, as he started playing the sport when he was 15 years old. However, he “played” sports because from a young age he was involved in playing the instrument, athletics, playing basketball, etc. His career began with a team from his hometown, Agrio Zeus Agriniou. In 1995 he moved to Panhellenios, in 2010 he wore the colors of Diomedes Argos, with whom he will end his playing career in 2014. On this journey, he will collect the Challenge Cup (2012), seven Greek championships and three cups. Two successes with the national team, 6th place at the Olympic Games (2004) and 6th place at the World Championships (2005), should be added to this set of awards, as the current coach played for the national team for 13 years.

Immediately after the end of his career as an athlete, Giorgos Zaravinas put on a training suit. It started with panhellenic teenagers and continued upward with a collection of titles. Handball Midas won two consecutive doubles with Olympiakos/IEK Xinis, he led Anorthosis of Cyprus to the double and semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, and now coaches Diomedes Argos at the collective level, who will take part in the Final Four of the Greek Cup, which starts tomorrow (8/5) in Nafplion.

Today the coach himself, Giorgos Zaravinas, pays tribute to his coaches for his progress. “The generation of athletes who are coaches today, we are very lucky because we had good coaches both in our clubs and in the national teams. From these people we got the basic knowledge of how to shape ourselves as coaches,” he told us, and when we asked him why Greek handball does not have international distinctions like other team sports, he replied: “It is a matter of proportion. Our sport is played all over Europe and especially in the Nordic countries it is at a high level. We were left behind and it was hard to distinguish ourselves. At key moments, the team lost the right to reach the final stage. It is important for the team to participate in major tournaments, because it starts in the qualifiers with more favorable conditions. After such a great success of the national team, we hope to participate in top institutions again.”

“We need large groups, but not violent phenomena”

Since football and basketball are a priority choice for young children, handball, according to Mr. Zaravin, is a source of new generation talent. “With other sports, we share … the sports pool, not being the first in the priorities of young people. But there are many talented athletes at a young age. From June 20 to July 2, together with Germany, we will organize the World Youth Championship. This will help the future of sports in our country. We are sure that the men’s team will be completed from this group.

In recent years, in Greek handball, clubs with a long sports history have teams. The coach believes that this will help the sport. “The arrival of Olympiacos, PAOK and AEK gave handball another… breath. We hope that Panathinaikos will do the same. The Greek league is competitive and the higher it goes the better players will come from abroad,” he stressed, and when we asked him if he was afraid that violence would come with big teams, he replied: “Our kind sport remains amateur. and emulation prevails. We hope it stays that way. We need big teams, but not violence.”

The entry of a representative team into the final phase of the European Championship pleasantly surprised both handball fans and sports fans. But how did this “ticket” come about? “The key was the stability that the team showed. He achieved victories over teams of his level and some … off schedule,” he stressed.

24 teams will take part in the final of the German European Championship. What can sports fans expect from the “children of Zaravina”? “He will have to wait for the emergence of a competitive team that will play handball well and establish itself in the minds of major European national groups. It will be very good if we can “acquaint” our young athletes with Europe. We want to lay the foundation for the national team to get better, because thanks to such games it grows,” said the Greek Handball Midas.