Maybe he
is not from nearby, but he has no match.
Exclusively for Balkan-Handball, this is Kaspet Hvidt, best goalkeeper
of planet Earth. You could witness his superiority between the goalposts
in January, when he had lead the Danish team towards its first European
gold on the European Championship in Norway. As the season comes to
an end, he wants the same thing with his Barcelona, that is
– the gold. It's a triple dare
– Spanish Cup, Spanish National Championship
and Champions League. We have asked Kasper Hvidt about the Champions
League, which he hasn't won yet, ASOBAL, Danish national team and
"the secret" of his success.
Hello, Kasper.
The big match in the semifinals of the Champions League starts this
weekend. Your rival is Kiel, current European champion and a team that
plays a "supersonic" handball. What do you expect?
Victory! It
will be tough, but I expect us to win. Last season we had played Kiel
with Portland San Antonio (Kasper came to Barcelona from Portland) and
lost by 1 goal. We could say that we were out of "sports luck".
But this year I want to win. It is the only thing on my mind. I am not
interested in anything else.
How close
is Barcelona to the European crown? You personally haven't conquered
the Champions League yet. The motive must be huge
…
It has been
my dream throughout my entire career to win the Champions League. I
played the finals once and lost, but I do plan to fulfill my dreams.
All the other teams, Kiel, Cuidad, HSV, are great too and have their
chances, but I think that I can accomplish my goals this season already.
I am sure of that.
You have
won the ASOBAL titles with Leon and Portland. Is it now Barca's turn?
You are behind by two points, but have the deciding match with Cuidad
Real.
We are in a
good situation, because it is all up to us. Everything is in our hands.
We have to win it all till the end of season. If we continue to play
the way we do now, we will win the ASOBAL, we have great motive for
that. It is the most important that we do not rely on others.
The national
team of Denmark, the "all-time bronze medalist", became the European
champion in Norway. What are the impressions two months after like?
Honestly, I
only think about Barca. That's the only thing that matters right now.
I have the winning of Euro on my mind, but I just do not have the time
to collect my thoughts since it is important to concentrate on winning
the club title.
What about
your coach Ulrik Vilbek? What did he bring to your team? We have heard
of specific methods of dealing with
"looser mentality" and the "barrier of semifinal game" . . .
Well, he is
one of the best tacticians in the world. He deals with every single
one of the 16, 18 or 20 players on the list, having played or not, in
the way, that every player considers himself an important part of the
team. Every single one of us knows, he can bring something new to the
team, some kind of improvement, when he enters the court. That is one
of the best things that Ulrik has brought to this team. Every player
is capable and ready to change something on the court. Everyone knows
he matters.
What can
we expect from the Olympics? Can you repeat what Denmark's women's
team had done in the Athens? Is this
"your" year?
It is every
elite sportsman's dream to go to the Olympics, not to talk about winning
an Olympic medal. It will be very tough, but if we have the capacity
to win another European Championship, why not win the Olympics? We believe
we can do it.
How do you
get ready for the game? Do you have the whole selection of potential
shots of various players on your mind? How interested are you in
"collective tactics", watching videos and how much do you focus
on yourself?
I watch the
videos, the players, but at the same time it matters to me a lot whether
the game is fast or slow. Also, it matters to me how much I will be
able to communicate with my teammates in the defense, whether the team
is tall, whether the majority of the shots will come from jump-shot
or from the ground. In short, the communication with my teammates in
the defense is of huge importance to me.
What is
the most important thing to do to become a
"world-class" goalkeeper? We can see you are in some kind of a trance
when you play.
I get extremely
aggressive on the court. That is always important to me. If I am calm,
that is simply not me.
Which
one of your "goalkeeping colleagues" do you respect the most?
To me, the
greatest goalkeeper in the world is Tomas Svensson. In Denmark, I had
the honor to train under the auspices of Mirko Bašič and liked the
way he worked with me. I have though never seen him play, since in the
90's I did not have a lot of opportunities to watch foreign networks
in Denmark. That is why I mostly "copied" Svensson and so he is
the greatest to me.
You have
played with a lot of players from the Balkans and you still do. What
do you think of them as players and as people?
The Serbs and
others from Balkans in general have always been great handball players.
They have it in the blood, they are aggressive, explosive and they jump
high. They have good techniques/passing skills. There are a lot of quality
players from Balkans in Spain and that region really has a great handball
tradition.
We say in
the Balkans that this is "the handball region of Europe". How do
you comment that, being a Scandinavian?
Well, there
are a lot of you. It is important that every child holds some kind of
a ball in his hands, be it handball, basketball or football. It is important
that children do sports. Which one has the best handball school doesn't
matter. Every school gives some great players. We and the Balkans have
the biggest tradition in that. You put a lot of emphasis on techniques
and we in Denmark focus more on the work in fitness and the physical
condition and include the training with the ball latter on.
How long
do you intend to play? "Working periods" for goalkeepers have been
prolonged. Do you too plan to celebrate your 40's in the goal?
I don't know.
I am 32 now and I feel good. Until I will be able to help my teams,
I will be a goalkeeper. I don't know what will come after the end
of my career,. We'll see. I do not have any plans. I am finishing
my studies and we'll see what time brings.
At the end,
please send a message to the young handball players who read this interview.
What does it take to become a great handball player?
Do not have
illusions about the big clubs. Whenever you come to a club and begin
to train, you have to think about one thing only – "I have to progress,
I have to improve".
ŽIKA BOGDANOVIĆ
Translation: MARKO VRBIČ
