Nello Attias " Italy wake up!"

We had the pleasure to chat with Nello Attias, one of the "Fathers"of Italian handball, about the current situation. Thank you Nello for your time.

What's your point of view on the current situation of Italian handball? "A total regression on the men's activities side. A women's top league with very few teams where an ideal scenario would see a league with 12 teams.A national squad which has shown improvements but still, it does have a long way to go." If you were the president of the Italian federation, what would you change and what would you keep in the current management of the sport? "I have no ambition to become president!" I would start a reform of the leagues: an A1 division with 14 teams, three A2 divisions. Quarter-finals with the first 5 teams of A1 and the first two A2 teams of each division.Finally the best teams would compete in a Final 4! The men's NT under 18 and the senior team would be part of a residency program either in Rome or Milan.On Fridays players after their last training session would leave and join their individual teams." What do you think we could learn from other federations which have been achieving good international results, such as Tunisia at the Spanish WC and Brazil mainly in the women's sector? "Tunisia has been working on grassroots levels with provincial and regional leagues. They select and run national teams with players starting already at the age of 12.Furthermore there are also regular schools championships. The best players have been chosen by federal coaches in order to gain experience.Amongst the 15 players who have been playing France and beat Germany, 9 of them are younger than 20 years of age and four have been playing in France!". Brazil,a HUGE COUNTRY with different solutions!A pro league with 8 teams, so many championships, regional and inter-regional rigourous selections.After that the best ones are sent to play overseas, due to a lack of a real professional structure at home!Let's not forget that this process is managed by a great coach! Both Tunisia and Brazil have been working hard on the refereeing side to make sure that players get used to the International refereeing style and where players will not witness possible biased referees'decision in favour of the home team or a famous one." What would you say to those critics who state that the cause of the crisis of Italian handball is due to the economic downturn? "Let me manage the men'national team,I will find sponsorhips and in a couple of years we will be on the same level of Brazil and Argentina." Finally, who will win the Spanish World Championship? "I have never won the lottery or any soccer bettings, so I do think my prediction would have little value!Anyway Spain plays on the homeground, France and Denmark have great teams,Iceland and Russia are still good opponents.Let's not forget that Croatia is always ready when it is crunch time! It's all OPEN!"