Kosorotov: "I wanted a new environment"

After two matches of the EHF European League Men group stage, Orlen Wisla Plock enjoy a perfect record, having beaten Pfadi Winterthur and Fenix Toulouse Handball.

Sergei Mark Kosorotov, who joined the Polish team from Chekhovskie Medvedi in the summer, played a crucial role in the match against Winterthur, scoring nine goals. Overall, one of Russia’s biggest handball talents has already become an important figure at his new team, and he is quite happy with Plock's performance.

"It is good that we won both games. I just hope we will continue in the same way and show the same quality in the next matches," the 22-year-old told eurohandball.com.

"Next week, we will play an important match against Berlin, and we will try to prepare well and show our best game."

However, he would rather not discuss how far Plock can go at the tournament: "I don't think many teams set specific goals because when you do it, everything tends to happen vice-versa. We just take one game at a time, and we'll try to progress."

Playing his first season abroad, the left back thinks that he has already adjusted in Poland, even if it was not easy at the very beginning.

"Here we have a different approach and different training compared to Medvedi. Besides, there is a language barrier. But now I think I've settled in," he said.

"Compared to Vladimir Maximov at Chekhov, our coach Xavier Sabate pays more attention to tactical nuances and watching video. He wants me to play more in defence, which is still pretty hard for me, but I'm making some steps in the right direction."

While Medvedi have an almost all-Russian squad, there are players of multiple nationalities at Plock, and overcoming a language barrier is also a challenge for the left back.

"Our coach wants us to use English as the common language, but there are many Polish players at the team, and a number of Balkan guys, and they actively use their languages," Kosorotov says.

"I'd like to talk more to everyone, but my vocabulary is not big enough. I understand English but struggle to speak it. However, I can already say something in Polish and Croatian."

The good thing is that Kosorotov can always rely on fellow Russian Dmitrii Zhitnikov. This summer, the experienced back court player returned to Plock after a four-year spell at Hungary's Pick-Szeged.

"He is translating for me all the time. If there is a problem, it's easier for the club to call Dmitrii, and he gives me the necessary information. I'm extremely grateful to him."

Born in Moscow, Kosorotov started his career at Chekhovskie Medvedi, and he sees moving to Poland as the next step in his career.

"I don't know if it's a step forward, as both Plock and Chekhov play in the European League. But I wanted to move abroad, to get into a new environment," he admits.

"Compared to Russia, teams here in Poland are better prepared physically and are more determined to fight, so the matches of the national league are tighter, even if the score doesn't always suggest it."

Making his mark in Poland

Kosorotov, who signed with Plock one year before actually moving there, had many other offers, also from the teams playing in the EHF Champions League, but he thought that a spell at Wisla would be more beneficial for his career.

"I wanted to learn the language, work with a good coach and get enough playing time. I prefer helping my team rather than sitting on the bench at some star-studded side with three or four players on each position," he said.

Kosorotov has two first names, Sergei and Mark, which is quite uncommon for a Russian person. In fact, there is a special story behind his parents' decision: "My father wanted to call me just Sergei, but mom didn't want it, so she suggested the name Mark. And they made a compromise by giving me both names."

Interestingly, now his mother is used to calling him Sergei, and so do most other people – but not all.

"When there are many Sergeis around, some people call me Mark. For example, Russia national coach Velimir Petkovic does it," Kosorotov says.

His father Sergei Kosorotov was a renowned Russian judoka, a European and world champion. The son also took up judo when he was a kid but then switched to other sports.

"My parents divorced, and maybe that's why I gave up judo. However, I wasn't the biggest talent. I still remember some techniques but never use them," he admits.

"Later I tried many sports such as football, volleyball, futsal, grass hockey, even golf and darts. But when I was 12, my mom who used to play handball took me to a training session and I have stayed with this sport since then," a decision which is proving to be the right one for Plock’s rising star.