Juan Carlos Pastor is a living handball legend. His name is heavily linked to Szeged, as he spent the past 10 seasons by the Tisza River. The experienced 55-year-old coach had already won EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 2009 with his former team, Valladolid, then in Szeged he was credited for introducing the so-called Spanish handball style, which is famous for focusing on the activity of the pivot.
In the 2013/14 season, he won the EHF Cup title with his Hungarian club. Later in 2018, 2021 and 2022, Szeged celebrated winning the Hungarian championship under Pastor’s leadership against rivals Veszprém. On two occasions, Szeged managed to steal the victory in away matches after losing at home, but after Veszprém's 37:30 win in the first leg of this year's play-offs, it seems unlikely Szeged can turn things around again.
Pastor analysed the first game of the knockout duel. Both teams are familiar with each other’s tactics, so the Spaniard expert is not surprised that major new tactical weapons were not introduced. Instead, small details were utilised, such as Gleb Kalarash’s one-on-one defence against Veszprém’s playmaker, Nedim Remili, in the beginning of the match. Was it a good choice from Szeged’s head coach? Pastor diplomatically refuses to analyse the decisions of his successor.
“Telling the truth, I would not comment on the decision of Krisztián Kárpáti as I did not attend the training sessions before the match, so I don’t know how things were going. Obviously, my heart is with Szeged, as I spent 10 seasons there, but it is not my duty to judge Krisztián Kárpáti’s choice. Nedim Remili is one of the toughest opponents to figure out how to stop on the court. He has amazing skills: he can dribble, attack the strong and weak sides, pass the ball to the pivot, send long passes and surpass the defensive players. He plays with so much confidence, and he is not simply a playmaker, but a leader. The challenge for Szeged’s staff is to find the right defensive solution,” Pastor explains.
He reflects on Szeged’s poor start. His former team scored their first goal after the fourth minute. This fact, as well as the whole game, reminds him of last season's defeat (23:36) at Pick Arena.
“It was almost the same scenario as last year when we lost by 13 goals. But as I mentioned before, I respect Krisztián Kárpáti a lot, and I would not advise them on anything at all,” emphasises Pastor.
Egypt’s head coach saw a very strong defensive line from Veszprém and an amazing performance by his compatriot, Rodrigo Corrales.