Handball: Brazil celebrates decade of women’s world title – 12/20/2023 – Sport

Morten Soubak arrived silently in one of the changing rooms at the Kombank Arena, in Belgrade, ten years ago, where the women’s handball World Cup final would be held. Coach of the Brazilian team, the Dane carried a voluminous bag, from which he took 16 silver medals, distributing them among the athletes: “Satisfied?”.

It was a reference to host Servia’s favoritism in that decision, on December 22, 2013. The international press highlighted this advantage of the hosts, and the history corroborated the view. Only one non-European team — South Korea, in 1995 — had won the competition, which has been held since 1957.

“You don’t have the courage to take this gold”, Soubek continued, showing off a medal of another color. “They’re scared, and their opponents know that,” he teased.

Duda Amorim, who would be elected the best player of the tournament, attacked the coach, to take the symbol of victory from him. Her companions followed her. Laughter and shouts of encouragement filled the atmosphere.

A few hours later, the score showed 22 to 20 for the team considered the underdog, and the Brazilian national anthem silenced the more than 19 thousand Serbs present.

This week Brazil celebrates a decade of the remarkable achievement, which had Austrian help. Recognizing the deficiency of its league, the CBHb (Brazilian Handball Confederation) signed an agreement in 2010 with Hypo Niederösterreich, a traditional women’s club in Austria, and sent its main talents to it.

Big names in the country were already successful on the team, such as winger Alexandra Nascimento, considered one of the best players of the last decade. “This strategy of internationalizing our athletes was fundamental to the success of that generation”, assesses the current president of the confederation, Felipe Rego Barros.

Morten Soubak also made the national team during that period, after successful years at Sport Clube Pinheiros.

The results began to appear in 2011, when the World Cup was held in São Paulo. The yellow-green team progressed through its group, with victories over Cuba, Tunisia, Japan and the traditional France and Romania. Then, in the round of 16, a quiet victory over Ivory Coast.

Classified in an unprecedented way to the quarterfinals, the team had an epic duel with Spain, a well-known opponent with a similar style of play to the Brazilian: aggressive defense and extreme speed in attack. It was a battle of two overtimes at Ibirapuera’s gym, with the European team winning 27-26.

“It was very frustrating,” says point guard Ana Paula Belo, 36, one of the last remnants of the world champion generation in the current team. “After beating very strong teams in the first phase, we were confident that we would be among the four at home.”

Although unprecedented, fifth place had a bitter taste, felt again at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Brazil took a six-goal lead in the first half of the clash with Norway, in the English capital, and fell back into the quarterfinals.

“After a year and a few months, we arrived at the World Cup in Serbia with one motto: ‘We can’t make mistakes again’. We knew it would be our turn, and the results made us more confident”, recalls Ana Paula.

The first phase was perfect, with victories over Algeria, China, Japan, Denmark and host Serbia itself. In the round of 16, the victim was the Netherlands. Then the dreaded Wednesdays arrived. Hungary, champion in 1965 and owner of one of the most acclaimed national leagues in Europe, was the opponent.

Dramatic match. Two extensions. Turns. Fights. Final score: 33 to 31 for Brazil, which finally gained a place among the four best in the world. The team continued with the momentum, and the final was reached through an exquisite performance in a reunion with the Danes.

From euphoria to chaos

With another victory over Serbia and the title, the champions arrived in Brazil on Christmas Eve, with a party at Guarulhos airport, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Sounds of tambourines mixed with the cries of athletes and family members in that euphoria that was never repeated.

In the following World Cup, in 2015, the team fell in the round of 16, against Romania. At home, at the 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro, defeat to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and dismissal of Morten Soubak from command.

Between that year and the debut in the following Olympic edition, in 2021, in Tokyo, Brazilian handball experienced a political crisis and lost millionaire revenues with the stampede of sponsors.

Manoel Luiz de Oliveira, president of CBHd since 1989, was removed by court order, accused of irregularities in agreements signed between the entity and the Ministry of Sports. Therefore, Banco do Brasil and Correios —partners since 2012 and 2013, respectively— stopped sponsoring the sport, with a loss of almost R$15 million per year.

The problems continued with the deputy who took over in his place, Ricardo Souza, with new accusations. The COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) blocked the entity’s funds until a new president was elected. Souza resigned in December 2020, and Felipe Rego Barros was elected in February 2021.

“In addition to the image crisis, we received CBHb in dramatic financial condition. The entity was completely scrapped”, reports Barros. Million-dollar debts, he claims, were collected by Federal Revenue, COB, former employees, arbitration and suppliers.

The attempt to reorganize the administrative part was simultaneous to a phase of renewal of the group, with the retirement of stars. After the elimination in the group stage in Tokyo, Spanish coach Jorge Dueñas left, and Cristiano Rocha from Pernambuco arrived.

Brazil was once again among the top eight at the 2021 World Cup and this year confirmed its dominance at the Pan American Games, with its seventh consecutive victory. “Brazil cannot enter the court just to compete, it needs to aim for victory”, says the coach.

At the recently concluded 2023 World Cup, held in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the Brazilian team came in ninth place. Still far from the glory of ten years ago, persecuted by the generation that followed Duda and the others who refused to accept silver.