Jicha meets the president

In early October Filip Jicha had a special experience. This time not on the handball court, but on the stage of international politics.

The World Handball Player of 2010 stayed at the official lunch in a German-Czech state reception in Prague.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus had invited the sportsman and introduced him to the President of Germany Joachim Gauck. "I know him, he plays with us in Germany," said the German President,  who once played handball in the youth team of Dynamo Rostock.

"How do the players speak to each other in Kiel?" asked Joachim Gauck. "In German," said Filip Jicha who proved this with his flowing tongue.

This week the famous handball player is back in his Czech homeland. However, not in Prague, but in Zlin, an industrial city in the east of the country.

Jicha is back for the first national team week of the season and the first two games in EHF EURO 2014 qualification. The Czechs will start their campaign against Israel.

"Honestly, I don´t know much about the Israeli national team," says Filip Jicha. "On paper they might be the underdog."

In June the Czechs were "deeply disappointed" after they had failed to qualify for the 2013 World Championships, losing to Russia in the play-off.

Reflecting on the play-off, Jicha says "In Russia we didn´t play well, but managed a reasonable result. In the second game the Russians showed their quality. We were well beaten by a stronger opponent."

Coach Martin Liptak resigned after the defeat, leaving Vladimír Haber and Jaroslav Hudeček to take over the reins.

"I know both of them, as they have previously worked for the Czech association," says Jicha, who remains the key player of the Czechs.

The squad is unchanged, except for veterans Jan Filip and Karel Nocar who have retired from the national team.

The aim for the Czech Republic is to participate in the EHF EURO 2014. Jicha understands that it will not be simple.

"Quite objectively, three teams in our group have a good chance to go to the European Championships: Germany, Montenegro and ourselves.

"Particularly important is the game on Sunday in Montenegro. Two points would be very good."



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