Wasiak: Wolf can lose his teeth, but never his nature

In February 1998 Iskra Ceresit Kielce faced a star-studded team of THW Kiel in the quarter-final of the EHF Cup and, to local fan’s delight, it was the Polish underdog who celebrated a historic victory (28:27). Radoslaw Wasiak, then the line player of Kielce, who is now in charge at Vive Targi as their sports director recalls this match very well. He scored five goals and finished the thrilling fight in a jam-packed arena with a torn left sleeve of his playing shirt.

The one goal lead from the first leg proved not to be enough to eliminate titans from Northern Germany, who succeded on the aggregate score after the rematch. After fifteen years that have been passed since that time the Polish team had an opportunity to take a revenge on their opponents at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 last June and they made use of it.

After an exciting third place duel, the players of Bogdan Wenta celebrated a first medal of the VELUX EHF Champions League in the history and Wasiak witnessed the success of his successors from the stands of the LANXESS Arena.

On Saturday there comes an occasion to do it once again. What has changed since Kielce defeated Kiel for the first time? Radoslaw Wasiak (pictured right guarded by Magnus Wislander) tells ehfCL.com about his own experiences with one of the best teams in Europe and the challenges standing in front of the people who remain on the other side of the sport coin.

ehfCL.com: Let us move to the February of the 1998 year. The first quarter-final match of Iskra Ceresit Kielce (the then name of the club – ed.) against THW Kiel in the EHF Cup, the old hall at Krakowska street. What do you recall from that time?

Radoslaw Wasiak: It was a big day for Kielce. One of the best teams of that period came to our town, and as it was a time when we were perceived as a Cinderella and we weren’t in touch with teams of such a calibre, it was a precious event for us, the players.

We had the opportunity to play against guys we admired on TV. For our fans, of course, it was also a real attraction!

ehfCL.com: You won that night. What did it mean for Kielce then?

Radoslaw Wasiak: Well, we won, so it was amazing in that particular moment, but we lost in the whole contest and we didn’t reach the semi-final. Thus it was a victory, which only showed that we were able to play on a high level and against the best players.

Even now, when I meet elder fans, they get sentimental while reminiscing about that game. In order to attend that match, they had to come about four hours earlier to take a seat. The hall was overcrowded, I remember it. Saying that the fans were our eight player then was fully reasonable. And they still are.

ehfCL.com: It is difficult to reconstruct such an atmosphere nowadays, isn’t it?

Radoslaw Wasiak: Time is passing by, you know, everything changes. I can say that the atmosphere on each match is completely different, because it is built by the dramaturgy of the particular game.

We have to be aware of the fact, that in our old hall we could fit maximum 1,500 people, in the Legion Hall even 4,200 fans can watch the spectacle. I’m sure that if the hall had 10,000 seats, on Saturday each of them would be occupied.

ehfCL.com: You wittnessed a recent victory of your team over Kiel only from the stands in Cologne. Didn’t you feel like running onto the court when your colleagues were fighting for the title of the third best team in the Europe?

Radoslaw Wasiak: You know, the wolf loses his teeth, but never his nature. If any athlete says it’s not true, it means that he lies (laugh).

I finished my career several years ago. First years were the most difficult for me. If you spend half of your life in the dressing room and on the court, you become attached to it and it is difficult to live in another way.

ehfCL.com: So why have you chosen such a profession instead of being a coach, as the majority of players do after their careers are over?

Radoslaw Wasiak: You never know what course your life will take. I’ve got an education of a coach, but I wanted to try the other side of the coin. The organisation of sport events and the youth training are very interesting and also very important.

I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to take this chance, because lots of athletes face a dilemma what to do after their career is over. This moment is very difficult for them, because when you practice sport professionally, you don’t think about some things at all, but they suddenly come to you and then your life is at a new crossroad.

ehfCL.com: You have been connected with the professional handball for a long time now and you have observed it from various perspectives. When did it turn into a real sport business? Where would you place the crucial moment of becoming it as commercial as it is nowadays?

Radoslaw Wasiak: Money has always been present in sport. The commercialisation written with a capital ‘C’ occurred when the sponsors realised that it is a good opportunity of their promotion. The factor which helped handball was the moment when the Champions League contest transformed into present modus.

Of course increase of media interest in any discipline has a huge influence on this process too. Without journalists there wouldn’t be such an interest among the fans. And you also have to show the private side of sport life. You write that someone has an injury, someone likes beetroot soup or someone was fined for speeding (laugh).

People like it and in the course of time handball players are becoming, let’s say, stars, although I am not a big fan of this word. They are being invited to various kinds of events, because they are associated positively. It is a normal course of events.

ehfCL.com: The German club is full of stars, although their team has changed significantly over the last summer. So what are your expectations for the upcoming match?

Radoslaw Wasiak: For sure significant is the fact that four key players left the club, nevertheless it is still a solid team. They have been remaining on the top of European handball and they have been gaining one champion title after the other one in their country, so they are always leading competitors fighting till the end.

If you want to win any match against them, you have to stay focus during the whole game and do more than your best.
I wouldn’t pay an attention to their recent scores. No match is equal to one another and a nonsense is saying that the fact that we defeated Porto with twelve goals and Kiel did it only with four goals means that they are weaker.

I could never say that THW is going to win (laugh). I believe in my team, I believe that it is going to be an interesting match. We should win. This is my wish.

Photo: Witold Bakalarz