With Kielce to Cologne is my dream

It was THE news in European club handball of this week: Talant Dujshebaev was presented as new coach of VELUX EHF Champions League participant Vive Targi Kielce. And the Spaniard, former coach of Ciudad Real/Atletico Madrid, will start his mission at the Polish champions already on 15 January, as the current coach Bogdan Wenta from then on will become sports director of the 2013 VELUX EHF FINAL4 participants.

43-years-old Dujshebaev, who signed a contract until June 2017 in Poland, was twice world handball player of the year, world and Olympic champion as a player, before he started his coaching career at Ciudad Real, his last club as a player. Dujshebaev was the mastermind behind three EHF Champions League titles and three more participations in Champions League finals with Ciudad Real and later Atletico Madrid.

When Madrid withdrew from all competitions in June 2013 and closed down the handball section, Talant Dujshebaev was without a job – and nearly from the first day on rumours about his next club were spread: Qatar, Hamburg, Paris or at latest Skopje, where his son Alex currently is playing.

But in the end, Poland is his new destination. Why Talant Dujshebaev took over Vive Targi Kielce now, what his plans are and what the future of his son Alex will bring, he tells in this exclusive interview with ehfCL.com.

ehfCL.com: For most of the experts it was a huge surprise, when you were presented as the new coach of Vive Targi Kielce. How many people knew about the deal?

Talant Dujshebaev: It was a low number of people, but in the end there was not so much efforts of persuading needed. It was not hard to decide, as Kielce are a strong and highly experienced team.

ehfCL.com: How did the Polish champions get in touch with you?

Talant Dujshebaev: Kielce’s president Bertus Servaas contacted me and my agent, and in a very short term we arranged a meeting. I asked for some time to think it over, but finally I only needed a short time to decide. Then I said yes, and on 15 January I will officially start as Vive Targi’s new coach.

ehfCL.com: To sign a contract earliest in 2014 was your plan, when Atletico Madrid had come to a sudden end in June….

Talant Dujshebaev: Yes, but I honestly did not plan to sign a contract before June 2014, not in January. But now I am highly satisfied, how things came, though the time to prepare on the new job is very close. 90 percent of all Kielce players are currently at the EHF EURO 2014 in Denmark, and it is always hard to re-start with a club team after a long and hard national team tournament. But I am looking forward to my job – and I already have one great vision and goal: To be part of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne this year.

ehfCL.com: Will it be easier to start at Kielce, as you had coached players like Uros Zorman or Julen Aguinagalde in your former clubs already?

Talant Dujshebaev: I have a very special and intense relation to Julen, as I coached him until last season in Madrid. Both belong to the key players of an experienced and internationally well-known team, which had deservedly made it to the VELUX EHF FINAL4 already in previous year.

ehfCL.com: Your contract expires in 2017 – how important is it for you to have a long-term working strategy?

Talant Dujshebaev: I would never have signed any contract now, which only would have been valid for the rest of the season. I have long-term goals and targets, so it is really important for me that the club trusts in me for a long-term. And I deeply feel this trust in Kielce.

ehfCL.com: Since the end of Madrid there had been so many rumours about your future – did you follow all of them?

Talant Dujshebaev: I had spoken to many clubs and teams, I would have had other opportunities, but in the end I wanted to take a decision patiently and without any stress. No I feel very happy with Kielce, it is a great club with a perfect future ahead.

ehfCL.com: How will your cooperation with former coach and new sports director Bogdan Wenta be like?

Talant Dujshebaev: I know him since many years, and we fit well on the sportive and personal level. We both know, what we want: The best for Vive Targi Kielce! And I believe we will have a very positive and successful cooperation.

ehfCL.com: As you found a new club now, what about your son Alex, will he join his father in Kielce?

Talant Dujshebaev: No, his situation and his sportive future have nothing to do with my decision. I fully respect his club Vardar Skopje, and he really likes it to play there, he has a long-term contract at Vardar, that’s all. And of course Vive Targi Kielce have great players on his position like Lijewski or Buntic. So there’s really no need for a transfer.

ehfCL.com: The EHF EURO 2014 will start on Sunday. Will you travel to Denmark to see some of your new players?

Talant Dujshebaev: To be honest, I had a completely different plan and wanted to go to see some EHF EURO matches. But this is a little bit difficult now, as I do not only have to move from Spain to Kielce, but also have to plan the starting period of our preparation. Everything must be ready, when our EURO players return to Kielce.