After 357 handball matches courtside, Lajos Mocsai resumes academic career

There is not much that Lajos Mocsai has not achieved in his handball coaching career. He led the men’s and the women’s team to Olympic semi-finals and finals.

On the club level he has won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996 with TBV Lemgo and the Cup Winners’ Cup again in 2008 with with MKB-MVM Veszprem.

However, one of his biggest achievements was the EHF EURO title he took with the women’s national team in 2000 at the EHF EURO in Romania.

Hungary had gone through the tournament’s group phase undefeated. In the semi-final they narrowly held down hosts Romania 25:24, before they needed extra time in the final against Ukraine to eventually 32:30 after the score had stood at 26:26 after sixty minutes of play.

In less than two months Hungary’s women will again go for gold at the Women’s EHF EURO 2014 and Mocsai for sure will be watching – but not as coach anymore.

He had been coaching Hungary’s men’s team since 2010, but stepped down recently after Hungary failed to qualify for the World Championship 2015, announcing that he would focus on an academic career instead.

Talant Dujshebaev was named as his successor early October.

En route to the World Championship 2015 Hungary lost the decisive play-offs to Slovenia in June, winning the first match 25:22 but going down 26:32 in the second leg.

"The time has finally come when I, as a national team’s coach, can no longer take responsibility for my team.

"Club competitions have grown to the extent that they are of utmost importance as compared to national teams," said Mocsai.

"I’m critical of myself and I know that it is always the coach to take the blame for failure but although I do not deny that our defeat against Slovenia affected my decision, it is not the sole reason of my resignation."

Back to university

Mocsai has been teaching since 1978 and for the past few years he has been an associate professor at Budapest’s in the Department of Health Sciences and Sport Medicine at the University of Physical Education.

He is nowadays preparing his candidacy to become the university’s president.

"You have to be able to figure out where you can be of help," he says.

"Giving up on coaching is very hard, according to somebody’s recent calculation I was at the helm for 357 national team matches, which is a record.

"But I believe the education of sports really needs reinforcements and I decided that I had reached a point in my career where continuing my academic progress was the next logical step."

Mocsai promised to rebuild both the buildings and curriculum of the university and aims to regain the fame that once preluded the prestigious institution.

Hungary to remain a regional superpower

Despite turning his back – at least slightly – on professional handball, Mocsai still has a stron opinion on the sports development.

Although Hungarian clubs had an excellent year with Györi Audi ETO KC winning the Women’s EHF Champions League, Pick Szeged grabbing the EHF Cup and MKB-MVM Veszprém reaching the VELUX EHF FINAL4, he thinks that the national teams may suffer the consequences of such strong clubs.

"Three years ago I selected players for the national team from two clubs: Veszprém and Szeged.

"Before the matches against Slovenia I picked pretty much the same players from 7 to 8 clubs, and I cannot say that Hungarian players who went to play abroad have been especially succesful.

"It is a good thing that handball in Hungary is profusely sponsored but one has to ponder the effect of world class superstars coming to Hungarian clubs," Mocsai said.

The 60-year-old thinks that there are stars in the making in Hungarian handball who will have their breakthrough in the coming years.

At the Men’s 18 EHF EURO in Poland this year Hungary went all the way unbeaten to the final – only to lose against France, a team they had beaten before in the tournament, in the most decisive match.

"It was a beautiful tournament for our youngsters and we have to focus on raising such talents with professional care both for their mental and physical health," says Mocsai.

"My shift in career aims to provide Hungary with prepared coaches, an improved youth sector and a higher level of physical education for the entire nation."

The countdown clock to the Women's EHF EURO 2014 continues to tick down - as of the middle of October there will be a mere 50 days to go.

While the participating teams and its star players start getting in shape for the final tournament, we use the opportunity to look back at the stars from yesterday. The players that stood and occasionally still stand for success at the previous EHF EURO events.

Part 1: Norway's Kjersti Grini, who turned from handball star to poker ace, and the Women's EHF EURO 1998

Part 2: Denmark's Anette Hoffmann, who rose to handball fame in the 1990's, and the Women's EHF EURO 1996