Masters of Handball


Sasko G. Dimovski

Vardar recorded the second season of the handball series of fairy tales titled “Masters of the Champions League”. The returning of elite trophy in Skopje raised the citizens to their feet and kept them up long into the night. Songs, chants (at times tasteless and with political connotation and hate speech, but these instances should be only considered as isolated cases), automobile sirens, smoke torches, smiling faces, positive energy. The crowds could not remain indifferent to the new success of the “red and black” team, decided to leave the domestic ambience, to put sneakers on and completely fill the square “Macedonia” in honor of and to welcome the now two-time European handball champion. And no one was upset that the streets in the downtown area were closed for traffic.

Sports, for the vast majority, again rose above politics and became a factor for refreshment and togetherness. There were sympathizers of the two main political parties on the Macedonian political scene in the capital’s central square. They came by the thousands. Among them there were people for the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of North Macedonia, SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE. The motives to create an image of a new “white night” happening were of pure human and sporting nature, from desire, from passion and from respect for the incredible games by the boys in red and black in Cologne against the powerful and expensive Barcelona and the dangerous and unpredictable Veszprem.

It was not mandatory to get outside and on the streets and square. There were no promised sandwiches and lunch packets, there were no lists for registering presence, there were no promises of employment, there were no threats of layoffs if they stayed home. The turnout was from the heart and huge, an impulse that trembled every sincere soul and the envy of any political party that was ever in power or opposition. The government how has the next move – it must find a way and specifically help the project to help the club survive as a material for recording new episodes of the romantic sport drama.

Vardar players earned every decibel from the fans’ throats. Deep down somewhere they repressed all the problems that they faced during the season, financial and health wise, and only focused on the EHF championship trophy. And, miraculously, they succeeded in the (im)possible mission in which they showed the domestic and European public that they are not ordinary mercenaries, but play from the bottom of their hearts, for their own promotion, for promotion of the club and of Macedonia. “All your money is no good, dear sons”, is the line in one of Djordje Balasevic’s songs, which perfectly fits the reality of the “red and black”  team having no money, compared to the millions of dollars in budgets of Barcelona, ​​Kjeljce and Veszprem, who in the end saluted and bowed to Roberto García Parondo’s heroes.

Vardar’s incredible performances in the Lanxess Arena seemed to be uniting for the region as well. The former Vardar coach and Macedonian coach Veselin Vujovic sent a strong message, commenting from Belgrade that the club should be inserted into the state constitution as a treasure that we can not afford to lose. We must not allow for its demise, because the free national marketing that Vardar provided in Cologne, second time around, is priceless. Handball players deserved to have the nation greet them, and the nation deserves handball and sport that emit vibrations and brings us together like almost nothing else does in this society. The club won the second championship star on its logo, and judging by the announcements of the boss Sergei, will strive for another one in the future, which was greeted with an explosion of amazement among the cheering army.