Magnus Wislander is worried about today’s handball.
Now he’s roaring back – and pleading for change.
– We need to push ourselves, says the icon.
With his somewhat unimaginable 384 international matches and 1,185 goals, Magnus Wislander is one of the absolute greatest in handball history. The “Slangen” has scored the most matches and goals of anyone in the history of the Swedish national team, and during the senseless career there were a total of 13 championship medals, where the two WC golds stand out. Wislander was once named the world’s best player, and at the turn of the millennium he was named the best player of the entire 20th century.
Great criticism
So there is no doubt that he knows what he is talking about. Today, Wislander is a handball expert for Radiosporten, and he now expresses his concern about handball’s development. In handball, the truth has always been that the players are tough, that they give and take blows with a smile on their faces. That there is never any whining, and that you get up straight away without whining unnecessarily. But Wislander thinks that is about to change.
Magnus Wislander is now roaring against the development, and believes that what has been handball’s greatest pride is about to disappear.
– That’s what we older handball players have always been proud to hear, that you take a hit, you get up and carry on. You don’t lie around whining and you don’t film. And I’m a little worried about the tendency in the new way of playing handball. That you film a little too much, you fly a little too much, as soon as a small finger comes up in your face, you jerk your head back and provoke two minutes. I’m a little worried there, especially on the men’s side, he tells Radiosporten.
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“Need tough for us”
However, Magnus Wislander believes that the development with more filming mostly happened in Sweden, rather than internationally – and that because of the regulations that prevail.
– From what I’ve seen, it’s more of a Swedish tendency, thanks to trying to use the new regulations as much as possible, and thus gain advantages. In any case, I’m the one who wants to see a little tougher action, that you stand up and don’t film, he says.
At the same time, Wislander urges the judges to think a little before their judgments. That players are actually trying to take advantage of what happens on the pitch, and that you need to think before sending off.
– I think the judges should prioritize it. At the same time, I think you need to have a serious conversation; should it be a two-minuter if you happen to get a little finger in the face, or should it be a slap for getting it? It is very difficult to make an assessment of it, but somewhere I think we need to toughen up again on the handball side.
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