2012 European Men's Handball Championship
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The 2012 EHF
European Men's Handball Championship The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning ...
was the tenth edition of the men's continental
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
tournament, which was held in
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
between 15 and 29 January 2012. Sixteen teams qualified for the event, including host nation Serbia, defending champion France and fourteen national teams through the qualifying tournament. The teams were split into four groups of 4, with the top 3 teams of each group advancing to the main round, carrying the points won against other qualified opponents. Going to the main round with no points,
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
ended up winning the championship after defeating
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
in the final with a scoreline of 21–19. The bronze medal was claimed by Croatia, who defeated Spain 31–27 to win their second bronze and fourth European medal overall. In the placement match for the 5th position Macedonia proved to be too strong for Slovenia and won the match by 28–27. Macedonian right back
Kiril Lazarov Kiril "Kire" Lazarov (, born 10 May 1980) is a Macedonian former professional handball player and current coach of the North Macedonia men's national handball team, North Macedonia national handball team and RK Alkaloid. He is widely regarded as o ...
led his team with 8 goals to success and took the top scorers' award with a European Championship record of 61 goals. Over 300,000 spectators were present in 47 matches during the tournament, which was also a new championship record. By winning the European title, Denmark directly qualified for the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, while Serbia and Macedonia secured a spot in the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Thanks to the Danish triumph, Poland also made it to the qualifiers as the eighth ranked team of the 2011 World Championship. Denmark, Serbia and Croatia as three best-ranked teams qualified directly for
2013 World Men's Handball Championship The 2013 World Men's Handball Championship was the 23rd World Men's Handball Championship, an international handball tournament that took place in Spain from 11 to 27 January 2013. This was the first time Spain hosted the World Men's Handball Ch ...
. The championship was somewhat overshadowed by incidents that occurred during the final week of the event. On 26–27 January, in violent attacks, cars were damaged or set on fire, and several Croatian supporters were injured. In the semifinal match between Serbia and Croatia,
Žarko Šešum Žarko Šešum (; born 16 June 1986) is a retired Serbian handball player. Club career Born in Bačka Palanka, Šešum started out at his hometown club Sintelon. He was promoted to the senior squad in the 2002–03 season, at age 16. In early 2 ...
, the back player of the Serbian team had his eye severely injured after a bottle intended for Croatian player
Ivano Balić Ivano Balić (; born 1 April 1979) is a Croatian former professional handballer who is currently part of the coaching staff at RK Split. Renowned for his speed, creativity, movement and charisma as a player, Balić won the 2003 World Men's Handb ...
and coach
Slavko Goluža Slavko Goluža (born 17 September 1971) is a retired Croatian handball player and most recently coach of RK Zagreb. Club career Goluža was born in the village of Pješivac-Kula near Stolac. He began his career with RK Mehanika Metković. A ...
was thrown at him.


Bidding process

The bids were as follows: *
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
*
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
*
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
Serbia was awarded the championship on the EHF Congress in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
27 September 2008, narrowly defeating the French bid by three votes. Serbia would host the tournament in the cities of
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
,
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
and
Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...
.


Qualification

The 2012 Championship was the second for which the new qualification system was used.


Qualified teams

:
1 Bold indicates champion for that year


Squads


Venues

*Source
Serbian Handball Federation: ''Euro 2010''


Audience

File:Arena Beograd.jpg, Belgrade Arena. File:Mascot Tasa with Macedonian fan.JPG, Маscot Tasa (eagle) with Macedonian fan in Belgrade Arena File:Serbian and Macedonian fans.JPG, Serbian and Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena File:Arena navijanje.ogv, Serbian and Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena, Serbia vs Germany File:Makedonski navijači.ogv, Macedonian fans in Belgrade Arena.


Referees

On 12 September 2011, 12 couples were announced in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.


List of broadcasters


Seeding

The draw was held on 15 June 2011 in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
at 12:00 local time. The seeding was announced on 13 June 2011.


Group stage

The match schedule was released and confirmed on 18 April 2011. Four teams were selected to play in the four venue cities,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
,
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
at
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
at
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
in
Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...
. The playing schedule was announced on 1 July. ''All times are
UTC+1 +01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time * West Africa Time * Western European Summer Time **Brit ...
.''


Group A

Venue: Pionir Hall,
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Group B

Venue:
Čair Sports Center Čair Sports Center (), commonly known as Čair Hall () is an indoor sporting arena located in Niš, Serbia. The seating capacity of the arena is 4,800 for sports events and 6,500 at concerts. It is home to the KK Konstantin basketball team, RK ...
,
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Group C

Venue:
Spens Sports Center SPC Vojvodina ( sr-cyr, СПЦ Војводина), short for Sports and Business Center Vojvodina (), commonly referred to as SPENS ( sr-cyr, СПЕНС), is a multi-purpose venue located in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. History Its construction ...
,
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Group D

Venue:
Millennium Centar The Millennium Centar (, ) is a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose indoor arena located in the city of Vršac. It is the home ground of basketball club KK Vršac and ŽKK Vršac and has a capacity of 4,400 seats. The arena is also used for co ...
,
Vršac Vršac ( sr-Cyrl, Вршац, ) is a city in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the city urban area had a population of 31,946, while the city administrative area had 45,462 inhabitants. It is located in the geographical ...
---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Main round

Group stage results between teams that qualified for the main round were carried over.


Group I

Venue:
Belgrade Arena The Belgrade Arena ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Београдска арена, Beogradska arena, separator=" / ") is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Belgrade, Serbia. It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. ...
,
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...


Result


Initial standing and matches

(A) and (B) indicates from which group the teams came; in the main round they were playing only against teams from the other group. By three victories and the misfortune of among others Germany, Denmark qualified for the semifinals together with the host, Serbia. Notable results were Denmark's last second win against Macedonia and Poland's turnaround of first-half 9-20 result to win second half by the same numbers to equalize against Sweden. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Group II

Venue:
Spens Sports Center SPC Vojvodina ( sr-cyr, СПЦ Војводина), short for Sports and Business Center Vojvodina (), commonly referred to as SPENS ( sr-cyr, СПЕНС), is a multi-purpose venue located in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. History Its construction ...
,
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...


Result


Initial standing and matches

(C) and (D) above indicates from which group the teams came, in the main round they are only playing against teams from the other group. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Knockout stage

Venue:
Belgrade Arena The Belgrade Arena ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Београдска арена, Beogradska arena, separator=" / ") is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Belgrade, Serbia. It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. ...
,
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...


Bracket


Semifinals

----


Fifth place game


Bronze medal game


Final

The final was played at the
Belgrade Arena The Belgrade Arena ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Београдска арена, Beogradska arena, separator=" / ") is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Belgrade, Serbia. It is designed as a universal hall for sports, cultural events and other programs. ...
between the host-nation
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, and was seen by 19,800 spectators. The teams played a match against each other in the group stage of the tournament, when Serbia defeated Denmark 24–22. Serbia's coach
Veselin Vuković Veselin Vuković (; born 19 December 1958) is a Serbian handball coach and former player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Club career Born in Struga (PR Macedonia), Vuković moved with his family to Šabac (PR Serbia) at ...
could not rely on
Žarko Šešum Žarko Šešum (; born 16 June 1986) is a retired Serbian handball player. Club career Born in Bačka Palanka, Šešum started out at his hometown club Sintelon. He was promoted to the senior squad in the 2002–03 season, at age 16. In early 2 ...
, whose left eye was injured after he was hit with a bottle on the halftime break of the semi-final match against
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. The match started with tough play by both teams and low scoring. Denmark claimed the lead in the early phase of the match and controlled the period. Serbia's attacks were ineffective, and goalkeeper
Darko Stanić Darko Stanić (; born 8 October 1978) is a Serbian former handball player for the Qatari Al Rayyan and the Serbia national team. He was dubbed the "Minister of Defence" due to his performances for the Serbia. Club career After making his EHF C ...
made several saves. The Danes made fewer mistakes in the attacks and
Anders Eggert Anders Eggert (born 14 May 1982) is a Danish handball coach and former player. He has previously played in Denmark for GOG and Skjern Håndbold, and german side SG Flensburg-Handewitt. He was part of SG Flensburg-Handewitt team that won the 201 ...
scored important goals in the counter-attacks. Denmark led at halftime 9–7. Early in the second half Denmark took an 11–7 lead, but then the Serbian players halted the opponent's run with a better play in defence, except for
Mikkel Hansen Mikkel Hansen (born 22 October 1987) is a Danish former professional handball player. Widely regarded as the greatest handball player of all timeHansen has won the IHF World Player of the Year a record-tying three times. He played as a left bac ...
who scored with his powerful shots in the critical moments of the game. The Danes were having the lead all the time with a margin of 1–4 goals and thanks to the saves of their goalkeeper
Niklas Landin Jacobsen Niklas Landin Jacobsen (born 19 December 1988) is a Danish handballer for Aalborg Håndbold. He is European Champion with the Danish national team, after winning the 2012 Championship in Serbia, defeating the host nation in the final, 21–1 ...
prevented the Serbians to level the result. The last minutes of the game were played with many mistakes on both sides, but Hansen scored the decisive goal for peerless lead 21–18 with 20 seconds to go. Serbia scored until the end making it 21–19 in favor of Denmark at the end. This was the second title for Denmark after they have previously won the European Championship in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
.


Ranking and statistics


Final ranking

The final ranking for places 7 to 16 was determined by the team's group stage record. In case the ranking would have been relevant for Olympic qualification, there would have been a placement match for 7th and 9th place.


All Star Team

*Goalkeeper: *Left Wing: *Left Back: *Centre Back: *Pivot: *Right Back: *Right Wing:


Other awards

*Top Scorer : *Best Defence Player : *
Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
: Source
ehf-euro.com, 29.01.2012
/small>


Top goalscorers

Source

/small>


Controversies


Riots

On 24 January 2012, after the match between Croatia and France, Serbian hooligans attacked Croatian fans in several locations in
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
, northern
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. In
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
, Croatian supporters were heading home after the game, when they ran into a road block and some 50 masked men assaulted them with stones, bricks and axes, smashing windscreens. The attack left several supporters injured and one of them hospitalized. In
Ruma Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621. History Traces of organized human life ...
, about south from Novi Sad, a Croatian van was set on fire and one of the passengers stabbed with a knife. A day later the unrest continued and many cars were damaged, torched, or burnt out throughout Novi Sad. The Croatian Foreign Ministry officially complained to Serbian Ambassador Stanimir Vukicevic over the attacks; Vukicevic expressed regret and stated that the Serbian police was already taking the necessary steps. Thirteen people were arrested in connection with the incident, including Ivan Ključovski and Jovan Bajić, leaders of a fan group from Novi Sad, and a member of the Obraz right-wing organization. After questioning, all of them remained in custody for a month.


Serbia–Croatia semifinal

Serbia and Croatia met in the semi-final of the tournament, which caused further concern on both sides. About 5,000 policemen were deployed to ensure the security of the fans, while in Croatia some tourist agencies cancelled trips for the match and the
Croatian Handball Federation The Croatian Handball Federation (; abbr. HRS) is the governing body of handball in Croatia. It is based in Zagreb. It organizes the handball leagues: * Croatian Men's Premier Handball League * Croatian Women's First Handball League * Croatian ...
(Hrvatski rukometni savez, HRS) also recommended not to go to Serbia as the supporters' safety might not be guaranteed. Spokesman Zlatko Skrinjar also added that the HRS had planned to organize trips for the event, however, they changed their mind due to the incidents in the preceding days. On the Croatian-Serbian border, joint checkpoints were set up to prevent hooligans and other groups who have no ticket for the match to enter Serbia, and to escort the fans with tickets from the border to Belgrade. The police reported that there were no incidents during the match, which was eventually won by the Serbians 26–22, however, a bottle actually meant for Croatian playmaker
Ivano Balić Ivano Balić (; born 1 April 1979) is a Croatian former professional handballer who is currently part of the coaching staff at RK Split. Renowned for his speed, creativity, movement and charisma as a player, Balić won the 2003 World Men's Handb ...
and coach
Slavko Goluža Slavko Goluža (born 17 September 1971) is a retired Croatian handball player and most recently coach of RK Zagreb. Club career Goluža was born in the village of Pješivac-Kula near Stolac. He began his career with RK Mehanika Metković. A ...
hit Serbian back player
Žarko Šešum Žarko Šešum (; born 16 June 1986) is a retired Serbian handball player. Club career Born in Bačka Palanka, Šešum started out at his hometown club Sintelon. He was promoted to the senior squad in the 2002–03 season, at age 16. In early 2 ...
, severely injuring his eye. Šešum's eye suffered significant bleeding. After the trauma he had only minimal vision on the affected eye, but the risk of permanent sight loss was reportedly averted. Morten Stig Christensen, Secretary of the
Danish Handball Federation Danish Handball Association () is the national sport governing body, governing body for team handb ...
, Serbia's opponent in the final said that he was "severely shocked" by the incident and so were the people from the
European Handball Federation The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, Au ...
with whom he spoke. Christensen also added that he was shocked that although there were more than five thousand security personnel at the stadium, the hooligans still managed to sneak in Roman candles and laser lights.


See also

*
European Handball Federation The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, Au ...


References


External links


Official website
{{Portal bar, Serbia, Sports
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
European Men's Handball Championship The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning ...
Sports competitions in Novi Sad Sport in Vršac 2012 in Serbian sport Sports riots Articles containing video clips International handball competitions hosted by Serbia January 2012 sports events in Europe 21st century in Novi Sad