The Tactical Talk | – The idea of ​​doing something other than handball has not caught my attention, and I hope it won’t hit me either

Berge ranks second in Nettavisen’s Taktikkpraten article series.

The concept is simple:

We meet famous athletes and talk about sports and tactics, and you, who read, get the interview in full.

We have received 30 minutes favorable to the crown by phone with Christian Berge, the director of the national team of handball masters.

In this issue we talk about handball strategy, handball philosophy and whether Berge dreams of winning his missing gold.

Here’s the full interview, word for word.

– Thanks for asking, Christian Berge. You are a few weeks away from the championship with the men’s team. What do you think and reflect more on in this the term?

– Normally it would be opponent analysis. Now there are a number of other things that are in focus, like planning where we will start the meeting of the national team. It is a somewhat special period now, but generally time is spent planning the meeting and analyzing the opponents in the preliminary round. We also take into account that we started from there, so it is natural to also analyze any opposition in a main round.

– What is the goal in the World Cup?

– We have won silver twice, so now the goal is of course to do better than that. That means we want to win. Every time we go out on the pitch, we win every game, and if you win enough, you also get the gold.

– Do you notice any difference in going to the World Cup now, after the achievements of recent years, compared to previous championships?

– The difference is that we are much more stable in our performance. Although we had a small mistake in 2018, it has always been a good performance. Like I said, we are missing that gold, and that is really something that we are working towards. The difference now compared to before is that we entered the championship as one of the favorite nations to fight for gold.

– How would you describe your own handball philosophy?

– That’s a hard question. If it’s about leadership, then I do relationship management, because that’s what handball is all about for me. I use the experiences I gained as a player, which worked for me, to form my own philosophy. As far as the game itself is concerned, we should be the fastest team in the world. We have very clear expectations from the players on what they should be good at, and I think it has been crucial that we have taken the steps that we have taken in recent years.

– Are the relationships between the players your main focus?

– Yes, I have the basic idea that we should prosper when we are together in a team. It is joy that will characterize what we are doing, otherwise we will get nowhere. The better we prosper together, the better we will play on the field.

– Are the players involved in discussions about how to play?

– I am concerned about involving the players in why we play the way we do. It is also important that they are involved in building, not just a culture, but spring culture. This gives them a very strong property of the game and the product that is shown through the games on television.

– He trained Elverum before becoming head of Norway. What is it biggest difference between being a club coach and coach of the national team?

– Is Big difference. I have very little influence on the development and individual skills of the players, so you have to have daily contact, but I only meet the players four times a year for meetings. the me working with is getting the best out of each player and putting it into a system. When we get together it’s about interaction and more interaction. You do not have the same opportunities as in the club, since you are on the ground every day and can develop individual skills. It’s kind of boring to see guys so rarely, but it’s a lot of fun once we’re in the championship.

– You say you see your players four times a year, but you have contact with them more often than that?

– If I have. Much too. I try to give feedback on what they achieve each week in club handball. I watch all the games, they also send me clips of situations on the field that I have to analyze. I talk a lot with many and a little less with others. It is very individual if you want to have a lot or a little less contact. It is fair and reasonable that players want something different, they are not all the same and then you should not behave as if they are all the same.

– Do you have a tactical model to follow?

– I don’t want to say that I have a particularly tactical role model, but I have learned a lot about team sports. However, I want to say that I have followed a lot with Nils Arne Eggen and his way of building teams in Rosenborg. But I would rather say that there are many different coaches that I have been inspired by.

– What kind of handball do you never see a Christian Berge team play?

– You should never say never about anything, but I must be very honest to say that I am not a particular fan of the 7v6 game. But I have come to realize that if the rule continues, I have to dig deeper into it. It takes a lot of extra training, and my understanding is that club teams use 7v6, but on national teams it’s a bit more difficult because you don’t get enough reps in meetings.

– Why do you think the rule may not exist?

– There is some dissatisfaction among various coaches with this rule. For me, handball is about winning duels, and at 7 against 6 you lose that aspect a bit. I have really tried to gain experience in it, but it is difficult when you do not practice it enough.

– How important is it to your success with Norway that national team players have a daily life in European professional clubs?

– Not crucial, but some must have it. The best must be in the best clubs. At the same time, we always have someone from Norwegian clubs on the roster. We had Olaf Hoffstad who was going to participate in the away game against Italy in early November, but he did not have the opportunity to participate due to coronary restrictions. The national team is always made up of someone from the Norwegian league, but the national team must play in the best leagues in the world.

– What do you think is the reason, is that the national team has not managed to beat Denmark in the last championships?

– Haha, if I had the answer to that, it would have been easy. So no, but Denmark is the best team in the world, even though they made a real mistake in the championship last year. They are not unbeatable. It is a country with very good players, but the more opportunities we have, the closer we will be to beating them.

– The Danes have been hugely successful for several years, but do you think the time is up when big stars like Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin leave?

– There is a very good recruitment in Denmark. I think the generational handover there will go very well, and it is important to take the generational handovers a little more often. One or two profiles outside the team shouldn’t be a problem. It is important to build new profiles before others have to give up.

– In your own team you have the world star Sander Sagosen, what do you do to maximize his potential?

– For me, it’s about individualizing practitioners. We will organize everything so that you can perform on the field, at the same time we will create a team. You have to keep wanting to be the best player in the world, and whenever you want, there are always performance demands. I don’t do anything special to motivate him, he always comes motivated and ready to perform at his best on the field.

– Is there anyone in the Norwegian dressing room now who has the potential to become a national coach in the future?

– It is empty. There are many of them.

– WHO?

– There are many. We have Christian O’Sullivan, who is really talented. We have Sander Sagosen who lives and breathes for handball, but there are certainly more who can come out and do a good job for the national team.

– Lagerbäck of the national soccer team and Alexander Sørloth finished in one heated discussion at an internal players meeting recently. What What kind of thoughts do you have about it?

– I’ve heard a bit about it, but I can’t say I’ve followed it a lot or gotten into why it happened so much. In principle, you obviously don’t want that, and if there are issues that you raise internally, you’re done with what you leave that meeting.

– What would you have done and thought if it came out that some spoke to the press about discussions and disputes in internal player meetings with you?

– It would have been very energy intensive if it had emerged that the things that were said in internal meetings had been leaked to the media. Most likely, it would have been a case that would last several days, which one must deal with rather than being able to concentrate on other things. I hope none of that happens, but if it does, you have to be able to deal with it in the best possible way.

– Given situation: A key player is injured before a World Cup final. The player is clearly hampered, but insists on playing. What are you doing?

– He takes them to the medical team and lets them make the final decision on whether it is possible to play or not.

– So, neither you nor the player have the last word in such a situation?

– Absolutely not. We do exactly what the medical team says.

– What are the biggest differences compared to when you played handball and handball now?

– Now there are much better individual qualities. In the past, it was much more collective and system-based than now. Now there is much more rawness and qualities in winning one-on-one duels. When I played it was based a lot on moves with solutions given, the game is not based like that anymore. If he had to play now, he probably would have failed.

– Why do you think the men’s team failed to win a championship medal until 2017?

– I don’t have a good answer to that, but we were also good players when we played for the national team in my day. We never got the game fully seated, and the collective voted much worse than the national team now.

– Do you think that professionalization has something to do with development?

– There is no doubt about that. Professionalism has improved a hundredfold when it comes to important things like training, recovery, planning. He has not only improved at professional clubs in Europe, but also here at home in Norway.

– How long do you plan to be Norway’s coach and what will be the next step?

– Good question, I’m not really sure. As long as I have fun coaching a national team, I will continue to coach a national team. I have not won anything yet, and that is the great goal. When we happen to win a championship, you may have to look at it with new eyes. If I know myself well, the taste of winning something will make me want to win again and again and again, then you can only see how long the association wants me as a coach.

– Have you ever thought about working with something other than handball?

– No, I can say that I am happy to be able to do what I like the most. Not everyone is allowed to do that. I appreciate that I got to get into that heat here. The idea of ​​doing something other than handball hasn’t caught my attention, and I hope it won’t hit me either.

– So what you’re saying is that you want to play handball for the rest of your life?

– Yes, I believe. If it’s in another role or in a club, then I can take it, but it’s in team sports and handball that I want to be.

Did you like this interview? Here you will find various editions of Taktikkpraten.

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