Ever wondered what the teams, coaches and players do before IHF Men's World Championship games to prepare themselves to be the best in the world?

What are their habits? What do they do to be pumped up just before the start of the match? What kind of music pumps everybody up? Do they have any rituals before a difficult match?

Well, ihf.info did, so we asked them...

Blaz BLAGOTINSEK (Slovenia)
Before each match, I drink a bottle of water and eat a banana, but I don’t have any other special rituals. The atmosphere in the locker room is managed by our fitness coach, he is the 'musician' in our team. On the playlist, there is mostly Slovenian music.

Blaz JANC (Slovenia)
My ritual before the match is always first activation in the gym, then I call my wife and children, who are my biggest supporters. I go to the match much more relaxed when I know they are doing well.

Before we go onto the court, we have a motivational speech in the locker room and we listen to Slovenian music, which is prepared by our fitness coach.

Tadej KLJUN (Slovenia)
When I’m in the (hotel) room, before I go to the game, I always play some music. I really don’t know the name of it, but I really like it, it’s a new one. Every time that I listened to it, we played well, so I need to continue.

Luc STEINS (Netherlands)
I don't have so many rituals before games, but I think it's just about preparing for the game as best possible. I try to write down the most important things for me what I have to do and then I feel in control for the game. On the bus (to the game) I am looking at my notes and trying to sum up the things we spoke about. It's something what I do as a middle-back player.

You do some rolling, stretching, before the games, some pre-warm up, but then the real warm-up starts with the team. In every team it's a little bit different. 

I'm not a music specialist or music-lover. Most of the guys are doing it, but sometimes even now, I'm watching on the bus around me and before the game, sometimes I want to speak to somebody, but they're all with their headphones on, and I'm like, ‘okay’ (laughs). I just look at my notes and concentrate on the game – this is my ritual.

Hafsteinn RAMOS ROCHA (Cape Verde)
My routine before the game is always sleeping all day and eating.

Ivo SANTOS (Cape Verde)
My normal game-day routine is just having a very chill day and relaxing. I try to be rested, listening to my music before the matches. In the one-hour before the game I try to keep more in the ‘focus mode’, and then, it just ‘let's roll’. I mostly listen to hip-hop, Afro, Afro Beats or Afro House.

Filip GLAVAS (Croatia)
I really don't have any specific rituals. I go with the flow. I usually listen to rock ‘n’ roll music before games. I have a few favourites like Creedence Clearwater Revival, AC/DC and Rammstein. I recently found some Norwegian rock band, but I don’t remember their name. Sometimes, I listen to ballads if they come onto the playlist, but I am not like (goalkeeper Dominik) Kuzmanovic, he has everything prepared.

Marin SIPIC (Croatia)
I actually try not to think about the game at all for as much as possible, as the more I think about it, it gets harder for me, I like to forget that I am playing.

Dominik KUZMANOVIC (Croatia)
I have my own playlist, my warm-up routine, with a specific number of reps. I usually listen to foreign music; pop, techno - a mix of everything.

Dika MEM (France)
I'm not the type of guy (who has rituals). Basically, I am doing everything normal. Of course, I have some warm-up for my body. I always start with some stretches and then maybe some something with explosivity a little bit for my legs, and then it’s just getting ready for the game.

I'm just listening to music. We have a DJ in the locker room, so if there is a DJ, I will listen to music. If not, then I can put my headphones on.

I think I'm a really chilled guy. I always like to laugh with everyone, make some jokes and try to not be that serious (in the pre-game warm-ups). Of course, the game is really important, but I think it's also nice when you guys can smile and make (each other) feel just great before the game.  

Bjorgvin GUSTAVSSON (Iceland)
I have a two-minute routine before the game when I play the national anthem.

Gaston MOURINO (Argentina)
On a match day, my routine is to stay focused. It consists of calling my family, my partner, staying calm and analysing the opponent. Sometimes I listen to music. In the Argentina team, we listen to a lot of cumbia and cheerful music.

Juan Federico GULL (Argentina)
Our routine on match day includes drinking a lot of ‘maté’ (Argentinean tea). We also listen to a lot of music, especially reggaeton and cumbia.

Seif ELDERAA (Egypt)
Before the game I usually drink a lot of coffee. I warm all my body with the (muscle) cream. We have this song from Romania, (Ionut Cercel’s) ‘Made in Romania’, plus (Neil Diamond’s) ‘Sweet Caroline’, we play them always before the games. From Egyptian songs, we mostly listen to fan and motivation songs.

Yahia OMAR (Egypt)
Before the game, we all pray together and hope that God helps us with the game. Religion and faith are crucial in our country, in our culture, and it is the main thing. All of us are believers and we use it in our daily lives.

Usually, there is one guy who is the DJ before the game. He puts his playlist, mostly English music, nothing specific. Sometimes we play some Arabic music, specifically songs that speak about our country and that bring us motivation. I personally like to listen to the band ‘Two Steps from Hell’, they don’t sing, it is just motivation music, and I like it a lot.
 
Martin Nicolas JUNG (Argentina)
Before the game we listen to a lot of music, for example, the song ‘Pa la Selección’ by La T y La M. This is Argentine cumbia. In addition to cumbia, we listen to a lot of reggaeton.

Nicolas BONO (Argentina)
Our routine before the game is to listen to a lot of music, but I don't have a specific playlist. Before, when I was younger, I used to have a more specific routine. I used to wear the same socks and listen to specific music. When we're on the bus going to the arena where we're going to play, we listen to music all together. We listen to a lot of songs that are popular in Argentina. For example, songs as Tini’s ‘La Triple T’, or Rodrigo Bueno’s ‘La Mano De Dios’. We also listen to a lot of music from the Argentinian group called ‘La T y La M’.

Staš Slatinek JOVICIC (Slovenia)
Before each game I personally have a habit of tying my shoelaces again on the court after warm-up, and during the warm-up, plus, I sing a little. We always have music in the locker room, always Slovenian music, and before the final meeting, we play the Slovenian fan song ‘Slovenija gre naprej’.

Domen NOVAK (Slovenia)
My pre-game ritual depends on how I feel that day. Normally, before every game, I like to take a nap for about an hour to rest and then shower afterward to freshen up. At warm up, I try to follow my own rhythm and how I feel, so I don’t lose focus with extra rituals.

Before the final meeting in the locker room, we always listen to the song ‘Slovenija gre naprej’, which was created due to a great story and inspires us to give a little extra.

Jure DOLENEC (Slovenia)
Every player has a sequence of habits before a game to maintain their rhythm. In a long career like mine, a player finds a few things that help them, and they repeat them, making them a habit. For example, I’ve been playing a mental game before every match for a decade now to relax and forget about the upcoming game. Even on the court, during warm-ups, I stick to the same sequence of exercises, but I don’t have any extremely interesting habits that would be interesting to the public.

For years, in the locker room before the final meeting, we’ve been listening to the song ‘Slovenija gre naprej’ and the rest of the playlist is a mix chosen by the fitness coach.

Thanks to Jill Žnidaršić, Magdalena Tuđa, Issa Kralj, Nikolina Barišić, Larisa Vogrinc