“It has truly, undoubtedly, been a miracle.”

When asked about the secrets behind the amazing resurgence for the Croatian women’s national handball team, captain Katarina Jezic did not hesitate a bit for an answer.

“Our chemistry is through the roof and it just happened spontaneously. We did not try to be like this, we are just like this. You asked about the secret of our performances and there it is: chemistry.

“We are ready to die for each other on the court, we always say that to our teammates. And I think the results speak volumes. We were right there between the top teams in Europe,” said Jezic.

Of course, Croatia’s captain talks about the amazing performance at the EHF EURO 2020 last December, when the Croatian side recorded their best-ever result, snatching the bronze medal from hosts Denmark, with an amazing performance in their last game of the tournament.

The EHF EURO 2020 was also the tournament in which Croatia got one of the best nicknames ever given in women’s handball – the “Queens of Shock”.

It is a pun intended on their coach’s nickname – Nenad Sostaric is called “Šoka” – but nevertheless, it fits perfectly with the current Croatian team.

Finishing third at the EHF EURO 2020 also got its perks, long after the tournament ended – because after a 10-year wait, Croatia were back on the biggest of stages, earning a berth at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Since finishing sixth at Germany 1997, Croatia have never been able to mount a challenge for a medal in the tournament, except for the last edition they took part in, at Brazil 2011.

The Croatian side were almost perfect until the quarter-finals, when Norway, the winners of the tournament, eliminated them after a hard-fought 30:25 win. But the golden generation which featured supremely talented players like goalkeeper Jelena Grubisic, left back Andrea Penezic, centre back Miranda Tatari or left back Kristina Franic was starting to slow down.

Between the plethora of stars, a young, 18-year-old player, was starting to get acquainted to the big stage. Line player Katarina Jezic had played only four times until Brazil 2011, but she got some big minutes and impressed with her attitude and talent.

From that team that finished seventh at the IHF Women’s World Championship, only Jezic is still playing for Croatia at Spain 2021. That, in itself, is an amazing achievement. Yet the 28-year-old line player, who will celebrate her birthday exactly on the day of the final in Granollers, always likes to speak about the team, not about herself. However, she puts that experience on top of everything that followed, which really opened up the door for her improvement as a player and as a person.

“I did not know much back then, but it truly was a superb atmosphere and a very good team. So the chance to be there and play meaningful minutes during that tournament was huge for my development. We were very happy to finish seventh and my career really took of from that moment.

“I signed for Buducnost Podgorica, which was huge, I could play with some of the greatest players in my generation. So playing in that tournament helped me a lot,” said Jezic.

Yet, from that moment on, Croatia went on a downward spiral, having never qualified for the IHF Women’s World Championship and winning only two matches out of 12 in the next four EHF EURO tournaments.

And this is where the miracle happened.

Nenad Sostaric is well-respected as one of the greatest handball minds in Croatia, having already coached the national team twice, between 1997 and 1998 in his first stint, and between 2001 and 2003 in his second stint.

A well-known motivator and a man of many words when needed, Sostaric instilled that kind of drive for the Croatian side, which really went awry during the last decade. 

The role of the underdog really suited the Croatian side. And this is how the “Queen of Shocks” team was born.

“We were always hearing that we will be back home after the group phase at the EHF EURO 2020. So we decided to block it all out and try to be the best version of ourselves we can be. And we delivered. It was a great team effort, the kind of you really cannot explain in words. You have to be there to feel it and take it all in,” said Jezic.

No other player from the current team played more games in the national side than Jezic (83) and no other player has scored more goals than the captain (170). Yet, Jezic firmly believes in the team’s identity and the familiar feeling between all the players.

“We proved to ourselves we could do it, now we are at it again. The role of the underdog suited us and will probably suit us again in the future. Of course, there will be misunderstandings from time to time, but the interesting thing is that we all talk to each other and trust ourselves that what we say is the truth and we all want this team to be better.

“Brazil, Japan and Paraguay will be our opponents at Spain 2021 and we are ready to take them on. But we are not favourites now, nor will we be in the future. We will take it, like we always did, one step at a time,” concluded Jezic.