(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar's Bertrand Roine has a chance to enter the record books today if Qatar take the gold medal in the title clash against France at the 24th Men's Handball World Championship at Lusail Multipurpose Arena.
Left back Roine could win his second World Championship trophy after standing on top of the winners' after standing on top of the winners' podium with France in 2011 - it is the same team and his country fellows he will face today.
"We deserve to be in this final, even though many people had not expected to come this far," said Roine.
"This is a historic occasion for me, the team and for Qatar. This is simply incredible to be in the final of a World Championship. We gave all we could against a strong opponent and I believe we deserved to win," he said after the semi-final win.
For Qatar, it is their maiden final and it for the first time a non-European team will fight for gold .
"We know that we have already made history. It is like a dream for us and we don't want to wake up before Monday morning," Qatar line player Borja Vidal (pictured) said after his team had beaten Poland in Friday's semi-final. "We don't think about how it would feel to stand on the podium on Sunday, we will just continue working hard and prepare for France," Vidal added.
"We have gone all the way and we are receiving great support from the fans, the federation and the whole country, so we can be proud of what we have achieved, but we will feel even more proud, when we raise the trophy on Sunday," is the motto of Vidal.
Coach Valero Rivera is also on the verge of also rewriting the history books. The Spaniard will become the first coach to lead two different teams to World Championship titles, after he was coach of Spain two years ago.
The only similar achievement was made by Croatian Vlado Stenzel, who led Yugoslavia to the Olympic gold medal in 1972 and West Germany to the World Championship title in 1978.
"Our biggest advantage is that we can prepare like a club team, not like a typical national team," Rivera said, who is already the most successful coach in handball history by winning more than 70 titles and trophies with FC Barcelona including five consecutive Champions League titles.
Rivera's contract with the Qatar Handball Association lasts until 2016 - and he and his team have already their next dream in sight. A dream of participating at the 2016 Olympic Games. If they win the final against France, Qatar will have already booked the ticket to Rio. If they lose, they are the clear favourites for the Asian Olympic qualification tournament in October, which will held in Doha.
And Rivera will also have an eye on the bronze final. If Spain wins this match, it will be the first time that a father, Valero Rivera Senior and his son, Valero Rivera Junior will win medals at the same event with different teams.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.