Hrvoje Horvat faces Slavko Goluža as two former Croatia coaches meet on opposite benches

Bjelovar’s return to Croatia’s top handball division will open with a carefully chosen reminder of the city’s sporting past. Its match against Zagreb will begin at exactly 7:14 p.m., the score recorded in Bjelovar Partizan’s 1972 European Champions Cup final victory over Germany’s Gummersbach.

The game at the Hall of European Champions will celebrate that anniversary and 70 years of handball in Bjelovar. It will also bring two former Croatia coaches and former Zagreb players together on opposite benches. Hrvoje Horvat will lead Zagreb, while Slavko Goluža will coach Bjelovar.

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By my count, this will be our 11th meeting since Horvat and I became coaches. So far I have eight wins, one draw and one loss.

Goluža said the match will be their 11th meeting as coaches. He has eight wins, one draw and one loss in the previous encounters. His only defeat came while he coached Slovak club Tatran Prešov. Their draw came in the Croatian Cup final, which Zagreb eventually won on penalties.

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Yes, there is no point deceiving ourselves, Zagreb are a big favorite.

Goluža said Zagreb are clear favorites, but expected his team to offer strong resistance. Bjelovar’s squad includes many young players, national-team player Bajam and Goluža’s son Ivan, who has Premier League experience. The team also has two players each from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

Horvat will return to his hometown, where his father, Hrvoje Horvat, will attend as an honored guest. His father was one of Partizan’s leading players in the 1972 triumph. Horvat said the occasion would be emotional, welcomed Bjelovar’s return to the elite and promised that Zagreb would seek victory from the opening minute without underestimating the hosts.

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There will certainly be emotion. I am glad that Bjelovar has returned to the elite and that we are the guests at such a celebration.