“My mother put pressure on me to score”… Contract fulfilled for Nikola Karabatic, new top scorer in the history of the tournament

Great architect of the victory of the French team against Croatia, Thursday in Cologne, Nikola Karabatic has registered his name at the top of an additional ranking: that of the best scorers of the Euro. To the great pleasure of his mother.

Already the most capped player in the European Championship, Nikola Karabatic also became the top scorer, Thursday April 18, thanks to a 289^e achievement during a Euro, thus ahead of the Icelandic Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson (288). A sign of destiny, it was against Croatia (34-32 victory), his father’s country, that the PSG player broke this record, a symbol of his longevity at the highest level, in the densest competition in handball international.

Whistled by the Croatian public present in Cologne (Germany), who have not forgotten his head-to-head duel with Ivano Balic in the final of the 2009 World Cup, Nikola Karabatic responded on the field. After tying Sigurdsson at 32^e minute, the left-back made a little more of the history of his sport by scoring a symbolic 289^e goal at 45^e minute. Without having time to perform. “I just thought about running and retreating. The hand means you don’t have time for celebration. I was just thinking about sprinting to come back to defend”he assures.

However, his mother, present in Cologne on Thursday evening, had reminded him of the stakes, while he only needed 8 goals at the start of this Euro to equal the record. “She called me and put pressure on mehe says. She told me I had to score eight goals, I told her : ‘Mom, stop, you know you shouldn’t put pressure on me, I’m not looking at that, I want to be good for the team.’ But she repeated: ‘Yes, but you have to score eight goals, to be the top scorer.'” He finally scored nine, enough to satisfy her. “I think she’s even happier than me.”he smiles.

“For this last year, these are not the records that I have in mind”

Another member of his family, Luka, his brother, who plays alongside him on the field, also expressed his “pride” at the end of the meeting. “It’s a huge record like that, even if what interests him is being at the service of the group”underlines the captain. “It’s just amazing, and at the same time what else can surprise us about Niko? He’s written his name at the top of all the rankings”rejoiced coach Guillaume Gille.

Not obsessed with records, Nikola Karabatic nonetheless remains a perfectionist. “I like well-done stats, so I would have liked to know on how many shots I reached this number of goals”he declared after the meeting, for whom there will not be many records left to beat before retiring from sport after the Olympic Games. “All my career, obviously I have played for records, but in this last year, that’s not what I have in mind. It’s the pleasure on the field, giving my all and not think about what’s next”, he nevertheless assured. With 277 goals, Mikkel Hansen, 36, is close behind him, and could overtake him depending on his performance during this Euro, perhaps his last. “Mikkel might pass me by, but at least today I would have had this thing”Nikola Karabatic is satisfied.