Golden Dreams: Domagoj Duvnjak on Croatia's EURO heartache

Croatia were silver medallists at the Men's EHF EURO in 2008, 2010 and most recently in 2020. One generation of star players made way for another in the decade separating the second and third glorious failures, but one cog in the wheel never needed replacing.

Duvnjak was a teenager when he made his Croatia debut in 2007 and was called up for his first EHF EURO a year later, playing in every match but the final. He went on to be a mainstay in the team, playing in the 2010 and 2020 finals and - at 35 years old - is gearing up for another crack at finally winning the trophy in Germany in 2024.

Having been there and seen it all, surely the obvious question to ask is, what was missing at the three EHF EURO finals? 

"If only I knew what was missing! But I think that luck should also be earned, that is the little things. It was a matter of one or two balls so, sadly, we didn't fulfill our dream."

The early days of Duvnjak's time with the national team were not about sadness, on the contrary, Domagoj was living the dream back in 2008, despite losing the final to Denmark, "It was like a dream for me, to play with my idols, train, and even win a medal. I was a kid and just enjoyed the moment."

Two years on, it was France in Vienna who inflicted a successive final defeat on the Croatians. While Duvnjak looks back on that championship with fond memories thanks to the tremendous Croatian support, it is with a tinge of desperation he remembers his side "did not have the strength to turn the game around" after falling behind in the second half.

A trio of bronze medals followed in 2012, 2014 and 2016, with many dramatic tales along the way, before at Croatia's home EURO in 2018, they could only manage fifth place, as Duvnjak suffered an injury in the opening game, "I rushed it. I wanted to heal as soon as possible so that my knee would be fine. That was one of the hardest nights of my career."

Rejuvenated, the THW Kiel centre back led a fresh Croatia line-up in 2020 to another final, beating Norway in a dramatic semi-final to set up a final with Spain in Stockholm.

But, the result in the final was the same as those previous years, as Croatia came up short yet again, "That was without doubt the toughest defeat of my career. We thought we played our best handball. Everything came together for us but you just have to come to terms with it. It's sports.

"We all felt that we should have won that match against Spain. I still haven't watched it.

"It was like we were flying. Those fans carried us, there was euphoria in Croatia. I thought that was definitely the final where we wouldn't miss out. To this day, I sometimes lie in bed before going to sleep and I remember that match. To this day."

Despite so many near-misses, Duvnjak remains optimistic that an EHF EURO gold medal will one day be put around his neck, or at least play in another final, perhaps in Germany at the Men's EHF EURO 2024, "I hope that there will still be an opportunity to experience that feeling of entering a final," he concludes.

Watch Golden Dreams in full:

Photos copyright: Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff, Uros Hovecar / kolektiff