In handball, a new era is taking shape among the Blues. Ludovic Fabregas was elected the new captain of the France team on Monday, replacing Luka Karabatic who wanted to hand over because he could not “project” himself until the 2028 Olympic Games.
“I discussed it with “Gino” (coach Guillaume Gille) some time ago. It was a desire on my part: the French team is entering a new four-year cycle, and four years is a long time, I can't project myself that far, I think it's a good thing to “anticipate,” explained Luka Karabatic.
Digesting the failure of the Olympics
The youngest of the Karabatic brothers, aged 36 (162 caps), therefore hands over the armband to Fabregas (28 years, 149 caps) after the failure of the Olympics, where the Blues were eliminated in the quarter-finals and where he -even been below its usual level.
“It seemed quite unlikely or quite unrealistic to him to imagine that he could be part of the duration of this cycle which takes us to Los Angeles (2028 Olympics) and the 2029 World Cup (which France will organize with Germany). There was the desire for him to pass on the armband, which opened a moment of election: the players elected their captain,” declared Gille, coach of the Blues meeting since Monday at the Maison du handball in Créteil, in Val-de-Marne, for the first time since the Olympics. They will face Sweden on Wednesday in Orléans then Norway on Saturday in Stavanger as part of the EHF Euro Cup 2026.
Guillaume Gille further emphasized that “it was jointly that this decision (had fallen)”. “(It comes) both from Luka's initiative and from the “process” that has been ours for several seasons: there is often at the start of the season a sort of vote of confidence to know if the representatives are still the right ones. “.
Fabregas sees it as “a very exciting challenge”
Fabregas, a pivot in defense like Luka Karabatic but also playing in attack, received the armband “with great pleasure”. “It’s a real opportunity and pride, I hope to fulfill this mission as best as possible. The task is not necessarily simple, the responsibility is all the more important given the situation in which we find ourselves. It’s a very exciting challenge from a personal and collective point of view,” added the player from Veszprem (Hungary), Olympic (2021), world (2017) and European (2024) champion.
“I know that the French team and the captaincy are in good hands,” also affirmed Luka Karabatic, who had been the captain since the fall of 2022, succeeding Valentin Porte who had decided to concentrate on the role alone. of player. “I got older at the start of this new training course, many emblematic players stopped. My role has evolved a little, I have a bit of an elder role which can stand on its own,” explained Luka Karabatic.
