Next July 27th, 28th and 29th the Beach Handball exhibition will take place at the Maison du Handball in France. The best players in the world will be present to compete in a unique tournament. Santiago “el Mago” Rodríguez will represent Uruguay in the Aquila team.
The experienced 30-year-old Uruguayan player is one of the leaders of beach handball in his country and has been a member of the national team since 2011. Rodríguez has participated in 5 world championships. He currently plays indoor handball at Union La Paz and coaches at La Costa Beach.
- With the Uruguayan national team you competed in the Sur Centro in Asunción in April, then in May you competed in the first stage of the Global Tour circuit and less than a month ago you participated in the World Cup in China, were you satisfied with the results?
“In the tournament in Asuncion our goal was to go to play the final and fight for first place, but in the game against Argentina we had a minute and a half of distraction in the second half and we ended up losing. Argentina took that game and we ended up playing for third and fourth place with Chile”.
“In the Global Tour we prioritize as a team that the younger players start competing. It was a good tournament for the young players mixed with some experienced players, it was very useful for us to continue growing so that there is projection in Uruguayan beach handball”.
“We went to the world championship in China with all our expectations because we were sixth in the previous one and we wanted to improve that record. The truth is that we had a very difficult group in which none of the rivals were accessible as they were in other groups. We ended up losing the three games of the series by 1 or 2 balls, playing a very good role but without being able to close the games. We fought for the bottom positions and the best we could do was to get ninth place. and we succeeded. We won six games in a row, which was the goal we set for ourselves after finishing the series games”.
“In general terms we left happy because we know that we are at the level to fight with the strongest rivals.”
- You were the top scorer of the World Cup, did you expect it or were you surprised?
“I did not expect to be the scorer of the championship, but it happened, I think the team was very good defensively and that led me to be the scorer. We had very good moments of fast transitions and I had the space to go to shoot and having taken the penalties also gave me a good chance because I had a very good percentage in penalties and in field goals. I am happy to have been the top scorer, it was not something I was looking for and it happened”.
- You did not return to Uruguay after the World Cup. In which country did you stay competing?
“I stayed in Spain in Gandia Valencia in a team here that I played two years ago that opened the doors again. I already played the Spanish Cup, I will play an internal tournament in Valencia and in the Arena 1000 Torrox before Paris”.
- Does beach handball in Uruguay have its own competition circuit?
“Uruguay has its own circuit of very good competition that is growing more and more. It has very good teams from the U14 category up to seniors in both branches. I think that internal competition is a strong point in Uruguay.
- At the end of July you will be in Paris with the best players in the world participating in the beach handball exhibition. How did you receive the invitation to participate? What are your expectations?
“The invitation came to me through the Federation to see if I was available on those dates and two weeks later the announcement came from the IHF to name the players who were going to be in the exhibition in Paris. The expectations are very high, I think it is going to be a unique and super serious championship that we need to do it to leave beach handball in a good position.”
- Do you know the players with whom you are going to integrate the Aquila team?
“Yes, I know all the players on the team and I am very happy to play with several of them. I think it’s a dream to play with Severin Henrich from Germany on the team.
There are very good players, there is the MVP of the World Cup who is Croatian (Ivan Dumencic), several Qataris of very good level like Mohsen Alyafeai and Mohamed Ahmed Hassan. In defense we have a German who ended up being the best defender in the World Cup as well, so I’m very happy.
- Are you 100% focused on beach handball or also on indoor?
“Yes, I am focused on beach handball one hundred percent is a priority. I also play indoor handball but recreationally. I’ve been prioritizing beach handball for years.”
There will be three men’s and three women’s teams, in addition to the French national teams in both genders. Santiago “el Mago” Rodríguez, is part of the Aquila team along with Mohsen Alyafeai (QAT), Peter Hajdu (HUN), Mohamed Ahmed Hassan (QAT), Domingo Luis Mosquera (ESP), Gil Vicente de Paes Pires (BRA), Severin Henrich (GER) and Ivan Dumencic (CRO).
We share with you the schedule of games:
Cover photo courtesy of IHF.
Photos: CoSCABal/Camilo Rotela.
By Martina Gallo.
