Hosni: In E. Pelister I met an ambitious group of handball players, I am optimistic that this season will be better
The Eurofarm Pelister team enters the new season with great ambitions, to dethrone Vardar in Macedonian handball, and for this purpose, they made a major overhaul of the team, bringing handball players from France and Tunisia for the first time.
Rudy Seri is the first French handball player to play for E. Pelister, and Usama Hosni will be the first Tunisian to wear the jersey of the Macedonian vice-champion.
Hosni, who plays in the ten-back position, comes to Bitola from the French championship, where he played for the Istrian team for the past three years.
– This is a nice experience for me. The opportunity to come to Macedonia and be the first handball player from Tunisia in Eurofarm Pelister was offered to me by my agent. He presented me the club and the ambitions, the possibility to achieve good results in Europe and to win the Macedonian championship. This is a nice chance for me, a totally different experience from France, where I played. I am optimistic and motivated for my new challenge. I came across an ambitious group of handball players. It is important to fight for the title in Macedonia. I watched the last match against direct competitor Vardar 1961 last season. Unfortunately, due to small details, Eurofarm Pelister lost the title. But I am optimistic that this year will be better - says Hosni.
The defender, who triumphed in the 2018 Africa Cup with the Tunisian national team, and lost in the final two years later, knows well about the handball tradition in Macedonia and the Balkans.
- Handball has a tradition in the Balkans. Macedonia has a good national team, in 2015 we played an important match in Poland for the Olympic qualifications. I was the best player in that match, we won and thanks to that match, Tunisia qualifies for the Olympic Games in Rio. It is a tradition to produce good handball players from Macedonia, to have a good selection. A good example of that is Kiril Lazarov - adds Hosni.
E. In the new season, apart from the domestic Super League and Cup, Pelister will also compete in the SEGA league and play in the group stage of the Europa League.
