Dubai: FC Barcelona Lassa star Kamil Syprzak is expecting a tough fight when the record-winning European champions meet PGE Vive Kielce of Poland in their one-off 500 Super Final Handball match in Dubai in December.
A member of the triumphant Copa del Rey squad on Sunday, Syprzak was in Dubai on Monday along with event owner Slawek Gebka to inspect the venue for the ‘500 Super Final Handball’ exhibition. The prestigious event — the first of its kind in the region — will be held at the Hamdan Sports Complex on December 21.
Xavi Pasucal’s side completed a double on Sunday with a 35-28 win over Logrono La Rioja at a packed Madrid Arena to win the Copa Del Rey in addition to the league crown. Syprzak, whose biggest achievement so far, is a bronze medal with Poland at the 2015 World Handball Championships in Qatar, was excited to make the trip to Dubai for the season-finale.
“I come to Dubai with a lot of positive energy after winning the Copa Del Rey. FC Barcelona Lassa is a big club with a lot of history that goes back to nearly 80 years. Everyone knows players like [Lionel] Messi and [Andres] Inesta, and this factor will be a great promotion for our event. We will come here to win against an European champion club like PGE Vive Kielce,” Syprzak told Gulf News during his visit to the Hamdan Sports Complex.
“PGE Vive Keilsa too is a great club with a lot of history and achievements behind them. So when we both meet in Dubai in December we all know how good it will be for spectators here, for the sport of handball and for the development of our sport in this part of the world. Kielce have won the Champions League and they have some really good players like [Dean] Bombac and [Uros] Zorman. It won’t be easy, but we will be here to win it,” he added.
Born in Poland, the 6.9ft pivot has been a crucial part of the Polish and Barcelona teams. Since his debut in 2011, Syprzak has played 113 times while scoring 216 goals for the national team. The high-point of his career came when he scored the winning goal in Poland’s 29-28 last gasp win against Spain at the 2015 World Handball Championship in Doha.
“I want to call on the people in the UAE to come and attend this historical match of handball when two of the best teams in the world play for a grand prize on a swimming pool. No one has done it before and we will enter history books,” he added.
Organised under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the 500 Super Final will be held in Dubai every December over a five-year period with the winners taking home $300,000 (Dh1.1 million) and a glittering trophy, while the losing team will receive $200,000. In addition, the 500 Super Final champion will also earn the right to play Telekom Veszprem HC on December 20, 2019. Any team winning the title on three successive occasions will receive an additional bonus of $300,000.
