Yehia Elderaa says Egypt have overcome ‘foreign coach complex’ after Veszprem World title

Yehia Elderaa says Egypt’s national handball team have overcome what he called the “foreign coach complex” and now believe they can win a medal at the World Championship.

The Veszprem player was speaking after the Hungarian club won the Handball Club World Championship by beating Barcelona 42-33.

“I have not seen the Egyptian fans for a long time, but I saw their support against Barcelona,” Elderaa told On Sport. “Playing in Egypt is very special, and I desperately wanted to win the Club World Championship.”

Elderaa said he had assured his non-Egyptian team-mates that the arena would be full despite their concerns.

“I told my foreign team-mates that the arena would not be empty and that the fans would be there to support us. That is exactly what happened,” he added.

The Egypt international said the national team had been working towards a World Championship medal for several years.

“We have been working on the dream of winning a medal at the World Championship with Egypt for five or six years,” he said.

Elderaa also highlighted the progress made by Egyptian handball, saying the team now had the confidence to compete with the leading nations.

“We have more spirit and courage than the foreigners,” he said. “We have overcome the ‘foreign coach complex’. We now have the confidence to play and teach our opponents lessons in handball. We won the World Youth Championship and claimed an Olympic medal.”

Elderaa played in the final and helped Veszprem secure the trophy as captain. His brother, Seif Elderaa, plays for Barcelona.

Veszprem’s Egyptian contingent also includes Ahmed Hesham “Dodo”, Ali Zein and Ahmed Adel “Dola”. The club is coached by Spain’s Javier Pascual, who also manages the Egypt national team.

The victory was Veszprem’s second in the competition. Their first title came in 2024, when Elderaa was again part of the squad and the only Egyptian player in the team.

Barcelona won the title in 2025 under the leadership of Seif Elderaa. Although he was not the captain at the time, his team-mates encouraged him to lift the trophy because the tournament was being staged in Egypt.

This time, it was his brother Yehia who raised the trophy as captain of Veszprem.

Veszprem goalkeeper Emil Nielsen, who previously played for Barcelona, was named player of the match. Hugo Descat was the match’s leading scorer with 10 goals.

The final standings saw Veszprem take gold, Barcelona win the silver medal, Al Ahly claim bronze and Zamalek finish fourth.