“CLIMBING UP THE LADDER OF SUCCESS” WITH FILIP MIRKULOVSKI: AT THE BEGINNING I DID NOT HOPE FOR SUCH A LONG AND FULFILLING CAREER, AND I DIDN’T EVEN DREAM OF BEING A COACH

When the famous Kire Lazarov recently became the head of the Macedonian handball team, naturally, he directed the first calls for help to another of our experienced members of the national team, Filip Mirkulovski. The 37-year-old from Skopje has a dual role after returning to the national team, as a player and as a coach, he is Lazarov’s assistant, in order to reorganize the selection and get the best out of the young players.

Mirkulovski could not have wished for a better comeback, especially with the victory over the European and world champion Denmark. With this great triumph, he ended his three-year national team post, and besides Lazarov on the bench, he announced the new Macedonian handball era where the emphasis will be on young players.

– I have been a teammate of the national team with Lazarov for 15 years. I offered my help, and in fact, we are all here for that, to do a successful job and teach young pleyers how to behave towards the Macedonian jersey and how to respond to tactical tasks – was one of the first statements of Mirkulovski after returning to the national team.

Jordan was my first idol

He says that since he can remember for himself, he has been interested in sports, but basketball is the one that first lured him to catch a ball. Like many children in the 1990s, when Michael Jordan was literally everything in the sports and everyone wanted to be like him, Filip was no exception. Having a ball in hand and simulating a last-minute basket shot was a dream come true for every child on the playgrounds at the time, and a big reason why so many children started playing sports.

Photo: Filip Mirkulovski

– I was born in Skopje, in the Butel neighborhood, and I spent my childhood there. Since I can remember, I am interested in sports. Around the age of ten, I first became interested in basketball because the “Chicago Bulls” and Michael Jordan were on the top at the time, so I followed them whenever there was an NBA on television. “Michael was my first idol, that is, how a real athlete should look and behave on the field,” says Filip.

My father instilled in me a love for handball

However, Jordan was not the only reason Mirkulovski decided to take up sports seriously. His father, who was a handball player, also plays a role here, and it was he who inserted another sports bug, besides the basketball one, and that is handball. Then Filip started training both sports at the same time. He lacked a few centimeters more in height to continue professionally with basketball, but still did not regret finishing in handball.

– As a child I played almost all the neighborhood games, and we mostly played basketball. The first sport I trained was basketball. I still love basketball very much and surely if I was a little taller, I would continue with it. But in the end it turned out well with handball. My father also played handball, as a goalkeeper. Well, he instilled in me a love for handball. But I was never forced to train handball. Everything came spontaneously because I trained handball and basketball in the same time, and in the end I decided on handball and I think I was not wrong – says Filip.

With his wife and daughters / Photo: Filip Mirkulovski

First handball trainings at 13 years old

Mirkulovski had his first handball trainings in the elementary school “Panajot Ginovski”. He thinks that he started training relatively late, but still his sports predispositions, fighting spirit and work ethic allowed him to progress quickly. He spent his high school days in  “Vasil Antevski-Dren”, and graduated from the Faculty of Law.

– I started training handball relatively late, at the age of thirteen, having in mind that today they start much earlier, at the age of nine or ten. I started in my primary school “Panajot Ginovski”. It was a kind of handball section, and since then my love for handball has started. My professional trainings started in Avtokomanda with RC “Macedonia”. My first coach was Tomce Hristov, and I learned a lot from our handball legend Igor Kotevski. My first professional trainings were with them – adds Mirkulovski.

I didn’t  hope for such a long and fulfilling career

Macedonian handball legend Pepi Manaskov is among the first handball idols that Filip had, as well as many other young players, especially from his generation. The speed of the game and the duels are what always attracted him to handball, and from the very beginning his goal was to one day play for the national team.

– Ever since I was a child, I followed our national team and I really liked the games of Tomce Petrevski and Pepi Manaskov. Later, when Croatia was the leading force in handball, Ivano Balic became my idol. At the beginning, my ambitions were not very big, like every beginning of those years, but over  the time, and as I got better and better, my expectations grew proportionally. I wanted to play for the national team of Macedonia, and on the club field to play in the Champions League. But, honestly, at the beginning I did not hope for such a long and fulfilled career – adds Mirkulovski.

An entire career with the “unlucky” number 13 on the jersey

Although the 13th is considered as a unlucky number, Mirkulovski has spent his entire rich career with this number on his jersey. He has changed four clubs, and the handball club “Metalurg”, where he stayed the longest, that is 12 years, stands out as the most prolific period in his career and a place where he experienced the most beautiful sports moments. In “Metalurg” he had the opportunity to learn from the famous Lino Cervar, who is also his favorite coach.

– I have played for Macedonia, Metalurg, Hanover and Wetzlar. My whole career I wear the number 13. At the beginning I wore it to handball matches for my school because number 3 was occupied by another player. I never changed the number because I thought thirteen brought me luck. Except in Hanover and for a year in Wetzlar, I wear the number 91, because the 13th was busy, and also the 23 of Michael Jordan. In that case I decided for 91, the number of Dennis Rodman, because I really liked him playing defense. Playing for “Metalurg” is the most successful chapter in my career. Probably because I spent the best years of my career there, and the successes in the Champions League were my favorite. I have had many coaches in my career. I learned equally from everyone, but I can say that Lino Cervar is my favorite – adds Filip.

Photo: Goran Anastasovski

I did not dream of being a coach, but now I want to try

Mirkulovski selflessly shares every experience gained in his career with his younger colleagues. When he was at the zenith of the game, he did not consider becoming a coach, but as the years went by, that changed and he already has the status of assistant coach at the Wetzlar club in Germany, and now in the national team.

Photo: Filip Mirkulovski 

– While I was active only as a player, I did not think that I would want to be a coach, but in the club I am in now, in “Wetzlar” in Germany, they gave me an idea to try in that field as well. I have been a player and assistant coach for a year now. Although I did not dream of being a coach, now from this perspective I want to try. Everything I have gained as an experience and as knowledge I selflessly try to pass on to the younger ones. I am at the beginning of my coaching career, so we will see further how it will affect them – says Mirkulovski.

We became idols of many children

Filip in the field, and Filip in private life, is two deferent persons. One of the benefits of building a successful handball career is that he does not have to follow his profession, and that is a lawyer, saying that in that case he would have to talk a lot. Thanks to him, Lazarov and the rest of his top handball generation, this sport in Macedonia has become number one and one of the few in which young people can hope for a successful career and financial stability.

Photo:  Filip Mirkulovski

– Yes. Handball is the number one sport in our country, given the results of the national team and, of course, the results of Metalurg, Vardar, and now Eurofarm. Because of that popularity led by the success of the clubs and the national team, we have become idols of many children. Many handball schools were opened. There is almost no municipality that is not covered by a handball school. From the earliest age, conditions have been created for children to be able to play this sport early. When I was a child, I remember I went with two buses to get to training, and today everyone trains in their neighborhoods – says Mirkulovski.

Author: Nikola Petrovski