Monday, 13 August 2012

Barac retires from international water polo

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Olympics Water Polo News: Samir Barac, Croatia


Winning an Olympic gold medal is the perfect way to bow out of international water polo, the Croatia captain Samir Barac said.
The 38-year-old led his team to a 100% record in the London Games, with eight wins from eight.
But now he has his gold medal around his neck, it is time to hang up his Croatia trunks and cap.
Asked what it was like to be an Olympic champion, he said: "What an amazing feeling. I can't explain it. "It's the top of the top of my career.
"This is my fourth Olympic Games. I lost three Games - Sydney, Athens and Beijing.
"And this is very, very important for me because I am 38 and I am finishing my international career."
Croatia were dominant in defence for the whole tournament, and Barac said Josip Pavic, the goalkeeper, was crucial.
He told Press Association Sport: "Pavic, I think, is the best goalkeeper in this tournament.
"We had a very good defence, and I think with him it's very, very easy."
Niksa Dobud, who was voted the 'All star' centre-forward, agreed with his captain that the defence was key: "We dominated because of our great defence. I thought that every day."
Asked about the final against Italy, he said it was not an easy game.
"The Italians are a great team," he said. "They won against Hungary and Serbia."
Miho Boskovic, who scored twice in the victory over Italy, said: "We played amazing the whole tournament. "So I think we deserve 100% this medal. We played the best water polo and did an outstanding performance last match."
He said the team's physical and mental preparation was key.
"We have amazing quality, of course," he said. "We've had the best preparation. "Physically we are very, very strong and of course mentally we were very stable no matter what was the result.
"Today it was 2-0 [to Italy], but we came back to win the game, so that's the most important thing that we had."
Asked how the team will celebrate, he said: "It is very, very lovely, and for sure we will not sleep the next two or three days."

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