His left hand will always have a special place in handball history, his goals - over 1.000 in the Champions League and almost 2.000 in the national team jersey - will always be remembered...
Kiril Lazarov is a legend, one of the best handball players of all time, by far the best that North Macedonia has produced.
And the story of the man who won the Champions League and led his country to many major competitions began in difficult conditions.
"I started in a small place called Sveti Nikola and on concrete, we didn't have a hall, and later when we got it we didn't even have the right dimensions, so we figured out how to draw six meters so we could train. But that too is an example of when you want something and in such conditions you can succeed", said Lazarov in the show (Failure of the champion), which is hosted by another famous handball player Mirza Dzomba.
Sveti Nikola is located about 60 kilometers from Skopje and has a little more than 13.000 inhabitants.
"I don't have a complex to say that I'm from a small town, on the contrary - I'm especially proud that I managed to reach the big stage from a small town or village".
If you want to see if someone is talented, pass them a basketball.
Similar to Montenegrin legend Veselin Vujović, Lazarov first started training basketball.
"If you want to see if a young player is talented, then just pass him a basketball during the warm-up - if he doesn't know how to play basketball, then there is a higher percentage that he will not become a top athlete. Basketball is a very intelligent and beautiful game and it influenced me." Lazarov explained.
His first idol is also from basketball - Toni Kukoč.
"I really loved him, his triples, two-step, passing and his calmness and intelligence... And one of the reasons why I took the number seven was him. We all had a role model, and today's generations don't have that - I think they would have succeeded if they must have an idol".
Practice is practice
Throughout his career, the legendary Kire worked with several top coaches.
"I went through the biggest clubs and training with people like Lino Červar or Ćavi Paskval. I gathered experience from several countries - from Croatia, Hungary, Spain to France. You need to study and read books, but practice is practice".
That looks a bit like Lina Červar - Džomba jumped in.
"Yes, I learned a lot from the guard, I love him a lot, but it's not easy with him, and neither with me... He helped me a lot".
I cried in Belgrade
Lazarov won a lot, brought unprecedented joy to his country, but many remember his one shot that was not right... It was the European Championship in Serbia in 2012, the Macedonians then had an attack to win over the great Denmark - Lazarov shot, Niklas Landin made a save, and the Danes managed to triumph from a "crazy" counterattack.
If North Macedonia had won that, they would probably have reached the semi-finals.
"Even today, when some people meet me, they say: Hey, Kire, do you remember when you were in Serbia... Many people don't mention all the good things you did, but that. It was very difficult and I'm sorry, I cried after that match even though I gave one Denmark and Landin 13 goals. But I didn't score that 14th to win".
Croatia and Hungary called me, but I don't want to collect points
It is known that there were invitations to play for stronger national teams than the one in his country.
"I don't want to collect points because of that, Croatia and Hungary called me, I knew that I could have won medals with them. There was always a deficit of left-handed players, there were stories, but everything always depended on me and I was not drawn there I don't want it to be talked about - I could, but I stayed because of you. I'm fine like this."
Today he works as a selector of North Macedonia, at one time he was both a player and a selector.
"I took that risk, I can say historically that an active player is a selector... We didn't want to feel a decline, but to try to build a new generation. We know it's not easy, especially in a small country like North Macedonia, which likes handball and where people like to be at big competitions".
In addition, he also runs the new club Alkaloid, which could be an example for many in Montenegro.
"We founded it in order to select young players from all over the country and give them a chance. We succeeded in that, we won the Cup and the Supercup, and we only have two internationals in the team," said the legendary Macedonian, among others.
Bonus video:
