After the narrow relegation last season, TVB Stuttgart carried out a personnel upheaval. With the new coach Misha Kaufmann, things should go uphill again.
It was a tremor to the end. It was only on the last matchday of last season that TVB Stuttgart managed to stay in the handball Bundesliga. With a narrow 29:28 against Leipzig, the Stuttgart saved in the 16th place. Nobody wants to experience such a nerve -wracking season with the Swabians a second time. For this reason too, there are numerous changes in the team for the new season. Ten players left the club. For this, seven new additions came. And: a new trainer. With Misha Kaufmann, the next season should run better again.
Misha Kaufmann: “I quickly felt a trust”
The Swiss is already a well-known face in the handball Bundesliga. Kaufmann came from THSV Eisenach, where he was under contract for three and a half years. In Stuttgart, the 41-year-old particularly liked the visions and attitudes of those responsible, convinced him of the new project. “I had very, very good conversations. I quickly realized that people want to work on the same goals with the same energy as I want. I quickly felt a trust that I haven’t felt for a long time,” said Misha Kaufmann in an interview with SWR Sport. So it was clear to him that the TVB Stuttgart suits him well.
The season goals in Stuttgart
With the TVB, merchant has planned a lot, but one thing is particularly important to him: “It is a we and not a me.” Work together as a team for success – that is the maxim of the new man. Misha Kaufmann does not want to play a special role, because “it is not one-man show”. Together they have a big goal at TVB: “We want to have the courage to believe in the impossible and we want to work hard every day.” Kaufmann does not want a certain place in the table at the end of the season. It is only important to him that his players have “greed to grow a bit every day.” He wants to see that the team is developing. Because only that can continue and make Stuttgart successful.
A new game idea at TVB
Misha Kaufmann also brings a new game idea to TVB Stuttgart. However, he cannot really describe this, he is only told “that it is creative”. Even if he doesn’t think much of being innovative. For him there is only one one at the top: success. He just looks for ways to win games with his team. Together with his players, Kaufmann tries to make every game positively, which can be creative. It is important for him to communicate with each other. “We use what helps us. And what does not help us will let it be or change it,” says Kaufmann his approach to the point.
A lot of development within the team
The TVB team has been reorganized for the upcoming round in the Bundesliga in many positions. One of the numerous new additions is Simone Mengon. The Italian came together with Misha Kaufmann from Eisenach. Accordingly, he already knows his trainer well. It already helps him that he has already internalized certain tactics. Mengon has already integrated into the team well, but the team also made it easy for him. There is a lot to be said to make the start of every new addition as easy as possible. When it comes to the game idea of coach Kaufmann, Mengon sees a great strength: “Our defense is very uncomfortable and very special. We always do other things and are very dynamic.”
Kaufmann also sees no problem with the fact that the Stuttgart team was almost renovated. In the previous preparatory games, the TVB team has already harmonized well: “A lot is true. Automatisms are already there and recognizable. Communication is outstanding, the will is outstanding,” said Kaufmann. The new coach is delighted how the boys work and develop.
Preparation for the new season is running
The TVB Stuttgart is currently in the middle of the preparation for the new season. The Wild Boys won the first test game against BSV Bern with 40:29. The Stuttgarters were also able to present themselves positively at the S-Cup in Altensteig. The Swabians only had to surrender to Frisch on Göppingen in the final with 20:21. But exactly where the team is currently in preparation, Misha Kaufmann cannot yet perform the level of performance. It still has to be worked on certain points. Rather, it is important for him that his new team develops every day and continuously improves his fusality against HSV Hamburg until the Bundesliga start at the end of August.
