Großwallstadt (dpa) – National handball coach Alfred Gislason reduced his squad shortly before the start of the European Championship.
Goalkeeper Joel Birlehm from Bundesliga club SC DHfK Leipzig will not travel to Bratislava with the team on Wednesday, as DHB sports director Axel Kromer said. Instead, Andreas Wolff and Till Klimpke will initially form the German goalkeeper duo in the preliminary round at the tournament in Slovakia and Hungary (January 13th to 30th).
“Joel Birlehm will go home and keep fit in Leipzig. The journey from Leipzig to Bratislava is not the world either, so he could be there quickly should we need it,” said Kromer. The DHB selection contests their preliminary round games against Belarus, Austria and Poland in the Slovak capital. If necessary, Gislason could nominate the 24-year-old Birlehm. “It’s not a demotion,” said Kromer, referring to Birlehm.
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