It was the six handball seconds of the year – in the Olympic quarterfinals between Germany and France. People love and live handball for moments like this. There were many more.
Handball 2024 – between world record and Overstimulation
Handball is not only a fast sport, it is also fast-paced. One event overtakes the other, the flood of games leaves little room for the real highlights. The year 2024 was such a year of positive sensory overload. The European Championship took place in our country, the Champions League Final Four in Cologne and the final round of the European League in Hamburg. The arenas are always packed, the opening game of the home European Championship in the Düsseldorf football arena was seen by 54,000 spectators. Sold out. World record. It bordered on gigantism, but you had to be there somehow. As the host, Germany is a bank for the international handball associations. Because the halls are not only full when the hosts play.
The opening game of the European Handball Championships in Düsseldorf
The star is – no longer just – the team
The men’s national team took part in three tournaments this year. European Championships, Olympic qualification and the Olympic Games themselves. Those alone were 20 games, two of them for medals. The dream of a medal at the home European Championships did not come true, nor did the really big dream of gold at the Olympics come true. The Swedes and the Danes proved – still – to be too strong. But success is hidden behind these defeats. Germany is now one of the clear semi-final contenders at major tournaments.
It is the result of very good youth work by the association, but also by many clubs. They have formed their own stars: Julian Köster, Renars Uscins, David Späth or Justus Fischer – through their trust in their talent, the Bundesliga and its coaches have finally trained players who also play key roles in their clubs. Things were different for a long time and there is still potential for further development. National players or promising players are not allowed to be bench warmers in the Bundesliga.
The national team will always be strong as a collective, but the individual skills of Juri Knorr and especially Renars Uscins show that there are again players who can shape or even decide a game with world-class performances. That’s what you need to be successful. That was Andreas Wolff at the 2016 European Championship final and Renars Uscins at the 2024 Olympic quarter-final, the crazy thriller with extra time against France. The game of his life. A game that moved masses, even in front of the screen. To force happiness with passion. This was achieved in Paris and Lille.
It just doesn’t click
Once again the hopes of the DHB women were greater than the results. Participation in the Olympic Games – for the first time since Beijing 2008 – was of course a success. But later on, at the European Championships, they once again failed to live up to their own expectations, let alone break into the circle of the big nations. Next year’s World Cup in Germany and the Netherlands is the next chance to shorten the gap to Norway or Denmark. This is a shame for women’s handball as a whole. As with men, the popularity of this sport is closely linked to the national team.
The appreciation of women’s handball is also a social mandate. In Scandinavia, where women’s handball is particularly successful, this separation does not exist. There, handball is just handball. However, we finally need a success, something that makes people sit up and take notice. The knockout game where everything clicks. It’s not a lack of talent, but sometimes a lack of confidence. And for too long, women’s handball has been an appendage without any official appreciation. That has now improved.
Strongest league, but enthusiasm can be improved
The managers and coaches of the Bundesliga know about the charisma of the national team. Their halls are also very well attended by international standards. And yet it is not completely possible to transfer the enthusiasm for handball. Also rejuvenate the audience. The league itself rightly calls itself the “strongest league in the world”, no other European league is as balanced as the Bundesliga, especially in the current season. Predicting the 2025 champions is not a 50:50 decision, but rather a choice between six contenders. This has never happened before. There is no longer a logical champion, every game is a challenge, even against a relegation candidate.
Thorsten vomwege, sports show, May 31, 2024 8:22 a.m
SC Magdeburg has currently lost its supremacy after its double. But he shaped this year, even an era, with coach Bennet Wiegert, who stands for a club like no other. You can go that far. In a popular sport, a club from the geographical east is a pioneer. There is work behind this that cannot be valued highly enough.
First round health certificate – Bone Mill European Cup
Even though there was no German title win, this year was special. Magdeburg and Kiel reached the Final Four in Cologne, but lost in the semi-finals. However, the women from Bietigheim achieved greater success, sensationally reaching the Champions League final in Budapest. A milestone for women’s handball at club level. No German team has been in the final of the most important international competition for 32 years.
The dominance of German handball can be seen one floor down in the European League, which has found a new home in Hamburg with its men’s final round. SG Flensburg-Handewitt won the title. In the past ten years, the winner of this competition has only come from outside Germany once.
These competitions are an enormous burden for the participating teams, which only pays off economically if they are successful. But the physical strain on the players is much more important. For years there has been no consideration for the most important asset, the actors. 20 Champions League games before winning the title are crazy, English weeks are everyday life for national players. Nobody is doing anything about it, it’s a shame.