Dainis Kristopans and Erik Balenciaga are the pillars of HBL leaders Melsungen despite a height difference of almost 50 centimeters. In a joint interview, they explain how this can work and what sayings they hear.
Erik Balenciaga and Dainis Kristopans have just completed a two-hour training session plus video training, but they still take time to film for hr-sport and then answer our questions in detail. They also tell you about the secret of Melsung’s success.
The conversation led Ron Ulrich.
hessenschau.de: Erik Balenciaga and Dainis Kristopans, they are both almost 50 centimeters apart in height. How do you still manage to play so well together?
Erik Balenciaga: That’s the beauty of handball: players with different constitutions can also play together. We share the same view of the game. Of course we handle the situations individually, but always with the same idea.
Dainis Kristopans: Everything is possible in handball. It doesn’t matter how fast or how big you are. I’ve gotten along well with smaller players in the middle in the past. For me, Erik was even one of the reasons why I chose MT.
hessenschau.de: They are called “the giant and the toy mouse”. How do you find that?
Balenciaga: That’s funny. People are always amazed at the size difference, but all nicknames have a fun nature. They haven’t given us any names in the team itself, but of course they like to tease us. If a ball is played too high, they shout: ‘Oh, that was for you’. And vice versa at Dainis.
Kristopans: I look forward to every new joke. I often hear: ‘Just watch your back’.
hessenschau.de: You came in the summer of 2023. Since then the team has been playing better and better. What is the secret of MT’s success?
Balenciaga: The new players have been good for the team, even last year. And since then we have gotten along better and better. The new additions this year have also helped us raise the level again.
Kristopans: We got fresh, new players who also brought a new feeling. Previously there was perhaps a lack of the necessary emotion and fire. The coach has established a ‘Spanish system’ here, which we both already knew well, for example. There are many small pieces of the mosaic for success.
hessenschau.de: You are both top performers and almost always have to be on the table. Aren’t you getting tired?
Kristopans: Sometimes yes. But we also have international breaks and we are accompanied by athletic trainers and a good medical staff. The travel is more of a challenge than the games themselves. But we have to make it through until the winter break.
hessenschau.de: At home the MT is a power. Why does the team sometimes have problems away from home like at the Lions or in Eisenach?
Balenciaga: I think all teams always give a little more at home. We have to play consistently for 60 minutes, something we lacked in the defeat in Eisenach, for example.
Kristopans: Above all, we have to become mentally stronger and not allow ourselves to be stressed when things don’t go well away from home.
hessenschau.de: What’s in it for Melsungen? There are coaches in the league like Magdeburg’s Bennet Wiegert who count the team among the title candidates.
Balenciaga: Of course there are moments in the night when such thoughts come to mind: Then there is this dream of playing for the title. But the reality means that we want to qualify for the European competitions. It’s still too early for anything else.
Kristopans: That’s exactly how it is. The Bundesliga is tough, you can get promoted within a game or quickly fall back in the table.
hessenschau.de: Everyone here talks about the good team spirit. How is it noticeable?
Balenciaga: With this topic too, it’s the little things that matter. We always put a little something into this big box called cohesion: here a fun warm-up, there a team event or a meeting. An example: Last year we all held a carnival party with our families. At the end of the season we also went away together for three days. That just feels good.
Kristopans: Nobody does their own thing here. We get along on the record and off. Whenever we have free time here, we all spend it together.
hessenschau.de: What role does coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo play in your game?
Balenciaga: He absolutely influenced me personally. His idea is clear and he gives us an incredible amount of information.
Kristopans: Match plan, discipline, details – these are his keys. I’ve been in this system for seven or eight years…
Balenciaga: … Dainis is already Spanish. (laughs.)
These are Balenciaga and Kristopans
Erik Balenciaga, 31, comes from Spain and is the pace setter in the middle backcourt at MT Melsungen. Like Kristopans, he moved to Hesse in the summer of 2023 and his contract runs until 2027.
Dainis Kristopans, 34, played in Skopje, Paris and with Füchse Berlin, among others. In the capital, the backcourt player wasn’t happy during his guest appearance in 2020, that’s different at MT. His only problem: he needs shoes for his size 51.
hessenschau.de: Finally: What are each other’s strengths?
Balenciaga: It’s easy to see that his physical strength is his advantage. But I think his biggest strength is his mentality. He takes on everyone for 60 minutes – in every game. That’s impressive.
Kristopans: His great strength is of course his passes, especially the long passes.
hessenschau.de: And where can the other one improve?
Balenciaga: With mobility in the hips (laughs.)
Kristopans: He could also give me a few more passes… and if things go too well, we have to do the extra work for him (laughs).
