With Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, THW Kiel has secured the services of a mega talent. Allegations of arrogance are now being raised against the backcourt player from the Faroe Islands.
“A type of street handball player. Someone who understood the game, but who also has a slightly arrogant demeanor,” said handball legend Stefan Kretzschmar to “Sport Bild”.
The sports director of Füchse Berlin added: “His way of playing handball won’t bring him much sympathy from opposing teams. I think there will be a lot of anger in one game or another.”
THW Kiel: Jicha dampens expectations
Skipagøtu moved to Kiel this season from IK Sävehof in Sweden. The 21-year-old signed a four-year contract with the champions.
“Elias is one of the greatest talents in Europe in the middle backcourt. He has a great understanding of the game and is creative,” said THW Managing Director Viktor Szilagyi when the transfer coup was announced: “We’re looking forward to him and are glad that our overall package was convincing .”
However, Kiel coach Filip Jicha recently dampened expectations. “He has enormous potential but will need some time to get used to the Bundesliga,” said the coach.
In this context, Kretzschmar also commented on another talent in the Bundesliga: U21 world champion goalkeeper David Späth from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
The 21-year-old decided to stay at the Mannheim club, even though he has two top-class competitors in front of him in Mikael Appelgren and national goalkeeper Joel Birlehm.
“I think Späth’s decision to stay is impressive. He certainly had offers where he could have been the first or second man in the Bundesliga,” emphasized Kretzschmar, but made it clear: “I actually trust him to be the first goalkeeper.”
In the Supercup (36:37 against THW Kiel) Späth was allowed to play right from the start and impressed with 18 saves.