Mood, anticipation and a lot of support: the German handball players are going into the upcoming European Championships with a good feeling. Nevertheless, national coach Alfred Gislason has some work to do before the tournament.
Between the years, the German handball players took some time for themselves. At a team meeting in Frankfurt am Main, the focus was not so much on the sport, but rather on the team spirit.
Afterwards, national coach Alfred Gislason was impressed by the atmosphere among each other. “These days were very valuable for us. It was an important and good measure and nice to see how the players interact with each other on completely different topics.”said the Icelander.
High expectations, big goals
The swearing in was successful and not insignificant, because there will be a lot to come for the DHB selection in the coming days and weeks. Expectations are high at the tournament in our own country; it should be a top placement. The association itself had chosen the period from 2022 as the decade of handball and needs success.
So far only the U21 national team has delivered by winning the World Cup title last year. The men’s national team’s last big success was eight years ago – they became European champions in 2016.
Now, with the great support of the many fans in Germany, we want to win a medal at the upcoming European Championships. But the competition is huge and the German team with many new young players is something of a surprise bag with a lot of question marks. Before the national team’s first game, there are four main construction sites for national coach Gislason.
Things are getting thin behind Golla/Köster
Construction site defense: The inner block with Johannes Golla and Julian Köster has already proven its international class at previous major tournaments. But behind that, the staff is getting thin. Marian Michalczik was scheduled to take part, but was injured during the course at the end of December. Gislason would have loved to have the experienced Hendrik Pekeler from Kiel, the 2016 European champion, with him. But he rejected the DHB for the tournament and now finally declared his resignation from the national team.
So Gislason has to resort to B solutions when he prescribes the necessary breaks in the game for the Golla/Köster team. The first options are Sebastian Heymann and youngster Justus Fischer. Cyclist Jannik Kohlbacher is also an option, said the Icelander. However, these three still have to prove their European Championship readiness for the inner block.
Does Wolff’s back hold up?
Goalkeeper construction site: Shocking moments in August of last year, when Andreas Wolff suffered a herniated disc. Would he be fit in time for the European Championships? Germany’s number one goalkeeper made a short comeback against Egypt at the beginning of November – with success. “It’s very pleasing that things are looking good for him again. I’m extremely happy and relieved about that.”said Gislason. “Andi was one of our most important men at the World Cup and is hard to replace for us. He is a very experienced goalkeeper who, despite his temperament, exudes a lot of calm.“
But can your back withstand the strain of an entire tournament? If not, a very young man will have to step into the breach. David Späth, U21 world champion and under contract with the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. Gislason is optimistic: “The duo works very well. David complements Andi perfectly,” said the national coach and thinks highly of the whiz kid “He took part in a course three times before his debut and always cut an outstanding figure. The boy is a huge talent and someone who can create a good atmosphere.“
“Other teams are better coordinated”
Import the construction site: Two test matches against Egypt at the beginning of November with a win and a draw, now the double pack with the tests against Portugal – the German team didn’t have more opportunities to get used to it and develop automatisms in order to memorize the important processes in attack and defense. The axis with Wolff, Knorr, Golla as well as the outside Patrick Groetzki and Timo Kastening, as well as Kai Häfner and Philipp Weber in the backcourt, have been playing together for a long time. But new moves have to be rehearsed again and again and new players are added.
A shortcoming that former national coach Dagur Sigurdsson also addresses: “The disadvantage I see is that they haven’t played together as much as a team due to the injury-related absences. The experience as a team is lacking. Other teams are better coordinated.”said the European champion coach in an interview with the “Magdeburger Volksstimme”.
Construction site tournament experience: Gislason has incorporated four U21 national players and a newcomer, Martin Hanne, into his squad and is thus taking the momentum of success that the quartet Justus Fischer, Nils Lichtlein, David Späth and Renars Uscins achieved by winning the World Cup title in early summer. The five young professionals have no experience on the international stage.
Hanne makes his first ever international appearances against the Portuguese, the other four have a total of ten international appearances. None of them have played a major senior tournament. Impartiality can also prove to be a trump card, but it is not a guarantee.