For the German national handball team, the World Cup is just around the corner. The national coach is particularly concerned about one thing.
The year is not yet two weeks old and the German national handball team is already taking part in its first sporting highlight: For the team of national coach Alfred Gislason, the title is at stake at the World Championships in Denmark, Norway and Croatia, which begin on January 14th.
On Thursday, the DHB selection successfully played the first of two test games against Brazil and won 32:25 (13:13). However, there is still work to be done before the second game against the South Americans on Saturday in Hamburg: the young team appeared shaky, especially in the first 15 minutes.
But the national coach is more concerned with another issue than the one or two weaknesses in his team’s play: the increasing attention on the young players and the pressure that comes with it.
In recent years it has been Juri Knorr in particular who has been in the public eye – and who, by his own admission, has had to nibble at it a lot. Something similar could now flourish in Renārs Uščins. The 2023 U21 world champion also made a rapid rise in the senior national team last year. The 22-year-old from Hannover-Burgdorf is now one of the team’s top performers – and receives a lot of attention.
“That is one of my big concerns,” said Gislason at a DHB press conference on Friday. At the past tournaments, Knorr was “extremely besieged from all directions,” said the national coach. “The big concern I have now is that this media focus has shifted to Renārs,” he says. “It’s a worry because Juri had a lot of problems for a while with the fact that – no matter what he did – everything was just being played on the gold scales. I’m afraid that we Renārs have to try to stay out of the hustle and bustle a bit “, says Gislason.
Uščins himself is also well aware of the problem: “Of course it’s cool and an appreciation, because you are appreciated for the performance you show,” he said on Friday about the increased attention. “On the other hand, it’s also tiring on the head,” said the 22-year-old. It’s not just media inquiries, but also more requests for autographs from fans and more conversations with VIPs on match days that are now keeping him busy. “So there are various little things that have now become extremely common. You definitely have to learn to deal with them and also protect yourself,” says Uščins.
He therefore exchanges ideas with Knorr, who has already been through all of these things. “It would be wrong if you wanted to do justice to everyone and then that would drain your energy and you would no longer be able to perform as well as you could on the field,” said the backcourt player. He has to find ways to meet other commitments but still keep the focus on his sporting performance. “I’m currently trying to figure out how to solve this. That’s also an exciting path, an exciting background noise that’s part of handball.”