Experienced players meet very young players in the DHB squad. The difference is particularly noticeable in the language, as goalkeeper Andreas Wolff explained.
Just one more day and then the time has come: the German national handball team starts the world championship on Wednesday. The tournament kicks off against Poland in Herning, Denmark (from 8:30 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online).
For the title mission, national coach Alfred Gislason has put together a squad in which older and more experienced players meet significantly younger teammates. Luca Witzke recently suggested that communication problems can sometimes arise. He said that sometimes he no longer understands younger players, such as goalkeeper David Späth (22) or pivot Justus Fischer (21), because they speak such a different language.
One of the more experienced players in the squad includes goalkeeper Andreas Wolff. When asked about his chemistry with position colleague Späth and Witzke’s statements, the 33-year-old said: “It’s definitely funny that a 25-year-old who is only three years older than David says that.” But it’s true that Späth and Fischer “have a very special chemistry that actually contributes to the team’s amusement.”
“It’s sometimes interesting to listen to how the language develops,” admitted Wolff, making the national coach sitting next to him on the press conference podium laugh. But he is still able to “somewhat understand what they are saying.”
He himself is definitely on the same wavelength as Späth and gets along very well with him on and off the pitch. “As I have said several times, he is very mature on the field for his age,” Wolff praised his young colleague. “He’s a great guy and I can only repeat that he’s really a fantastic goalkeeper and it’s really fun to team up with him.”