Johannes Bitter moves between the posts again – for the last time in his long and successful handball career. The home game of his HSV Hamburg against SG Flensburg-Handewitt this Sunday will be his 657th Bundesliga game.
Bitter gets a little goosebumps when he thinks about his farewell. “I’m sure it will be emotional,” says the HSV Hamburg goalkeeper. The 42-year-old will end his career in the northern duel with Flensburg on Sunday (3 p.m.). According to the official count of the Handball Bundesliga (HBL), the 2007 world champion, 2011 German champion and 2013 Champions League winner played 657 Bundesliga games. In addition, there are 175 appearances in the national jersey.
“I don’t want to think too much at the moment. I just want to enjoy it.”
— Johannes Bitter
“I also said goodbye to the national team in this hall. It was highly emotional,” Bitter told NDR as he strolled across the parquet in front of the still empty stands. The hall will probably be sold out on Sunday. He can “already guess what’s happening to me. I want to get involved in it and don’t want to think too much about it. I just want to enjoy it,” he explains.
Ups and downs at HSV Hamburg
“I’m incredibly happy about the appreciation that so many people come to this game and want to see me in the jersey again,” says the 2.05 meter man. The Oldenburg native began his career at SG VTB Altjührden and took him via Wilhelmshavener HV to SC Magdeburg and HSV Hamburg. There he experienced the club’s bankruptcy and forced relegation in 2016. Five years followed at TVB Stuttgart before he rejoined the Hanseatic League in 2021.
“Sure, the games that led to titles were special. These are things that stay with you throughout your life because they simply influenced your career,” says Bitter. He experienced some absolute highlight games that will remain in the memory. Also with Andreas Michelmann, the President of the German Handball Association (DHB): “When I think of Johannes Bitter, I remember his fantastic performance in the final of the 2007 World Cup when Henning Fritz was eliminated injured.” Bitter came onto the field, held on to the 29:24 victory over Poland and secured Germany’s second World Cup gold after 1978.
Gislason’s early days in Magdeburg were formative
Looking back on his career, it was above all a time that had a big impact on him, says Bitter: “What will always stick with me are the first two years at SC Magdeburg, where Alfred Gislason threw me into the deep end and just threw me into the deep end let it play.”
He is a great character and team player – a leader on and off the field.”
— National coach Alfred Gislason
Gislason, who has been coach of the German national team since 2020, also has good memories of the years we spent together: “As a coach in Magdeburg, I brought the young Johannes Bitter to the SCM. He was an outstanding goalkeeper and very intelligent handball player,” says the 65-year-old .
Bitter has long been employed in a different position at HSVH
A lot has happened on the field over the last few years. The introduction of the fast middle made the game much faster, said Bitter: “Without being disrespectful: there used to be a bit of crossing and there were more throws from the backcourt.” The goalkeeper has now become the first attacking player and “the seven-on-six makes it a lot more running.”
At the beginning of October, after the 27:30 cup defeat against THW Kiel, Bitter announced the end of his career. Since then he has concentrated on his new tasks as vice president and sports director of the club. “I’ve been able to get a taste of things over the last few years and have been able to help shape a lot of things. Taking on responsibility now is a lot of fun for me, but of course it also brings with it challenges.”
“The physical aspect will be missing, it’s more in the head. It’s more the phone than the shoes. That’s a big change. But I’m happy that I can stay connected to my club.”
— Johannes Bitter
Now Bitter is planning the sporting future of HSVH
Before the current season, HSV Hamburg had great concerns about the license, which was only granted at the last instance. This is also an area that Bitter now has to deal with. “Ideally, we’ll have peace and quiet until the end of this season,” says the 42-year-old. His goal is to lead the Hamburg handball players permanently into the top half of the table.
But do so with patience and a sense of proportion: “It’s clear that we want to think ambitiously about the future, but we won’t make the mistake of going crazy now and saying that this goal must then be achieved.”
No Deployment guarantee on Sunday – but a bank guarantee
For the moment, his focus is now on the game against Flensburg. He describes the preparation for his final game as follows: “I have been training with the U21s in the last few weeks so that I am not too much in the way of our boys from the Bundesliga team. Let’s see how the game goes. There are none Deployment guarantee, that’s absolutely clear. But there is definitely a bank guarantee.” And there will definitely be a lot of celebration afterwards with the family, friends and old companions.
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Sports club | 12/22/2024 | 10:50 p.m
