The really big dream of the final has burst. And yet: Between traffic light fatigue and a rail strike, Germany’s handball players are writing the winter fairy tale that the country has longed for.
The essence of fairy tales is that miraculous things happen in them. Germany’s handball players wanted to write a winter fairy tale at the home European Championships. They dreamed of at least the semi-finals, the boldest even dreamed of the final or the title, of triumphing over the French and Danes and the other top favorites. The sparkling clean victories over Switzerland and North Macedonia at the start of the tournament were “Once upon a time…”.
Now all these dreams are over – in the semi-finals. That was the goal of the team around national coach Alfred Gíslason. You have achieved it. With flying colors. And yet: To be honest, the lost semi-final feels a bit as if the beautiful king’s son married one of the nasty stepsisters while Cinderella is still busy with peas and lentils. A shame. But what are you going to do without a magic tree and pigeons to give you a hand?
In the end, the fairy tale lacked a miracle. Not that goalkeeper Andreas Wolff wasn’t a wizard. But it’s not magic, it’s completely normal. Not that the players around captain Johannes Golla lacked commitment, fighting spirit or will. On the contrary: This team managed to rally behind them all the spectators in the halls and millions in front of the television sets with the “German virtues” that were almost chanted to death but were apparently real. But that’s no wonder either. This is simply handball “Made in Germany”.
The miracle would have been to grow even further beyond yourself. Up to the very high top level, up to the same level as Olympic champion France and world champion Denmark. In the semi-finals, the Scandinavians were simply more savvy, more fearless and more consistent. National coach Gíslason’s team had to realize that winning big titles requires more than unconditional fight and perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world. Germany is not (yet) a complete match for the French and Danes, who are well-manned right up to the very end of the substitutes’ bench.
A wild rollercoaster ride
Against Iceland, an unbridled display of will was enough to win; against Austria, the team collapsed in attack like a house of cards. Lots of technical errors and a lot of nervous nerves when taking advantage of the chances – it could only have been enough for an extremely flattering draw. The team played almost perfectly against Hungary, but was shaky again against Croatia. And then this semi-final. That wonderful first half, that fight, that unity, that willingness to dream. And yet: It wasn’t enough. Our colleagues have summarized here how the German winter fairy tale ended.
What’s left after “And if they didn’t die, then are they still alive today?” Above all, this: This German national handball team is lively. Behind the veterans Wolff, Kohlbacher, Häfner, Dahmke and Kastening, the U21 world champions of 2023 are growing up. The volcano-like goalkeeper David Späth, the wild shooter Renārs Uščins, player of the game against Denmark. Top performers like Johannes Golla and Sebastian Heymann are in their prime as athletes, while hopefuls like Julian Köster and Juri Knorr are even a few years younger.
They all embody a shirt-sleeved, fax-free and hands-on German handball in the best sense of the word, for which Alfred Gíslason is the ideal mentor. In addition: There are neither Ferraris in front of the halls nor any extravagant fashion accessories hanging in the team’s locker room. These players are “normal people”, identification figures in their enthusiasm, their courage, their passion, their sense of togetherness.
This team’s Cinderella story is not over. It’s just interrupted. The game for third place against Sweden will be a new beginning. The qualifying tournaments for the summer Olympic Games in Paris begin in March. In one year the World Cup will take place in Croatia, Denmark and Norway. The story goes on. The future belongs to this team. After the fairy tale is before the miracle.