Johannes Golla has many jobs in the DHB team. The world-class circuit runner is not only captain and head of defense, but also a psychologist, finance minister, shuttle diplomat or equipment manager.
Before the departure for the opening match on Thursday (January 15, 2026, live stream here from 8:15 p.m.) against Austria, the Noch-Flensburg native, who will return to MT Melsungen in the summer, is a particularly sought-after contact. Younger players and European Championship debutants in particular turn to Golla. “It’s also about very banal things like the correct dress code or the distance from our hotel to the hall in Herning.”says the 28-year-old in the sports show podcast “Handball auf die 1”.
“mouthpiece in both directions”
He is a bit of a “mouthpiece in both directions,” is how he characterizes the role he has held since November 2nd, 2021, three days before his 25th birthday: If the team has something on their mind, he is the one who seeks to talk to manager Benjamin Chatton or the national coach.
And when Alfred Gislason wants to gauge the mood in the team regarding daily routines or tactical changes, he also turns to the giant with the number 4 shirt. So it’s a kind of shuttle diplomacy that Golla practices.
It was also about money these days, a lot of it. Golla sat on one side of the table in the Silkeborg team hotel with keeper Andreas Wolff and his defensive colleague Julian Köster, while DHB sports director Ingo Meckes sat on the other.
The bonus scheme for the DHB squad at this European Championship was negotiated in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and Golla also showed his quality as finance minister: The result, if successful, was by far the highest remuneration for the national handball team in its history: the players can receive up to 600,000 euros, and gradations were also built in that already reward a 6-0 point balance after the preliminary round.
“It’s still great fun”
In addition to all these jobs, as captain he also faces many media inquiries – and should continue to be a fixture and leading figure, especially on the field. “I can no longer imagine life without the national team”he says with a laugh in the ARD podcast. “It’s now my ninth big tournament, I’ve hardly missed a course, while colleagues in the club also have time off. But it’s still a lot of fun.”
At the World Cup last year, when Germany lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals, there were signs that Gislason Golla was now giving Golla more breaks. In addition to Köster and Justus Fischer, younger replacements such as Matthes Langhoff (Berlin) and Tom Kiesler (Gummersbach) are now taking the pressure off him in coverage.
The “Hessenschau” Before the tournament, Golla said that he also gratefully accepted the role of spectator: “That speaks for us as a team – for German handball. It’s also fun to see the boys from the outside. It’s a luxury situation that you can only take positive things from.“
Top quality as the optimal prerequisite
Overall, Golla sees the team as optimally prepared for the impending emergency: “The quality in the squad is huge, the team also looks fresher than before the World Cup, the slightly longer break was good for us. And there is no one who has been lagging behind their form in the league for six months.” His conclusion: “All of these are ideal conditions for the European Championships.”