After a win against Hungary, the German handball players are once again dreaming of the European Championship title in their own country. The national coach in particular was visibly relieved.
Surrounded by a sea of black, red and gold flags, match winner Julian Köster picked up his well-deserved award, then the German backfield ace celebrated the 35:28 victory against Hungary with his teammates.
The player of the game threw Germany’s handball players back into the medal race at the home European Championship and opened the door wide open to the semi-finals.
His coach then took a load off his heart: “The pressure on the team was huge,” said Alfred Gislason on the ZDF microphone – and then added: “I’m very proud of the team.”
Köster: “A first good and right step”
But it wasn’t just the national coach who was visibly relieved, Köster also seemed much more relaxed after the important win than in the past few days: “You could tell today that we started the game well, that certain things were easier for us again,” he said Goalscorer. “This is a good and correct first step and we want to build on it.”
Meanwhile, national coach Gislason explicitly emphasized the German defense. “It was a phenomenal defense, it was outstanding from the boys,” explained the 64-year-old.
The Icelander’s praise for his attack – previously the major weak point against Austria – was just a little less euphoric. This was “outstanding”.
Playmaker Juri Knorr also seemed much more relaxed after the game than before: “It’s a huge satisfaction, I’m just extremely happy.” The team “talked a lot” after the 22:22 draw against Austria. This seems to have been fruitful.