With eleven goals in his last game for the Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Knorr says goodbye to the German handball stage. Against Meister Füchse Berlin, he almost became a party crasher.
He showed the handball fans all his tricks, his enormous throwing force and his fine eye for the game situation. During his last Bundesliga dance, Juri Knorr put another brilliant gala on the floor. With his eleven goals, the 25-year-old back room player also ensured that the Foxes Berlin had to tremble for a long time for their 38:33 victory and thus for their long-awaited first championship title in the club’s history. Knorr almost became a party crasher in the last game before moving to Aalborg HB.
The frame for Knorr’s farewell party could hardly have been more appropriate. Sold out arena with 13,200 fans, many well -known faces – and silver sparkled the master shell on the edge of the field. It has been clear for months that the playmaker of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen was not allowed to get the most coveted trophies in German handball. And yet Knorr slipped into a leading role again this Sunday. A few days ago he said about SWR Sport regarding his provisionally last Bundesliga appearance: “I would like to experience what I have experienced here very often in front of a full hall, and enjoy that.”
Knorr is drawn to the north
After four years with the lions and a total of six in the Bundesliga, Knorr moves to Denmark. In Mannheim he matured from the top talent to the great German handball star, the promise of the future has long since become a decisive support from the national team. “In the meantime I come to a lot of halls and look into a lot of radiant children’s eyes. That makes me proud and is one of the greatest things you can achieve as a athlete,” said Knorr.
Cup victory: “One of the most beautiful moments of my career”
Sportily, the native Flensburger reached the Final Four in the DHB Cup three times and won the Cup in 2023 – for Knorr “still one of the most beautiful moments in my career”. In contrast, he sometimes wanted more consistency in the league. The placements 10, 5, 12 and now 9 or 10 are certainly not 100 percent what the Olympic silver medalist had imagined. Nevertheless, Knorr emphasizes, he was “just happy how it went and very grateful. If someone had told me that before that I would have taken it a hundred times and exceeded many expectations.”
Coach Sebastian Hinze also works
It was not only for Knorr the last appearance in the dress of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. Several teammates leave the club, including Olle Forsell Schefvert (MT Melsungen), Jon Lindenchrome (Skjern Håndbold/Den) or Gustav Davidsson (Hammarby IF/SWE). For coach Sebastian Hinze, too, the game was ended in Mannheim. “I have experienced a lot of heights, but also a lot of setbacks. I think back to the good things,” said the coach before his last game at Dyn. His apprenticeship from the past three years in Mannheim: “With the knowledge of today, I would make some compromises less.”
For Hinze, who will train the Bundesliga club THSV Eisenach in the coming season, Maik Machulla will hold the coaching position among the lions for the new season. The commitment of the two -time Flensburg master coach is a real coup for many experts. The claim in the new season will be to cut off significantly better than in this season that ends the lions in table position nine.
Juri Knorr will watch all of this from his new handball home in Denmark.
Prize on Sun., June 8, 2025 7:45 p.m., SWR Aktuell Baden-Württemberg, SWR BW
