THW Kiel started the World Cup break with a win in the Handball Bundesliga – and with a great deal of optimism. Managing director Viktor Szilagy and left winger Rune Dahmke are still counting on a lot in all three competitions.
With the 36:29 victory against GWD Minden at the end of the year, the “Zebras” took over the lead in the HBL, at least temporarily. Even if everything doesn’t go according to plan in the Champions League, a good starting position for the round of 16 shouldn’t be a problem. And in the DHB Cup, the people of Kiel in Bietigheim confidently solved the quarter-final ticket.
“We can still achieve all of our goals,” manager Szilagy told NDR. He has a good feeling. “We knew that we had a very difficult first half of the year ahead of us, especially with the long-term injuries. In this respect we are very satisfied that we can now say for the second half of the season: Anything is still possible.”
Szilagy: “Minus 13 against Flensburg hurts just to say it”
In the ninth home game of the Bundesliga season, the eighth home win was achieved on Monday evening. Eight days earlier, Kiel had suffered a severe defeat (23:36) in the state derby against SG Flensburg-Handewitt. That hurt. And Szilagy was still dwelling on the derby defeat a week later: “This minus 13 hurts just to say it. It doesn’t feel good that you were part of such a historic defeat.”
And one or the other defeat in the “premier class” caused a bad mood at THW. The 36:38 in Celje in the first away game made direct qualification for the quarter-finals practically impossible, said Szilagy. However, the Austrian assumes that his team will secure third or fourth place in the group – and if there are no new injury worries, they will make it into the last eight.
The energy crisis follows the corona crisis
Such successes are extremely important even after the end of the corona restrictions. “Like other clubs, we had the plan to constantly increase the budget. But due to the energy crisis, it’s a big struggle to get these budgets right away,” explained Szilagy.
“Due to the energy crisis, it’s a big fight to get the budgets straight.”
— THW Managing Director Viktor Szilagy
This is not the only reason why the Champions League is “fundamentally important” for THW. “On the one hand from an economic point of view, because we have top home games. And it’s no secret that we make a large part of our budget from spectator income,” said the 44-year-old. “On the other hand, the players come to us because they want to play the Champions League – and they want to do it successfully.”
THW manager very satisfied with newcomers
The fact that very good players continue to find their way to the Förde was forward-looking due to the departure of world stars Sander Sagosen and Niklas Landin at the end of the season. But the THW has done its homework. Sagosen successor Eric Johansson has long since arrived. With the 20-year-old Faroese player Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, a great talent (Szilagy: “Maybe even the greatest talent in the center backcourt”) will be added in the summer.
And French Olympic champion Vincent Gerard of Saint-Raphaël Var Handball is set to fill the huge gap Landin leaves in goal. “Gerard brings a lot of experience with him, he’s won all the titles there is to win. He’ll handle the difficult legacy well mentally,” Szilagy is convinced.
Dahmke: Above all, we have to collect points against the little ones
Unlike in the past, Kiel no longer only have to defend themselves against Flensburg in the Bundesliga. SC Magdeburg’s championship last season is warning enough. The Füchse Berlin and the Rhein-Neckar Löwen also have a say in the title this season. Kiel’s left wing Rune Dahmke emphasizes: In the German championship it’s not about not losing the top games, but about winning all the games against the supposedly small ones. “The main thing we have to do is collect the points.”
But the top games are not just about prestige. Especially when there are so many of them in one season. The 23:36 against Flensburg and the 26:34 with the foxes are compared to the 32:29 against the lions and the 34:33 in Magdeburg. But Kiel also lost at home against Lemgo (32:33).
For Dahmke’s taste, it could also be two minus points less. But: You have earned a good position. Even if it wasn’t always possible to “consistently bring the standard that we actually have to the record”. That should change in the second part of the season when almost all direct competitors still come to Kiel. “That’s an advantage towards the end of the season. We can beat any team there, we’ve already proven that. We just have to really deliver,” emphasized the German international.
Kiel does not want to bake smaller rolls in the future either
“We have interesting months ahead of us. The tension is huge in the league,” said Szilagy. “We always reacted well to setbacks. The team was ready to perform again within a few days. That meant we didn’t have to tick off any goals.”
First of all, the people of Kiel enjoyed a “nice end of the year with the fans” (Dahmke) on Boxing Day. And anyway: Before things get going again at THW in early February, the World Cup in Poland and Sweden is on the program for the majority of the squad. It remains to be seen in what condition the players will return to Kiel afterwards. For Szilagy, however, one thing is certain: “We don’t want to have to bake small rolls in the future either.”
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Sports current | 12/27/2022 | 09:17 am
