Millions of viewers watched the games of the German national team at the Handball World Championship 2019 in Germany and Denmark. A World Cup later in Egypt, the euphoria after the worst World Cup result ever was less great. At the World Championships in Poland and Sweden (January 11th to 29th), German handball is now about returning to the top of the world.
The primary goal for national coach Gislason’s team is to get through the preliminary group with Qatar, Serbia and Algeria. “That should be possible,” says former national handball player Christian “Blacky” Schwarzer, and even raises the bar significantly: “A German team should always aim to reach a semi-final.”
Schwarzer thinks semifinals are possible
Schwarzer was one of the figureheads of the German national handball team for many years. He was world champion, European champion, won Olympic silver, completed over 300 international matches and is still the record scorer in the DHB jersey with 966 goals. The handball expert believes in the German team: “The German team belongs in this group of eight to ten favorites that have the opportunity to reach the semi-finals and then play for the medals,” he says.
The team has been greatly rejuvenated
At the last World Cup, 12th place was the worst result in German World Cup history, and at the European Championship last year, which was accompanied by corona chaos, Germany only finished seventh. With a view to the home World Cup next year, the team has been significantly rejuvenated; the only players of world-class caliber are captain Johannes Golla and (temporarily) goalkeeper Andreas Wolff. Schwarzer sees the team in a good position overall: “The German team is a good mix of experienced players, including European champions from 2016 plus young players who are playing their first World Cup tournament, who are hungry, who are in high spirits, who are for want to play in Germany.”
Schwarzer has been missing a real playmaker for years
What the DHB record scorer believes has been missing for a long time is a classic backcourt center player, such as Markus Baur. Schwarzer sees the DHB as a duty here and calls for more foresight when sighting. Too many would fall through the cracks. You have to pay attention to such players in the selection system and also promote them for the senior national team. “It is important to look for players who simply have something special. I don’t have to be two meters tall for that, but sometimes 1.80 meters is enough to be able to play handball very well. The physical requirements do not always have to be that it’s the tallest and most athletic player.”
No understanding for cancellations
During his almost three-year tenure, national coach Gislason repeatedly had to accept cancellations from prominent players, most recently from 2016 European champion Fabian Wiede. That was “sometimes difficult to understand,” said the Icelander in an annoyed conversation with the SID.
Record goalscorer Christian Schwarzer is also surprised: “It would have been impossible for us not to play a major tournament. We were always so looking forward to playing together against the best in the world. Nowadays it seems to be such a trend “, says Christian Schwarzer, but then concedes: “But I also have to say that I understand the arguments of the boys, whether it’s the families, whether it’s health, because the burden is incredibly high and health is of course the highest Good is.”
Opening game against the Asian champions Qatar
After the successful friendlies at the weekend, the national team will spend the next few days putting the finishing touches to the sports school in Barsinghausen.
On Thursday, the German team will take a charter flight to the preliminary round venue in Katowice, where the next day the World Cup adventure against Asian champions Qatar (Friday/6 p.m./ZDF) will kick off. Other opponents in the battle for the main round are Serbia on January 15th and Algeria on January 17th.