After the German handball players’ semi-final exit at the home European Championships, Juri Knorr talks about the pressure – and draws a drastic comparison.
After turbulent handball days and great media hype, the national handball player is looking forward to quieter weeks with friends and family. “It was a lot and again a new, intense experience. I’m grateful that I’m not a soccer player from FC Bayern Munich who has to do that every day all year long,” said the playmaker before the game for European Championship bronze against Sweden this Sunday (from 3 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online).
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One of the faces of the national team
The Bundesliga professional from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen is one of the faces of the national team. After the World Cup last year, this home European Championship is the second major tournament in which Knorr is in the public eye. “I try not to read so much of what is written. But you can’t ignore it completely. It’s impossible when there’s so much writing and talking,” reported Knorr.
The backcourt player is something like the quiet pop star in national coach Alfred Gislason’s team. Knorr appears shy when he has to answer dozens of questions from journalists in a very quiet voice. He chooses his words carefully. “Of course I’m happy that the attention has increased. But it’s also been a bit much in the last few months. I’m not the type of person who completely enjoys it,” said Knorr.
The day after the German team’s semi-final exit, Knorr spoke plainly and was harshly critical of his own performance: “I allowed myself to be paralyzed a bit by the fear of the magnitude of the moment. I don’t want that again, “It’s not worth it” (read more here).