interview
As captain, Timo Kastening is experiencing the best half series in years with MT Melsungen. In the first part of the big interview with the right winger, he talks about barbecues, neck pain and the goals with the surprise team.
He was out for a long time with a torn cruciate ligament, but now Timo Kastening, as the best thrower and captain, leads MT Melsungen into the top group of the handball Bundesliga. The team could also reach the prestigious “Final Four” in the cup. Here the national player looks back and ahead.
hessenschau.de: Timo Kastening, the interview date was set for a long time, but now it’s just after one Hessenderby lost at the last second at the HSG Wetzlar. Have you digested it yet?
Kastening: Yes and no. In the final seconds of the game anything was possible, from victory to defeat. That we left the two points there. triggers you. The good thing is that we can follow up straight away with a home game.
hessenschau.de: A draw against the absolute superior team Magdeburg, then a bankruptcy at the supposed relegation candidate Wetzlar – is that the unstable MT again? Or what Hendrik Pekeler would say that “sh… Melsungen?”
Kastening: (Laughs.) I talked to Peke right after he said, “That’s all eaten.” I like him, he’s a good guy who sometimes goes overboard. He knew that as soon as he said it. Swam over it.
hessenschau.de: And about the question of consistency?
Kastening: It’s no secret that we’ve fallen short of our expectations in recent years and haven’t always given the best impression as a club. But this year there is a team on the plate that is tearing itself apart in every game. An evening like that against Wetzlar also happens to other teams. Are all the teams inconsistent or doesn’t it simply speak for the strength of the league?! Or to put it more broadly: Doesn’t every person, whether at home or in the office, have a worse day?!
hessenschau.de: It is said that MT Melsungen has finally become a team. Is that so?
Kastening: You can do as many team building activities as you want – it’s no use if everyone isn’t ready for it. We just needed guys who could bring a new dynamic and show consistency on a different level – like Erik Balenciaga, Dainis Kristopans or Adrian Sipos. The reinforcements also paid attention to team chemistry. But don’t get me wrong: all of the departures in recent years were humanly impeccable characters, we got along off the record. But we didn’t harmonize perfectly on the record. That is the case now.
hessenschau.de: Access Sipos is said to have chosen his apartment so that he can organize team evenings on the terrace…
Kastening: (laughs) Well, ask him about it! This has happened zero times so far. First he didn’t have an apartment, then he got a smaller one. I had dinner with him three weeks ago, when he received visitors for the first time. But next summer we can look forward to a fabulous Hungarian grill master.
hessenschau.de: In general, does the team now meet privately more often?
Kastening: That’s true. Even after the defeat at the BHC, we organized a team evening in Cologne and we also often went out together in Kassel. Many people go out for coffee or pizza together. We still have potential in the areas that have fallen by the wayside in recent years. Keyword: closeness to the fans and a family environment – we can still grow there and every single one of us is challenged.
hessenschau.de: What is better in terms of sport? Is the MT no longer as easy to calculate as before?
Kastening: Yes, I’ll go with that. We got a certain amount of humor into it, Erik Balenciaga is the driver we needed. So we are very difficult to predict, be it the 1 on 1 from Eli (Elvar Örn Jonsson), the backcourt throws from Ivan (Martinovic) or Dainis and and and. It is this flexibility that makes it difficult for the opponent. We’re also reaping the fruits of our labor to some extent now that there’s not so much extraneous noise anymore. Sometimes it’s quite simple: success brings us together – and we got off to a good start.
hessenschau.de: Kristopans measures 2.13m, you 1.8m. How is communication going?
Kastening: When Kris comes into the dressing room, I think: What a Kaventsmann you are! But I have a well-trained neck and therefore no pain when I constantly look up at it.
hessenschau.de: There used to be talk of “MT Germany” because of the many national players. Will it now be the “MT Parrondo” based on the many dream players of coach Roberto Garcia Parrondo?
Kastening: No, I’m not going with that. Roberto wants maximum success, for the club and for us as a team. If you trust a trainer, it is clear that he will express requests for reinforcements. This is the case in every normal company: a new boss first gets an overview and also brings in employees that he knows from before. This consistency in the coaching position has helped us enormously.
hessenschau.de: You are as Captain is the extension of the coach. How do you influence your new role? Are you like your role model Oliver Kahn?
Kastening: No, no. There have been no karate kicks or angry speeches from me yet. Still, I admired guys like him for their absolute will to win. I think it’s important that you stay true to yourself in such roles and don’t fall over at the first headwind. I try to pick up a lot in one-on-one conversations. Only when needs are expressed and taken into account can something change. I talk a lot with my colleagues. That’s how I understand captaincy right now.
hessenschau.de: The MT is on top. What’s in it this season?
Kastening: We’re not talking about the championship. We want to reduce the connection at the top. To be honest, we still lack the breadth, consistency and self-image to be at the top. Let’s give an example: Simon Pytlick is out at Flensburg, and Jim Gottfridsson comes into his own – in other words: world class is made up for by world class. In this respect we are still at the very beginning. I know it from football teams when, after a hype, the best players leave and the structure becomes fragile. We have to work our way up slowly, that’s what matters.
hessenschau.de: And in the DHB Cup? The MT plays in the quarterfinals against a second division team.
Kastening: The lottery fairy was on our side, you have to admit that. But we also faltered in the round of 16 in Dessau in front of a crazy 3,000 spectators. That should be warning enough. Nevertheless, there is a much better chance of winning a title in the cup than in the league. We want to get to the semi-finals and from then on everything is possible.
The conversation led Ron Ulrich. Read the second part tomorrow: Timo Kastening about the German national team’s chances at the home European Championships, his encounter with Dieter Hecking and his drunken driving.
