For national handball coach Alfred Gislason, the hot phase of preparation for the home European Championship begins after Christmas. In an interview with “SID”, the 64-year-old revealed what adjustments he still wants to make with the national team.
SID: Alfred Gislason, in German handball this year Christmas was once again the calm before the storm. You are a family person, what does the celebration mean to you?
Alfred Gislason: Yes, I am a family man. I was always good at celebrating, but I was never a Christmas type. Although my daughter tried to get me to run around like Santa Claus for my grandchildren this year, Christmas isn’t really my thing. I was more excited about the national team this year.
You have already experienced a lot in your sporting life and have fought many big battles as a player and coach. What significance does the upcoming home European Championship have for you personally?
I’ve already experienced a World Cup in Germany as national coach of Iceland, but this time as national coach it’s a little different. Germany is my second home. All the coaches are really looking forward to the European Championships because tournaments in Germany are special.
In what way?
Elsewhere, 300 people sit in the stands of a 10,000-person arena when the host is not playing. That’s different in Germany. The hall is full here and there is a great atmosphere. This is something very special. You can also see this at the Final Four of the Champions League in Cologne. It’s a huge party, people come from all countries and celebrate together.
This year too, handball greats like Stefan Kretzschmar and Dagur Sigurdsson are drawing comparisons to 2016. Does that annoy you or is there something to it?
No, that doesn’t bother me at all. A lot is possible in team sports, we can pull that out. But not much more. 2016 was truly a great team performance. It has shown that a good team spirit can make up for a lot.
There are five tournament debutants. What do you expect from the young players?
We all played 300 international matches together, some of which the Spaniards played alone. Or Martin Hanne, who hasn’t contested anything yet. But I simply took the players who perform best in the league, so age doesn’t matter. They are there because they are good. These players still have to find each other a bit.
What role does the team factor play? Does the short course between the holidays have any special significance?
Yes. We won’t accelerate straight away in training. Of course we will do something in the hall, but we will also work with meetings and videos. We’ll talk a lot about what we want and how we want to do it. The boys should get to know each other better. Especially those who haven’t been there so far have to find their way in quickly. I see the first course as a prelude to January 1st. Not in the sense of party pre-heating, more like a good diesel engine. It used to have to warm up first. I still remember this from my tractor at home.
The team will meet again in Brunsbüttel on New Year’s Day for the final phase of tournament preparation. How do you celebrate the New Year? Is there a party ban for players?
I’ll go out to eat with my partner in Berlin, but I’ll be home before midnight so I can leave for Brunsbüttel early in the morning. There are no bans for players. I’m past the age of trying to control her. They are all national players and they know what they should and shouldn’t do on New Year’s Eve. I have faith that every single person is simply mature enough. If he’s mature enough to make the decision on the field, then he’s mature enough to make the right decision on New Year’s Eve.
What adjustments can you make in the few training days before the tournament?
The big task at the European Championships will be to be able to distribute the load better in defense. I want to add one or two and one or two more. The test matches against Portugal are a kind of preliminary warm-up.