On Wednesday, Germany starts the Handball World Cup in its own country. Ex-national player Stefan Kretzschmar sees major deficits in the DHB team, but still believes coach Alfred Gislason’s team can pull off a big coup.
“I’m not overly optimistic, but optimistic. I know that we’re not among the absolute best in the world. But we didn’t have that at the 2016 European Championship either – and this wasn’t the case when we won the 2007 World Cup either,” said Kretzschmar in one Interview with the “kicker”.
But the German team cannot compare with the top favorites. “In terms of quality, that’s not a comparison to Denmark – and it’s also not a comparison to France. Even Sweden, Norway or Spain seem to be a little further, but you can compensate for that with the home advantage,” said the 50-year-old .
Kretzschmar sees Germany’s strengths primarily between the posts: “Our goalkeepers are traditionally strong.” The inner block around captain Johannes Golla and backcourt player Julian Köster could also prove to be a trump card.
“If Knorr performs at the World Cup level of last year, that will be an absolute strength. Then he will also be feared internationally,” added Kretzschmar, referring to the playmaker.
Germany also has good wings: “I’ve seen our tempo game improve recently. We need that to be able to keep up in world handball.”
However, the Füchse Berlin sports director sees major problems in the half-positions, “where we are far away from the world leaders”.
Gislason basically has a “very, very good first seven” at his disposal, “but behind that there is a drop in performance. Also in the middle block, which is why I assume that Golla and Köster will probably have to play a lot of minutes and will bear the brunt,” said Kretzschmar.
Handball European Championship: “We have to be the best team”
The 218-time national player therefore appeals to team spirit.
“Because individually we are not world class everywhere, we have to try to become the best team. The team chemistry has to be better than everyone else’s,” he said, setting out the route.
“We don’t need to talk about whether Kai Häfner will reach the level of Mathias Gidsel. That won’t happen,” Kretzschmar continued: “But handball has often taught us in the past that you are not always the best individual player have to have to win a title in the end.”