On June 2nd, 2012 it was done: A 39:29 victory on the last day of the Bundesliga match against Gummersbach, 68:0 points – the perfect season! Never before had a professional team in German sport remained a complete series without losing a point. Triple winner THW Kiel managed this feat in its 17th championship and had degraded the competitors to extras in a frightening way. THW captain Marcus Ahlm received the championship trophy from the then President of the German Handball League, Reiner Witte – to the frenetic cheering of over 10,000 fans in the Kiel hall.
“I’m immensely proud of this team. A clean sheet is a huge bonus for every player’s career.”
— Alfred Gislason
“It’s an indescribable feeling and I’m overwhelmed that the team managed to do it like this,” said THW coach Alfred Gislason. Today’s national coach got the due beer shower from his later successor: Filip Jicha. The Czech pulled the strings on the plate with the record champions and led the Schleswig-Holsteiners to numerous titles as a player.
Beer shower for “Feierbiest” Gislason
Gislason, not exactly known as a party beast, tried to prepare for the upcoming car parade with the championship trophy and the “triple party” on the Kiel City Hall Square: “It’s going to be quite a torture for me, but I have to get through it.” In the end, the Icelander was good at the celebrations on the fjord.
State of emergency in Kiel
In Kiel there was a state of emergency in black and white. Around 20,000 THW supporters populated the town hall square of the state capital and celebrated with the team. Based on the American action film “Top Gun”, the players of the record champions marched in green flight suits onto the balcony of the town hall at 9:30 p.m. and made the waiting crowd go wild with chants.
“We are the handball high-flyers in Europe!”
— Filip Jicha
Before the official celebration on the town hall square, the “Zebras” let themselves be celebrated extensively during a one-hour motorcade through the city center of Kiel. After winning the Champions League, Gislason had already treated his high-flyers to a two-day party in Mallorca. But the THW players were then ambitious enough to win the two remaining games, keep their slate clean and celebrate a triumph for the handball history books.
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | 06/02/2022 | 19:30 o’clock
Source: NDR