With a budget of 13.5 million euros, THW Kiel is still the crowning glory of the German Handball League. In the coming season, the Schleswig-Holsteiners want to snatch the championship trophy from SC Magdeburg again. The team check before the start of the Bundesliga.
However, the “Zebras” will have to do without backcourt ace Sander Sagosen (fractured ankle) as well as circle player and defensive support Hendrik Pekeler (torn Achilles tendon) in the long term. Whether the potential is sufficient for the big ambitions even without the two? The Supercup in Dusseldorf on Wednesday (7 p.m.) will offer a first assessment of where you are. As the DHB Cup winners, Kiel will meet champions SC Magdeburg.
personal situation
With substitute keeper Dario Quenstedt and defense specialist Pavel Horak, only two players left, but they were not able to record any great playing times. Nevertheless, in Sagosen and Pekeler two top performers have been missing for months.
“Unfortunately, a lot of games have to be played before the two are back,” said THW Managing Director Viktor Szilagyi. “Sander Sagosen and Hendrik Pekeler not only have a very high quality in terms of sport, they also play an important role in the team structure.”
Patience needed for the four newcomers
To what extent can the four newcomers compensate for the losses? After all, the people of Kiel made the race for the young Swedes Karl Wallinius and Eric Johansson. “These are two very talented backcourt players,” explained coach Filip Jicha, but also qualified: “The two have not yet arrived in the Bundesliga and do not yet know exactly what it means to wear the THW logo.”
The Norwegian Petter Överby, on the other hand, is firmly scheduled as the second line player alongside Patrick Wiencek and knows the Bundesliga just as much as the Czech Tomas Mrkva, who was signed as number two behind world-class keeper Niklas Landin.
That concerns coach Filip Jicha
Like his assistant Christian Sprenger, THW coach Jicha has just extended his contract until 2026. That speaks for long-term work, but at the moment it’s mainly about temporary solutions in response to the protracted injuries to Sagosen and Pekeler.
“We will give both of them the necessary time and have to compensate for their absences over months, which is actually not possible,” said Jicha. In the 6-0 defense he can imagine Wiencek, above all Överby, but also Johansson. “We’re chasing the top,” emphasized the coach. “For this we need a consistency that can only be achieved with hard work.”
forecast
Sagosen and Pekeler are two absolute top players, but they alone do not make a team. And the THW still has enough outstanding handball players in its ranks – Niklas Landin, Domagoj Duvnjak or Patrick Wiencek – to name just three.
“The fat years of becoming a series champion are definitely over”
— THW coach Filip Jicha
That means: The “Zebras” are still favorites against most of their Bundesliga competitors. It will be interesting to see how Kiel will do in the away games in Magdeburg, Berlin and Flensburg, all of which are scheduled for the first half of the season – in which Sagosen and Pekeler are still missing. In any case, the THW is again one of the hot contenders for the title.
This topic in the program:
NDR 2 Sports | 08/31/2022 | 11:03 p.m
