First against second in the handball Bundesliga – MT Melsungen travels to the previously dominant leader Füchse Berlin. Goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic explains the North Hesse team’s soaring and is clear about their championship ambitions.
The top game of the handball Bundesliga is on Thursday evening. The Füchse Berlin (1st) with nine wins from nine games welcome them Surprise team MT Melsungen (2nd). The North Hessians have only lost one game so far; The good form was also due to the outstanding goalkeeper Nebojsa Simic. In the interview, the Montenegrin international explains the reasons for the rise and why he was annoyed with his teammates on Tuesday.
hessenschau.de: Nebojsa Simic, you are a big fan of basketball player Luka Doncic. On Monday in the game against Erlangen you stood far in front of your goal as if you were dunking in the air...
Nebojsa Simic: (laughs.) … yes, that was like a block! And it’s true: I’m a big Doncic fan. We play a fantasy league as a team with a total of eight colleagues. The draft was on Tuesday, but I only came in sixth. So I probably won’t get Luka in my virtual team anymore.
hessenschau.de: It seems to be right in the MT team. So there are not only these games, but also dinners together with the families. Has the cohesion in the team improved compared to previous years?
Simic: Yes, we met in a café last week, that was a great evening. Of course, we have had a few meetings with the team in the past, but mostly fans or sponsors were there. Now we’re meeting in an internal group. There’s no doubt that it’s easier to stand together when you’re winning and being successful, but we also last met after the defeat in Erlangen.
hessenschau.de: This was MT’s only defeat – after a direct free throw at the last second over the two-meter man Dainis Kristopans. What was happening there?
Simic: The opponent faked the left side with his wrist and then took the right side. He found exactly this little gap, it was also luck, it happens once in 50 attempts.
hessenschau.de: All joking aside, Kristopans is one of the crucial players in your team. Especially in tight phases, he and the rest of the team seem completely unimpressed.
Simic: That’s correct. Hannover, Lemgo and Erlangen came close against us – but we just give it a little more gas in these moments and finish the game. We’ve just had this winning mentality in us since the start of the season and we don’t get nervous anymore. We used to ponder during these phases, but now no one thinks about it anymore. If things get tight, sh… whatever.
hessenschau.de: About you personally: Stefan Kretzschmar described you and Adam Morawski as the best goalkeeper duo in the league at the moment…
Simic: Then you say ‘Thank you very much’ for the kind words. But that is also due to the way we play; we now play in a much more modern way. Last year our focus was on defense, now we also speculate on missed throws, then run a lot more and score 30 goals almost every game. As a goalkeeper you need ten to twelve saves, you have to be there especially for the ‘clear throws’ and boom, we win it.
hessenschau.de: Your goalkeeper coach Carsten Lichtlein has in an interview with us already explained in January that a focus of the training work was on these free throws and breakthroughs. Is the work now paying off?
Simic: Carsten is an incredible factor for us. He played for 20 years and also played in goal against many of today’s players. He has a lot of experience and a positive attitude – he just makes us better. I see him as a coach and friend at the same time. I am so happy that he is in my life.
hessenschau.de: You are highly praised everywhere, even if other goalkeepers are ahead of you in the statistics of balls saved and saves.
Simic: I’m only fifth or so, right. But statistics are all about numbers, they don’t show how often we change in goal or how important a save was for the game. For us it’s also a lot about timing and how we influence the game. You can’t read something like that in statistics.
hessenschau.de: Then let’s talk about an immovable statistic, the table. Your team is surprisingly second. What makes the MT so much better than last season?
Simic: The attack is crucial. If you score 30 goals, you can beat any opponent. It’s important that we run a lot more, score more goals from the fast counter-attack and don’t just take every throw. Erik (Balenciaga) opens up a lot of space with his quick movements and passes. You see, his strengths don’t appear in any statistics either. Overall, we play the attacks calmly, we don’t throw from bad positions. So we have a really good throwing rate (with 71.61 percent the second best in the league, the Red).
hessenschau.de: Where you’re talking about a team’s offense. On Thursday, the Füchse Berlin will have an outstanding player, Mathias Gidsel. How are you going to stop him?
Simic: For me he is currently the best player in the world. He can do everything, one-on-one, steal balls, throw them, he attacks for 60 minutes and doesn’t allow himself any breaks. We have to make sure he doesn’t get through and force him to throw from outside. But we will also have our chances.
hessenschau.de: The Füchse Berlin won nine out of nine games. What is even possible for MT?
Simic: It’s difficult to prepare for the foxes. We analyze them, but there are no clear throwing patterns. They are difficult to calculate, which is why they are first. But I also say: They are not unbeatable. The Foxes barely survived in close games against Hannover, Stuttgart and Leipzig. That showed me: You can win against them. Everything is possible for us on Thursday.
hessenschau.de: Many experts already count MT among the master candidates. And you?
Simic: The important thing is that we come back to Europe. The final ranking is still up in the air, but even if we slip two or three places, we will still have achieved a good ranking. We didn’t aim for the championship or the Champions League, so we don’t feel any pressure. In the Bundesliga there is no jump from ninth place to first.
hessenschau.de: MT was ninth last season. So you don’t believe in the championship?
Simic: The jump would be too big in this league. Teams like the Füchse or Magdeburg initially finished fifth or made it into the top 3 until they got that far. You have to stalk up, establish a solid team, a solid system. We’ve swapped too many players in recent years, we need continuity first and then we’ll see. Right now I’m telling you honestly: We want to go back to Europe and that’s hard enough. After all, we haven’t been able to do it in recent years.
The conversation led Ron Ulrich.
