Weeks of truth for THW Kiel

Before the start of the knockout phase of the Champions League, Filip Jicha swore the handball players of THW Kiel to the hot final sprint of the season in the race for titles and triumphs.

“Now come the weeks of truth for all teams,” said the coach of the German record champions.

On Wednesday (6:45 p.m. / DAZN), the people of Kiel are challenged in the first leg of the round of 16 of the premier class at Dinamo Bucharest. The top game in the Bundesliga against leaders Füchse Berlin is scheduled for Sunday, before the second leg against the Romanian champions on March 29th is about the ticket for the quarter-finals in the Champions League.

“We need our best Champions League performance of the season in Bucharest,” Jicha appealed to his team before leaving for Romania. That had recently suffered a few setbacks after the long World Cup break. First, the THW failed in the DHB Cup at champion SC Magdeburg and thus lost the first of three title chances. Then at the beginning of March there was another setback in the Bundesliga title fight with the surprising home defeat against SC DHfK Leipzig.

Crisis meeting at THW Kiel

Following this, Jicha called an emergency meeting. “We got to the bottom of it all, anything else would be fatal,” said the 40-year-old. “It’s important that we get our heads around the fact that it’s not a given for any team in this league to win. The lads sometimes put a little unfair pressure on themselves.”

The Kielers will definitely feel this in the duels with Bucharest and Berlin, as there is a lot at stake. The most recent 23:19 victory at the weakening MT Melsungen was at least a first sign that the players are aware of the seriousness of the situation. Because it is part of THW’s self-image to win titles. “We had good talks that will hopefully bring us further,” national player Rune Dahmke reported before the victorious performance in Melsungen.

However, the task in Bucharest will be much more difficult. In the group stage, only Paris Saint-Germain and Magdeburg, both already qualified for the quarter-finals, could win there. “We have to be one hundred percent ready. Bucharest has great quality and incredible experience in the squad,” warned THW captain Patrick Wiencek.

THW Kiel wants to gain self-confidence

A sense of achievement would be doubly important in order to be able to tackle the Bundesliga cracker against Füchse Berlin with self-confidence.

The club from the capital has one minus point less than Kiel, who would also have the worse cards against defending champions Magdeburg and the Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the event of a defeat.

However, Jicha sees the close race for the title more as an incentive than as a burden. “I’m glad the league is like this because it’s very exciting. I’ve seen it dominating events for years. It’s just fun when it’s so close. We have to convey that to the boys,” said the THW trainer and stated: “We have everything in our own hands.”

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