The start was unsuccessful, the atmosphere extraordinary: world champion Niklas Wellen was enthusiastic about the atmosphere in the stadium despite the surprising false start of the German hockey men at the home European Championship.
“It was amazing, I had goosebumps before the warm-up,” said the top striker after the 3: 3 selection of the German Hockey Association (DHB) in front of around 9,000 spectators in the Mönchengladbach Hockey Park against Wales.
“When you walk in and everyone is screaming and the whole stadium is singing along to the anthem, that’s a special moment,” said the 28-year-old, who was voted the best player of the tournament when Germany won the surprising World Cup earlier this year , out of. “This is unique for us, we hope we can give the fans even better results than this.”
For national coach Andre Henning, the tournament in his own country also has potential disadvantages. “Perhaps we want too much in some phases,” said the coach after the start against the British. “There were moments when people gave us incredible support, but I haven’t seen that inspire us.”
“No one will talk us into favorites now”
It should get better on Monday (6 p.m.) in the second group game against the defending champions Netherlands: “No one will talk about favorites now and we can really throw ourselves into it. To play the evening game against Holland in front of another 10,000 spectators and in an even crazier atmosphere, then we can be happy,” said Henning.
The DHB selection is fighting in Mönchengladbach for the first European title since 2013 and the associated direct qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris. The German women, who have the same goal in the same place, will meet England in the second group game on Sunday (5.30 p.m.) after their convincing 4-0 opening win against Scotland.