The new season in the women’s national handball league has started – and the SG BBM Bietigheim is already in impressive form. On Saturday, the team with its new coach Jakob Vestergaard clearly won the Supercup against HSG Bensheim-Auerbach with 34:23 (15:14).
Last season, Bietigheim already won the double of championship and DHB cup, and the Swabians are again among the favorites for the new season. But the rest of the league doesn’t want to make it as easy for the women from Bietigheim as it was last season, when the SG celebrated the title early on with 51:1 points. The champion of 2021, Borussia Dortmund, in particular, has strengthened powerfully for this task.
Returnee Stolle should lead the team
After allegations of violence against former coach André Fuhr, it was a difficult season for BVB after his dismissal. Since coach Henk Groner took office in November 2022, BVB has been on the up again, both playfully and away from the field. With the Dutch world champion of 2019, Tess Lieder (née Wester), they were able to sign an excellent goalkeeper. In addition, Alicia Stolle, a former Borussia player, is returning to Dortmund.
Alicia Stolle in the jersey of FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria
After three years with the top Hungarian club FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, the international has decided to return to Germany. Her importance to the team is reflected in her direct appointment as team captain.
She played here when she was young, she knows the club and has gained a lot of experience, including internationally. She will help us a lot in this role with her experience and professionalism and will be an important contact person within the team.
Head coach Herbert Müller is entering his 13th season
Thüringer HC could also have a say in the title race. Coach Herbert Müller can count on the support of a well-known face. National goalkeeper Dinah Eckerle is returning to the series champion from 2011 to 2016 after her pregnancy and several international assignments.
Coach Herbert Müller celebrates with Dinah Eckerle in the 2017/18 season
In addition to Eckerle, Kerstin Kündig has also opted for THC for the second time and will again be in charge of the middle backcourt. Above all, she should stage newcomer Kathrin Pichlmeier. The former Oldenburg player should provide the easy goals from the back and make the THC offensive even more variable. “Katrin Pichlmeier is a shooter who has earned her spurs in the Bundesliga for years.”coach Müller is sure.
Bietigheim relies on talent from abroad
And then there is the four-time German champion from Bietigheim. Unlike the competition, SG relies primarily on experienced staff from abroad. Klara Birtic, a Croatian with Champions League experience, has joined the team in the right-back position. The 21-year-old has been courted by many European teams: “I can hardly wait to start in Bietigheim.” Right winger Dorottya Faluvegi also joins from the top Hungarian club Györ Audi ETO KC the team and completes the strong right attack side.
Klara Birtic in the Champions League game against Gyori Audi ETO
Jakob Vestergaard has to integrate a total of five newcomers. The Dane comes from the Danish top club Viborg HK and is starting his first coaching job in Germany. Nevertheless, he is not completely unknown to many German handball fans, because from 2015 to 2016 he was active as a national coach for the DHB. The job that his predecessor at SG, Markus Gaugisch, now holds.
Gaugisch should lead the DHB team to the 2024 Olympics
After 72 games without defeat in the German Oberhaus, the champions have lost their successful coach. Markus Gaugisch won six titles with Bietigheim in the past three years and shaped a historic era of success. Since April 2023 he has been working as a national coach and club coach at the same time. Now the native of Göppingen should bring the national team back on course and minimize the gap to the top nations.
National coach Markus Gaugisch in the international match against Poland
On November 30th Gaugisch and his team face their first international endurance test: the World Championships in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. “We definitely want to finish one of the ranks that qualify for an Olympic Games qualifying tournamentexplains Gaugisch.
The German team around the captain duo Emily Bölk and Alina Grijseels has to beat Japan, Iran and Poland in the preliminary round group F on the way to the Olympic ticket. Then World Cup co-hosts Denmark could wait for the DHB women in the main round. After three seventh places in a row at world championships, it should finally work out with the first Olympic participation since 2008, also thanks to Gaugisch.