Dhe hair is light, the shoulders are narrower – but Henning Fritz already fought off a few balls during training. And the familiar humor has remained: “I survived the warming football game well. Then the guys supported me by meeting me a couple of times. “
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The atmosphere in the Duburghalle in the north of the city is said to have been splendid when Henning Fritz, 46 years old, ran up there last Saturday. “He always laughs, I like that,” says Torbjörn Bergerud, 20 years younger and the person Fritz is supposed to support: After a muscle in the thigh of the first SG Flensburg-Handewitt goalkeeper, Benjamin Buric, was torn ten days ago, she was looking for it SG for replacement. Felix Backhaus from the A-youth was not expected to be Bergerud’s representative in the title race with table leader THW Kiel.
When nobody could be found in Scandinavia, Flensburg got this spectacular commitment through the family ties: Henning Fritz’s wife and Maik Machulla’s wife are sisters. The SG coach is now training his brother-in-law for a few weeks. Fritz and Machulla have been friends for years; they played together at SC Magdeburg.
“Nobody believes us”
“When Maik called, I didn’t have to think twice,” says Fritz, “I’m not claiming any game shares, I want to be at Torbjörn and Felix with help and advice.” However, it is likely that Fritz will appear for a few minutes until the end of the season on June 27th – maybe this Wednesday, when the attractive duel with his former club from Saxony-Anhalt’s capital is about to begin.
World Champion 2007: This is what almost everything in Henning Fritz’s career revolved around. As a regular goalkeeper of the DHB selection, he played a strong home tournament until he was injured in the final against Poland and Johannes Bitter came. His sentences in the documentary “Winter’s Tale” will not be forgotten, when shortly after the final whistle he says to the camera, almost frightened: “We are world champions, nobody believes us.”
“He always laughs, I like that,” says goalkeeper Torbjörn Bergerud (right) about his backup Fritz.
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Image: dpa
It was incredible, especially for him, because trainer Noka Serdarusic at THW Kiel relied on Thierry Omeyer from 2006 onwards. Fritz sat on the bench and had to struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome, caused by the many trips. Fritz has turned his own suffering, dealing with it and healing into a company that deals with improved regeneration. He also appeared as a book author on the subject (and on the goalkeeping game), motivational speaker and as a specialist on “Sky” after his active career, which ended in 2012 in the Rhein-Neckar Löwen jersey. The family has lived in Kraichgau ever since.
Curiously, Fritz played his last game as a TV expert a week ago at the SG’s 29:29 against the Löwen. The next day, Flensburg proudly announced the commitment of a world champion. And one night in a hotel, Fritz was practicing with his new colleagues for the first time. “It’s not that easy to get someone to play eight games who is free and fit,” says Machulla. “With his experience and the necessary calm he helps us tremendously.” Flensburg tries everything to catch up with Kiel – that was the signal. THW itself has had to fall back on the services of the 43-year-old goalkeeping coach Mattias Andersson several times this season.
In the meantime, Henning Fritz is eager for his commitment: “I didn’t come here as a goalkeeping coach or advisor, I wanted to help out on the record. I played at this level for the last time in 2012 and the old star game was also a year ago, but I haven’t forgotten everything I did for 25 years. ”And with the well-known mischievous grin he lets a sentence follow that transports it straight to the heart of the SG fans: “It would be a dream to snatch the title away from THW.”
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