EThere were moments this season when Maik Machulla didn’t recognize his team. He lacked what she had identified since he started at SG Flensburg-Handewitt as head coach in 2018 – the willingness to assert oneself against resistance. So there were strange point losses, tired appearances, erratic ideas: at home against Kielce in the Champions League and against Minden, in Balingen, in Leipzig.
In the first half of the season, the SG had made an explainable mistake because the squad had been thinned out by injuries. “With us it was often the case that the team put itself together,” says Machulla, looking at the many failures. But he always expects the right attitude – whether from a depleted or full team. But even after the European Championship break, there were poor performances in some games, even though all the players were there.
Mo. – Fr. at 4 p.m.; Sa. – So. at 6 p.m.
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After four strong years with two championships, Flensburg now has twelve minus points and must be careful not to be left behind by THW Kiel and Füchsen Berlin in the fight for second place. The 29:29 on Saturday evening at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen meant the next disappointment. The competition that used to run after them already senses a change of power in German handball – because in the Champions League the clubs earn about four times as much as in the smaller, albeit upgraded European League.
Battle for Scandinavian professionals
Trouble also threatens from the other side. What the SG could rely on for years was the skilful composition of the squad. Machulla and managing director Dierk Schmäschke committed new players with foresight. Since Machulla has been at the helm, it has seemed like an automatism that professionals who came to the fjord soon became regular players here. This commitment skill serves as a role model throughout the league.
The strength is put to a severe test, because in the coming years some pillars surprisingly leave the SG. The Norwegians Magnus Rød and Gøran Søgard would have liked to have tied Schmäschke and his successor Holger Glandorf longer. However, both decided to move to Kolstad from the summer of 2023. There, in Trondheim, an ambitious project is being created that immodestly aims to win the Champions League title.
Sander Sagosen from Kiel and Magnus Gullerud from SC Magdeburg have also succumbed to the call of their homeland. It used to be unthinkable for professionals in their prime to leave the Bundesliga, with its close competition and packed halls, heading north. But now there is not only Kolstad, but also Ålborg. A real heavyweight has emerged in northern Jutland, as the Danish club reached the Champions League finals in 2021. It seems that Flensburg defender Simon Hald will move to his homeland in 2023. It hasn’t been announced yet.
“We will not change our philosophy”
The new competitors in Europe hit the Nordic-oriented SG particularly hard because the fight for Scandinavian players has become tougher. In fact, the departure of the core staff scratches the core of the brand: the club likes to call itself a “family”, and so far it has been the case that the players from the north in particular played here for eight, ten or even more years before they started their careers over the border let it fade away. That gave the SG reliability, the fans had longstanding identity figures. Coaches could build something here in peace.
This special feature is now being put to the test, because two well-deserved players are also leaving Flensburg: left winger Hampus Wanne will move to FC Barcelona at the end of the season after nine years at SG. And captain Lasse Svan ends his career in Germany in the summer at the age of 38 – the highly successful right winger came to SG in 2008. “We will not change our philosophy,” says Machulla, “but we are now suddenly competing with two new clubs when it comes to young players from Scandinavia.”
The tight schedule leaves little time to deal with the future. The North Germans will play in Szeged on Thursday. They want to defend the 25-21 first-leg win to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Also in the master class Machulla’s team played changeable and suffered defeats. In the quarter-finals, FC Barcelona is a formidable opponent. But who knows, coming out of the role of the little one has been good for SG Flensburg-Handewitt for many years.
