German professional Christian Dissinger moves to Qatar

WChristian Dissinger will probably never forget this June 29, 2022. It was the day his club told him he could leave despite the contract. Dissinger, 31, is a level-headed guy. But it seems as if these words came as a shock at the time: “Bucharest looked like a good project. This wasn’t a switch to an open fire. I should help build something. In hindsight, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t fit – I was just sorted out. That is the ugly truth.”

Dinamo Bucharest had bought Egyptian Ali Zein for Dissinger’s position. And the Germans were thereby neutralized. After titles in Kiel (cup winner 2017) and Skopje (Champions League 2019), after the highlights as European champion and third place at the Olympic Games in 2016, this once greatest German talent suddenly hung in Bucharest. Practice, practice, practice. For three quarters of a year. No prospect of games. Frustration. Care for? Dissinger says, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was in a depression. But I doubted myself. I didn’t just lie around and question everything. But inaction gnawed at me.”

“That’s why it’s not all bad”

His situation has since improved: he terminated his contract in Bucharest in mid-March and found a new club – in Qatar. At Al-Duhail SC, Dissinger wants to win four titles by the end of July and use the adventure as a new start: “I want to rediscover the fun in handball. I feel better than when I was 24 or 25 because I don’t have 70 games a year.”

But Qatar? Dissinger says: “I spoke to my fiancée, my mother, my manager and friends who were here. I know that I will be criticized for this in Germany. Of course I read what was written during the World Cup. It was granted under strange conditions. But that’s not why everything is bad in Qatar. I’ve been here for three weeks now and I think a lot of things are exaggerated. I’m in a foreign culture and I’m adapting. It’s Ramadan now, and we non-Muslims shouldn’t drink or eat anything during the day. I want to respect that.” In terms of salary, he says, he’s on the Bucharest level. His fiancee Marija, his dog and his cat stayed there.

Dissinger’s career seems unusual. When top German clubs wanted him, the 202-centimetre-long Ludwigshafener went to Schaffhausen in 2011 to play in the Champions League. Two years later he joined Atlético Madrid – although he was lying flat with his second cruciate ligament tear. But Atlético’s handball division went bankrupt. Dissinger started again in Nettelstedt and caught sight of Alfred Gislason in 2015, who brought him to THW Kiel. This phase was overshadowed by injuries, also in the DHB team.

In 2018 Dissinger canceled his contract because he played too little – and moved to Skopje, North Macedonia. Years in a spin cycle followed: “In Skopje we didn’t get any money for nine months. That bonded us so much that we won the Champions League in June 2019. I still sometimes feel this mode of euphoria. But I never thought in the summer of 2019 that my career would go through the roof.”

Another design

Now, before the second leg in the Champions League between Kiel and Bucharest – THW won 41:28 in Romania – Dissinger is confronted with his past: “I have a fever for the Germans, but I also have sympathies for others. I’ve played with so many players from different countries.” And that’s the greatest treasure of his career: getting a different perspective. For example how people in North Macedonia live on 300 euros a month – and still appear satisfied.

“Sometimes I get scared when I come back,” says Dissinger, “the most important thing for the Germans is safety. Everyone is working toward retirement and wants some of it. You worry about everything, you’re always afraid. There are few reasons to be anxious and worried in Germany.”

You can tell that his draft is different – also in relation to his sport: “It would be good for German handball to take the experience from abroad with it. I think a lot of German professionals don’t dare to go outside because they don’t think everyone pays on time. There were things in Romania and North Macedonia that annoyed me. My career is always up and down. But I try to ignore prejudice, broaden my horizons and meet people.”

In Qatar he enjoys amenities; A laundry service, your own car and luxury hotels. Chic malls nearby, the beach around the corner. And national coach Gislason, how far away is he? The German Handball Federation (DHB) urgently needs a strong pitcher. In October 2020 Corona prevented his comeback. After all, there was a short assignment at the beginning of 2021. So the contact is established. Dissinger looks ahead and says: “I’ve been on a break for almost a whole season. I need time to get in. But I can definitely still play at a very high level – also for Germany.” In this respect, his move to Qatar is good news. Also for the DHB. After all, the home EM 2024 is not that far away anymore.