Bitter calls for a clear commitment from top German players
HSV goalkeeper Johannes Bitter played 175 games for the German national handball team
Source: pa/Eibner-Pressefoto
Johannes Bitter would like his colleagues in the national team to make a commitment for or against assignments in the German handball team. In the past, this has increasingly not been the case. The HSV goalkeeper now demands plain text from the players.
Dhe longtime national goalkeeper Johannes Bitter demands a clear commitment from his colleagues for or against assignments in the German national handball team. “The national coach has to know what he’s up to, who he’s working with and who he can rely on,” said the 40-year-old HSV Hamburg goalkeeper to “Mannheimer Morgen”.
Bitter wishes “that the best 20 players form the best possible team for Germany, but I accept it if someone no longer wants to play for the national team”. These are individual decisions with personal motives. “But it has to be binding and an open and clear word has to be spoken.”
National coach Alfred Gislason had recently often complained that players canceled for a tournament, paused in the selection of the German Handball Association (DHB) or were no longer willing to play for Germany. For one or the other player, the high stress is also a trigger.
Bitter doesn’t want development like in football
“We have to keep talking about how long a season lasts,” said Bitter: “There are already initial successes because in June not every national team is playing for something important and therefore the top players who are under a lot of pressure don’t necessarily have to be there anymore. In my opinion, however, you can streamline everything a bit more and thus extend the summer break.”
It is important to him that there is no development in handball like there is in football. “We don’t need this inflating of the competitions or the introduction of new competitions. That’s the one topic we’re talking to leagues and associations about,” said Bitter.
