Captain Renars Uscins (M.) is one of the candidates from the U21 world champion squad who can also make it into the senior national team.
Photo: image/Eibner
Interview
image/Hansjürgen Britsch
Axel Kromer was a Bundesliga handball player when he was active
Pfullingen. After retiring in 2009, he first embarked on a coaching career, which ultimately led him to the German Handball Federation (DHB). As an assistant coach, he was there in 2016 when the national team won the European Championship. A year later he became the sports director of the association and today holds the post of sports director at the DHB.
Without defeat until the world title. You might dream of something like that before a tournament. But did you expect that?
Even though there was an option for the guys to be able to do that, it’s still not a given that it will happen. So I’m really happy that it happened. But we knew that the team could beat any team because they had achieved excellent results in the last few months.
A few close wins too were including: against France and Croatia, for example. Was luck sometimes involved, or should even these victories have been higher?
They were close, but we never came close to losing those games. The team was mostly in the lead and then used the opportunity to change through. In general, however, we never claim to achieve clear results against such strong nations as France and Croatia. Of course it’s nice when it works. But even a narrow victory with a good performance is worthy of all honor.
Are those countries that you see in the senior national teams usually ahead, always at the top, even with the juniors? Or are there countries where young players develop faster or slower?
The nations that are already emerging in the youth field are those that will later also achieve excellent results in the senior field, especially in newly emerging countries. A few years ago it was Portugal or Egypt, who were suddenly right at the top of the junior squad. A few years later they were among the best in the world for seniors. It happens all the time. Otherwise, especially among the men, those nations are at the top that are also among the youngsters. However, it is always very close. This time, for example, the Norwegians failed in the preliminary round. Sweden and Spain got it before the quarter-finals in the main round. That happens sometimes.
But there is the usual process, which might also make German handball fans rejoice: Whoever wins a U21 World Cup will win medals with the men a few years later and maybe even Title?
We are not a flash in the pan in the junior division, but have traditionally been really strong. This is also because we have a large breadth. Even with the absence of one or two top players from a year, that doesn’t immediately lead to a merciless drop in quality. Logically, nations like the Faroe Islands do not have this breadth, so generally less potential to compensate for failures. In general, however, even a good double vintage like this is by no means a sign that the men will also come up trumps afterwards. After all, they play there between the ages of 20 and 38. But of course the basis for a top team is good youth work.
With goalkeeper talent David Späth, who recently helped decide the final of the DHB Cup, nobody has Doubt on making the breakthrough. But how many others from the world champion team, which also won the European Championship title in 2021, will make it to the top and maybe play for Germany at a World Cup and Olympics?
A normal distribution is that we can integrate between two and four players per year. There is so much potential in this team that the first two or three players can regularly gain experience in the national team in less time than usual. Justus Fischer and Renars Uscins have even played in friendly matches in the senior national team.
How long does a talent usually need for the upcoming transition?
On the one hand, we’re really proud that we have a really good Bundesliga, which is rightly called the best league in the world. But we always have a bit of the problem that the competition there is of course very high. The Bundesliga teams trust more and more young German players and give them playing times. But of course it’s also the case that international quality is used in the important games, in the all-important situations in a match. We have ten foreign players on average per team. In the top clubs, the rate is even higher. Then there isn’t that much space for German players. And it’s also understandable when a club includes young talents in the squad that at least they don’t have to decide the games yet. That’s why we have to see that the players continue to gain experience in order to be on the plate in very important situations. Then they are also interesting for the national team. That usually happens around the age of 23. But we are also open to 20 and 21 year olds. Juri Knorr and Julian Köster (both now 23, editor’s note) were the best examples of this recently. Something can come up now.
There was no one from Magdeburg, Kiel or Flensburg in the current U21 squad. Is that a good thing because the boys in Minden, Erlangen or Potsdam get more playing time? Or would it be better, Cham every now and thento catch some air in the pions league – weven just sporadically?
We don’t have to expect SC Magdeburg to line up with Renars Uscins. They have now won the Champions League. When a club has the opportunity to get the best in the world into its squad, that’s definitely even better than what’s going on in the German U21s. As a result, it is not surprising that these players are more likely to play a role at clubs that are not at the top of the table. After all, Hannover-Burgdorf has reached the European Cup. And that’s where Fischer and Uscins play an important role. The aim of the young players now must be that Kiel, Flensburg and Magdeburg decide for them at some point because of their performance and a further stage of development.
This U21 World Cup should also be the start of the decade of handball. Is it about returning to the top of the world, or does the DHB focus on new approaches in promoting young talent?
There really are a lot of international competitions ahead of us in Germany: in January 2024 we have the men’s European Championships, in December 2025 the women’s World Cup. Then in 2027 the men’s World Cup. Our goal is to present the sport of handball in such a way that we not only achieve good results at the top, but that we also present the social value of the sport and the values that are conveyed in the clubs. You have to be present so that parents send their children to handball training in the small club next door.
Martin Heuberger was not very successful as national coach between 2011 and 2014. But before and after he won many medals and titles in the junior division. Is a trainer sometimes simply calibrated to a very specific age group?
Martin has really great qualities, which he has demonstrated in the junior division. Nevertheless, he could also coach a senior national team. But I also want to take some of the fame away from Martin, because the development of the players doesn’t just happen in the national team, but primarily in the clubs. He’s the one who’s allowed to finish it. Martin draws on a reservoir that has been developed in the German funding structure. When he was senior team coach, he might not have had the quality of players available to make it big. At a World Cup, however, he once came close to reaching the semi-finals. He is now being rightly praised for leading this team to the title. But that only works if the players have been trained to a level that he can do it with. Conversely, this also means that if he doesn’t achieve a goal as national coach, he hasn’t messed everything up right away. If the reservoir wasn’t good enough for a title, it’s good if you finish fifth.
An enormous fan response accompanied das tournament: Almost 9000 came to the final. Was the great interest felt at the beginning of the tournament in Hanover and Magdeburg or only when it became clear: The team is playing successfully?
This is of course always a logical consequence. Especially when the tournament is covered as well in the media as this one. We really got a lot of attention there. Then, of course, Berlin has the potential to quickly gather tens of thousands. In Hanover, when the tournament started, we obviously didn’t have such strong opponents. Nobody comes against Tunisia or Algeria hoping for an incredibly exciting game. But the hall was also almost full with about 3500 spectators. Even in games without German participation, we have cooperated with many schools and clubs. I was pleased that the children created a good atmosphere in the mornings and that we were able to present great handball to them.
Is it common in handball that thousands come to a youth tournament?
No, that was phenomenal. Likewise, that more than a million viewers watch the final on Eurosport. Normally, such championships are not broadcast at all. And in most of the other host countries, the halls are then empty, even though entry is free. In that respect it was extraordinary.
