Munich (from our reporter) – They waited for their chance on the substitutes’ bench, and when coach Xavier Sabate sent them into the game after a quarter of an hour, the world champions were not scared. In his debut at a major tournament, Jonáš immediately scored a goal with a fearless shot. “It’s super. A completely different world. I concentrate one hundred percent and give it my all. After all, it was my dream to play at such an event,” smiled the 21-year-old midfielder.
Next to him on the left clutch was his role model, his older brother, who became the team’s top scorer with four goals in a 14:23 defeat. “I think we brought good energy. I felt good next to my brother,” described Vojtěch. “When I have someone from the family on the field, I immediately feel more confident. I play great with him, we have a similar style,” Jonáš agreed.
He also has psychological support in his sibling. “He could tell by me before the match that I was a little nervous. He told me to be calm, that we all deserve to play such a duel. That I will tell my children about him one day, so let me mainly enjoy him, and somehow it will turn out,” he described. “It’s a big deal, but it’s still just handball. It’s not about life, so I just told him to do what he can. Because he can play excellently,” Vojtěch also described his view.
Jonáš Patzel, the midfielder of Karvina Baník, then threw away respect during the match. And he wasn’t afraid of Danish stars like Mikkel Hansen, Niklas Landin or Mathias Gidsel. “Something unreal, to play against such guys. I’ve been watching Hansen on TV since I was a child,” the talented handball player didn’t understand.
Vojtěch, who also went through Dukla and Karvina, plays in Lübeck-Schwartau in the second German league. “We don’t see each other much during the season, only during the summer. We enjoy our time together here,” he reveled.
Photo: Ivo Dudek/Czech handball
Vojtěch Patzel in the match against Denmark at the European Handball Championship.
They even live together in a room during the championship. “We don’t get on each other’s nerves at all,” Jonáš smiled. “We don’t talk much about handball because it’s enough for us in training sessions and videos. So we deal with other things, we joke and try to relax a little,” explained the older of the siblings.
The handball national team did not experience the brother duo for a long time. The last time Tomáš and Kamil Heinz played in it together was at the beginning of the millennium, but only three duels. The young Patzel duo can certainly collect more of them at big events.
