Sports national handball team
Gislason remains national coach – under one condition
Status: 16.02.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Playing for his stay in office in March: national handball coach Alfred Gislason
Quelle: AFP/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV
The German Handball Association wants to extend the contract with national coach Alfred Gislason until 2027. However, there is a sporting requirement. “Alfred knows that it has to work,” says a DHB board member. There should be clarity by mid-March.
Alfred Gislason should continue as national coach of the German handball players until the home World Cup in 2027. “That is our wish, that would be sensible, Alfred is the right person,” said HBL boss and DHB executive board member Uwe Schwenker on Friday to the “Kieler Nachrichten”.
According to Schwenker, the eleven-member executive board of the German Handball Association unanimously voted in favor of extending the contract with the 64-year-old Icelander at its most recent meeting last week. “Alfred presented his EM analysis, we spoke briefly and intensively and then gave the DHB board the order to enter into contract negotiations,” reported Schwenker.
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The new working paper for Gislason, who took over the office in February 2020, should be drawn up before the Olympic qualifications, which are due in mid-March. In the elimination for the summer games, the DHB selection will face Algeria, Croatia and Austria in Hanover. The first two in the tournament win the Paris ticket. “Participation in the Olympics would be important. Alfred knows that this has to work. And it will work,” said Schwenker.
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Opinion German handball
Praise and criticism for Gislason
Although the German team missed out on a medal in fourth place at the home European Championships, the 64-year-old supported the national coach. For the first time, they now have a team that can play together for a long time, is at the beginning of its development and still has established players like Julian Köster, Juri Knorr and Johannes Golla in its ranks. “And Alfred is rock solid, an experienced coach who can take the pressure off the young players,” emphasized Schwenker.
Disagreed in the assessment of the European Handball Championship: DHB Vice President Bob Hanning (left) and Germany coach Alfred Gislason
Those: dpa/Soeren Stache
After the European Championships there were also critical voices, such as Bob Hanning. The managing director of Füchse Berlin complained that players like Nils Lichtlein, who plays for the Füchse, had not received more game shares. Gislason rejected the criticism in clear terms. “I don’t think too much of his assessment of our European Championship performance because he is not objective. He would very much like to encourage the deployment of some people out of his own interest,” the Icelander told SPORT BILD and added: “For me, Bob is not a luminary in world handball. So I would be more likely to listen if the top coaches in the league commented on our performance.”
