When the audience shouted his name and applauded him thunderously, Alfred Gislason smiled for a few seconds and waved to the people in the sold-out stands. That was a different facet of his mind than the one he had mostly revealed in the Hannover days – the discussions about his contract seemed to be getting on his nerves more and more, and the desire to qualify for the Olympics in front of his home crowd was apparently a pure burden become.
But with the final 34:31 (18:15) against Austria, tons of weight fell from his broad shoulders: The German national handball team is taking part in the Olympic Games in Paris; The victories against Algeria and now Austria were enough for this, and the results were received rather coolly by the team: “Job done,” said playmaker Juri Knorr succinctly. He could also have said about the Austria match: just a matter of nerves. However, Gislason was visibly relieved late on Sunday afternoon: “It was open until the last minute. We expected that too. I am pleased with our performance and proud of the team. It burned for 60 minutes.”
At 31:29 in the 58th minute, this thrilling game reached its final hectic pace and the brave Austrians led by Bundesliga professionals Lukas Hutecek and Nikola Bilyk came close to a surprise. But this time the Germans were determined and cool enough to get the lead across the finish line – and, supported by the outstanding Julian Köster (eight goals) and Renars Uscins (nine goals), they did it in a largely convincing manner.
Uscins was the positive surprise of these three games; Unimpressed and callous, he scored 26 goals and was voted player of the game three times in Hanover. Gislason said: “I am extremely proud of people like him and I am looking forward to continuing to support this very talented team. I think she’s getting better every year.”
“Too much pressure”
With access to Paris, Gislason has attractive future plans – now his contract, which runs until the end of February 2027, actually comes into force. However, the 64-year-old Icelander was annoyed that the clause regarding the extension modalities had been announced by the German Handball Federation (DHB) in a press release weeks ago: “We had agreed to keep the clause quiet.” If the Germans had failed on Sunday, Gislason’s work at the DHB would have ended with immediate effect. “I had the feeling that the talk about my contract influenced the team. There was too much pressure on them,” he said.
Completely detached: Renars Uscins was one of the best shooters in the game with his goals. : Image: picture alliance / DeFodi Images
The association did not cut a good figure in terms of communication. “We wanted to calm things down before the tournament. We succeeded. But perhaps different communication would have had a different effect,” claimed Axel Kromer, Sports Director. There is still a significant need for discussion and optimization between the national coach and the association’s sports management.
Many of Gislason’s moves worked that afternoon. He swapped the goalkeeper from Andreas Wolff to David Späth, he replaced Juri Knorr with Marian Michalczik in the center and brought Jannik Kohlbacher in for Johannes Golla at the circle. This time, however, the decisive factor was the attitude and motivation of the team, which – unlike against Croatia – played with full determination. This resulted in a three-goal lead at the break, which grew to a five-goal lead in the second half until Sebastian Heymann made it 26:21 in the 43rd minute.
Uscins towers over
The German team had to worry about the remaining seconds before the break – the score was 18:13, but what seemed like a sizeable lead melted away to 18:15 thanks to two Austrian goals. Three goals more than the opponent was too small a result of a good first half, which had nothing to do with the 30 starting minutes on Saturday against Croatia – the score was 10:16.
But a lot of things went well in the German team. Almost everything that Renars Uscins delivered in front of his home audience these days worked. The left-hander was also the most successful German thrower against Austria. Elsewhere the Germans looked like they had been replaced. In defense, Golla and Köster attacked strongly; The entire bench crew jumped up and cheered enthusiastically when Golla won a duel and won the ball.
Frank Heike, Hanover Published/Updated: Frank Heike, Hanover Published/Updated: Recommendations: 4 Frank Heike, Hanover Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
After the break, the Germans seemed to be at their best for a long time, but needed all their strength and energy to defeat the courageous Austrians. As they stood after the final whistle, the strain of succeeding in front of their own fans was evident. But when they gathered behind the Olympic boards to celebrate, you could see lots of smiling faces.
“There’s just pure joy and relief. A childhood dream comes true. I’m happy to play for this team, even if it’s only for five minutes,” said right winger Lukas Zerbe, one of the best this afternoon with a lot to talk about on and off the floor. The German handball players are allowed to go to the Olympic Games as runners-up in the qualifying tournament. This is particularly due to Renars Uscins, who was voted player of the game in all three games.
