It is probably the biggest classic in club handball: On Saturday, THW Kiel welcomes SG Flensburg-Handewitt for the 110th time. The game has been sold out for weeks and the sports show is broadcasting live.
The duel between the two top clubs in Schleswig-Holstein has been electrifying teams, the environment and fans for days. 10,285 spectators will be in the arena when the game kicks off on Saturday (3:40 p.m./live on Erste). “Derbies are always very special games, the intensity is completely different,” says THW circuit runner Hendrik Pekeler.
This time it’s probably not about awarding a title – as has often been the case in the past. SC Magdeburg and Füchse Berlin are likely to win the German championship.
For the first time since 2001/2002 Champions League without THW and SG?
And that is the problem for the two northern clubs: only the first two places mean qualification for the upcoming Champions League. There is a risk that the European “premier class” will take place without Schleswig-Holstein participation for the first time since the 2001/2002 series.
Even a possible title win in the current Champions League would not guarantee the Kiel team a starting place. A win in the state derby and the hope of a break-in with at least one of the two top teams would be more helpful. After all: Both the SG and the THW are almost certain of a place in the next European League.
State derby guarantees excitement
Even without the big explosiveness, there is always excitement when both teams meet. A look back: At the 109th edition in September, the “Zebras” were leading 27:24 with five minutes to go, the host Flensburg had actually already lost. But 60 seconds before the end it was a draw.
And suddenly the home team got the ball again. Emil Jakobsen was successful with the last throw to make it 28:27 and disappeared in the celebration. “A win in the derby means more than just two points for the club,” said the Danish left winger later.
The 108th edition was held in Kiel. Exactly eleven months ago, the Kiel team clearly distanced themselves from their national rivals by 29:19. A day later, the SG placed its coach Maik Machulla on leave.
His successor was the Dane Nicolej Krickau, who had already been to Kiel with his former club GOG from Gudme, Denmark. “It will be something different with the SG,” believes the 37-year-old coach. “At GOG I didn’t have such a wide range of individually strong players.”
However, Flensburg have only won in the lion’s den seven times since the derby chronicle began in 1984. “It always depends on the spectators in these games, because every player feels more comfortable at home than away,” says Kiels Pekeler.
Personnel concerns on both sides
Both Kiel and Flensburg had to find their feet in the last few days, as hardly any players were in club training the week before. The national teams had called. The DHB selection managed to qualify for the Olympics – in Hanover, Johannes Golla from Flensburg and Rune Dahmke from Kiel secured the Paris ticket together.
The THW is worried about the use of the ailing goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene: a muscle injury. In addition to Tomas Mrkva, youngster Magnus Bierfreund would join the squad. At SG, left-hander Teitur Einarsson had to withdraw from the Icelandic national team due to an unspecified injury. The problem: Kay Smits is also missing from Flensburg’s right back (inflammation of the myocardium).
In February, the Austrian Boris Zivkovic was signed for the next few months, who could get more playing time than expected in his first – and probably last – state derby.
This topic in the program:
Sports show | Mar 23, 2024 | 3:30 p.m
