At the European Championships, the German handball players led by captain Golla (M.) lost to Croatia. The aim is to get revenge at the Olympic qualification.
Photo: imago/Marco Wolf
National coach Alfred Gislason could actually be in a good mood. The Icelander led the German handball players to the semi-finals at the home European Championship in January, thereby fulfilling the target set by his employer, the German Handball Federation (DHB). It was also only a few days ago that his well-paid contract as head coach was extended until the 2027 home World Cup. And yet on Tuesday the 64-year-old looked so grim as if the sky was threatening to fall on his head.
The personnel situation ahead of the Olympic qualification tournament, which begins this Thursday in Hanover, was also better than feared. The two ailing pivots Johannes Golla and Jannik Kohlbacher are fit to play, reports the national coach. The directors Luca Witzke and Marian Michalczik, who were still missing from the European Championships, are also back in the squad. This duo is intended to relieve playmaker Juri Knorr, who fell into a low performance after the major event, in the DHB team.
In general, the starting position for the German handball players could hardly be better. The advantage of getting one of the two tickets for the Summer Games in Paris in this tournament with four teams in front of your own audience cannot be underestimated. The opponents Algeria (Thursday, live on Sport1), Croatia (Saturday/ZDF) and Austria (Sunday/ARD) are not currently among the heavyweights in the industry.
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And yet Gislason’s mood was clearly in the basement. “How many times do I have to repeat this?” he barked angrily when media representatives once again asked for details of his contract extension. But that journalistic curiosity was provoked by the umbrella organization and the Icelander himself. The DHB justified the expansion of the collaboration with Gislason and women’s national coach Markus Gaugisch by saying that continuity in these positions was the basis for sustainable success. At the same time, however, the association announced that Gislason’s working paper only applies in the event of Olympic qualification – unlike Gaugisch, whose team will also be favorites against Montenegro, Slovenia and Paraguay in Neu-Ulm from April 11th to 14th.
When asked the logical question as to whether he was now under particular pressure, Gislason answered in the negative. “It feels like I’ve been a coach for 50 years,” said the Icelander. If the qualification goes wrong, it is normal in the industry that he has to leave. That’s part of the business. That was an expected reaction, as Gislason always emphasizes how much he enjoys working under pressure. But then the Icelander surprised when he added that another option was to quit as national coach even if he successfully qualified for the Olympics. After all, he had always assured beforehand that he would very much like to continue working with the German team until the 2027 World Cup, as this team is young and very capable of development. This time, however, the national coach, who was visibly upset, refused to answer any questions about this topic.
So it’s quite possible that Bob Hanning’s public criticism of the national team’s appearance at the European Championships will still resonate. “The bottom line is four wins, four defeats and one draw,” complained the managing director of Füchse Berlin, who was responsible for competitive sports at the umbrella organization from 2013 to 2021, after the tournament in January. “If you subtract the home advantage, there’s not much left.”
Gislason did not react to the content, but only attacked the critic personally. Hanning is “not a luminary of world handball” and does advertising on his own behalf, explained the national coach. In fact, before the European Championships, Hanning had vehemently called for the use of the German U21 world champions, some of whom he had trained himself as a youth. On the other hand, the question in this debate was: Who is actually allowed to criticize the national coach?
In fact, the German offensive in particular at the home tournament was very limited. The German team hardly offered the fast-paced game, which is essential in modern handball. That was also a reason why the selection in the main round against Austria only managed a draw with a lot of luck and was also very disappointing against Croatia (26:30) (in a game that was, however, insignificant in terms of sport).
If the performances and results against these two opponents in Hanover are repeated, the Olympic ticket is unlikely to do anything – and the mood, and not just for Gislason, would darken even further.
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