The “Sigurdsson Effect”? Alfred Gislason believes it’s close to zero: “Dagur can’t turn Croatia’s game on its head in four days.” His players see it a little differently. “He will definitely think of some unorthodox things for us,” said Rune Dahmke, and captain Johannes Golla said that a change of coach could inspire a team. There was a lot of respect for the next opponent.
When the German national handball team competes against Croatia in the Olympic qualification this Saturday (2.30 p.m. on ZDF and Dyn), the surprising and delightful reunion with Dagur Sigurdsson will be the focus of interest: the former national coach has been in charge since last week Croats. On Thursday evening, 50-year-old Sigurdsson celebrated with his new team for the first time – they won 35:29 against Austria. He beamed with joy and hugged his players; he had seen a strong second half. With a victory over Germany, his Croatians would be almost certain to take part in the Olympic handball tournament in Lille and Paris.
German European Championship victory in 2016 with Sigurdsson
The name Dagur Sigurdsson will always have a good ring in German handball. With the Icelander, the national team won their last title to date in 2016. At the European Championships in Poland, he led an inexperienced and injury-plagued team to victory in the final over Spain. The basis for a wonderful future within the framework of this fruitful collaboration seemed to have been laid – as is well known, things turned out differently for Sigurdsson and the German Handball Association (DHB): just a year later, the cooperation ended after the elimination of the World Cup in the round of 16 against Qatar.
In the background, Sigurdsson had demanded more power than the DHB was prepared to give; There was also a massive offer from Japan. Sigurdsson succumbed to Far Eastern courtship and disappeared from the European scene. Now he’s back – because the Japanese lacked “the passion” for handball. There are more than enough of them in Croatia.
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With current national players Andreas Wolff, Rune Dahmke and Jannik Kohlbacher, Sigurdsson became European champions more than eight years ago. That’s not the only reason why it will be a special encounter. Compatriots meet who have been friends “for decades,” as Gislason said: “We have played against each other countless times with Kiel and Berlin.” Sigurdsson trained the Berlin Foxes from 2009 to 2015; Gislason has been with the THW for eleven years. Gislason was usually ahead.
“They can get louder”
And this time? A year before the home World Cup, Croatia is in transition, but still has a powerful mix of experienced and talented people. At the European Championships at the end of January, the Germans lost to them 24:30 in the meaningless final main round game; However, after 15 minutes Gislason trusted his second suit – that went wrong.
On Thursday evening, when the DHB team lost 41:29 against Algeria, he experienced something similar: The Germans started well, led 16:9, but then threw Khalifa Ghedbane warm in the Algerian goal and became hectic in an attempt to decide the game before the break if possible . The North Africans came within two goals.
Gislason has to change, he has to give Golla, Knorr and Köster a break. But whenever these three are missing, it becomes difficult. In the second half, three energetic performances from Köster and saves from Wolff helped put Algeria at 27:19 (45th minute). The delighted national coach then saw how Nils Lichtlein and Franz Semper, who had come off the bench cold, combined and scored: “The two of them have played together for maybe 30 minutes in their lives.”
These are the days of truth for the 64-year-old Gislason and the DHB, as his contract extension until the end of February 2027 will only take effect if his team gets one of the first two places. The victory over Algeria was just the launching pad. Both the Croatians and the Austrians – like the Germans – mixed convincing and weak phases, so that the outcome of the race seems open.
On Thursday, Gislason formulated his expectations for those watching on Saturday: “They can get louder,” he said, “I thought until a quarter of an hour before the end that everyone was standing at the side with a bratwurst.” Gislason smiled. At the second game of the evening, the Croatian fans were clearly visible – and heard – with their red and white water polo swimming caps.
