The Rhein-Neckar Lions are running far behind their sporting goals. Even off the field, this season in the handball Bundesliga has not been easy for the Mannheim team.
Qualifying for the European League is the Rhein-Neckar Löwen’s goal this season. On paper, they are one of the top teams in the Handball Bundesliga (HBL), and they also have probably the best German playmaker Juri Knorr in their squad – so a very realistic goal. But they are far away from that in the league standings.
They should finish fifth (unless Flensburg or Berlin win the European Cup, in which case sixth place is enough), but six games before the end of the season they are only in tenth place in the table, twelve points behind. Last chance: win the European League yourself. That would guarantee them a starting place. The Lions are currently in the quarter-finals and will play their first leg against the Portuguese club Sporting CP from Lisbon on Tuesday (April 23, 2024).
The Rhine-Neckar Lions in crisis
Even if this chance still exists, no one in Mannheim can be satisfied with the 2023/24 season. The team has already suffered 15 defeats. Peak of the crisis: seven lost games in a row in December, January and February.
The reasons often seem to be the same: The Lions cannot play games consistently for more than 60 minutes. Simple ball losses, technical errors, lack of stability. This leads to stress, insecurity and frayed nerves. Coach Sebastian Hinze’s team keeps losing games.
The Lions’ plight of injuries
What hurts the lions: top performers are missing. Captain Patrick Groetzki has been injured since the beginning of January. An old injury that had bothered him until the beginning of December reoccurred and he also missed the home European Championship. Former national player Tobias Reichmann was signed up to replace him.
The long-time national team captain Uwe Gensheimer, who ended his active career after the season and became the team’s sports director, has not been able to play on the field for the entire season; a meniscus cruciate ligament injury has slowed him down. The backcourt players Halil Jaganjac (shoulder), Magnus Grupe and Olle Forsell Schefvert (both knees) also had bad luck with injuries. Here too, a man was signed up: Andreas Holst Jensen. But the list of injuries is constantly being expanded by smaller failures.
Top performer Juri Knorr announces departure
But there is unrest among the Rhein-Neckar Lions not only on the field. Speculation about the departure of middle man Juri Knorr has been circulating in the media in recent weeks. The Mannheim team recently confirmed that the national player would like to leave the club. A hard blow, as there were great hopes for the future of the playmaker, who is the best in Germany in his position.
Rhine-Neckar Löwen: Financial problems arise
Finally, there was the news that managing director Jennifer Kettemann discovered “significant irregularities” in the Bundesliga club’s finances and sales. Kettemann explained in a club interview that not only were mistakes made, but there were “deceptions and untrue representations in our books.”
Personnel consequences have already been drawn from this. The situation is not worrying, but the club still has to make cost-cutting measures in all areas, said Kettemann. Another item on the list of the Lions’ problems this season.
Long-term goal until 2027
The Lions should forget this season – and everything that comes with it – as quickly as possible. Because they have long-term goals: in 2027 the club wants to attack the top of the Bundesliga again. But for that to happen, things have to go better in the next few years than they did this season.
Broadcast on Wed, April 17, 2024 12:00 p.m., SWR Aktuell at midday, SWR Aktuell
