Antje Döll is the grande dame of German handball and is now playing for World Cup gold. She experienced a low point just a few months ago. It still has an effect on her. After the semi-final triumph over France, she is overwhelmed by her emotions.
Captain Antje Döll caught up with the sensational Bundesliga events from the summer in the greatest moment of happiness in her national team career. When the 37-year-old is asked about the financial collapse of her former flagship club HB Ludwigsburg, she can no longer hold back her emotions and bursts into tears.
“We simply deserve to win a medal here. After all the shit that happened in the summer and the hard work we put in,” said Döll after the sensational entry into the World Cup final and the first victory over France since 2005. Once again, the oldest member of the German team was the best thrower with nine goals.
The financial crisis at HB Ludwigsburg caused a bang in the Bundesliga in the summer. The reigning champions withdrew their team – the players were suddenly out of contract. Antje Döll then joined the Neckarsulm Sports Union. About four months later, she is now safely in the World Cup final with the national team and already has silver in her pocket.
Döll is an integral part of the German national handball team
“With the mindset we have, with the defense we play, anything is possible,” said Döll before the duel against the favored Olympic champions Norway on Sunday (5:30 p.m., ARD/Sporteurope.TV) in Rotterdam: “We probably won’t need the warm-up on Sunday because we would like to get started straight away with the final.”
At 37 years old and with an impressive collection of titles, Döll is the grande dame of German handball. She has been captain since March. The road to get there was long, because Döll came to work late. She only made her debut in the national team at the age of 28 – others are already thinking about ending their career at this age.
National coach Markus Gaugisch described Döll as a woman who thrives in life. “She has stood the test of time and is accepted to the maximum by every player. She is one of those role models in that way: diligent in training, enthusiastic and still a team player,” the 51-year-old praised his leading player.
The fact that the 1.70 meter tall outside player has been a fixture in the DHB team for years is also due to a courageous decision almost 20 years ago. Döll was a circle runner at the time and retrained as a young adult due to a lack of prospects for success in this position. Too small and too skinny for the intense duels at the circle. So get out of the fight and into the outside position, where patience and the right nose are required.
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Döll also takes responsibility outside of the handball halls. The 37-year-old works as a senior detective at the Ludwigsburg police department for property crime. “Home burglary is one of them, for example. Handball helps me in my police job. It’s a team sport and I feel the same way at work. It’s difficult to solve a huge case alone,” Döll drew a parallel. A team effort will also be needed on Sunday to turn the handball fairy tale into gold.
Semifinal against France beats biathlon
Meanwhile, the performances of the German national team are becoming a crowd puller. 3.092 million people saw the entry into the World Cup final on ARD, meaning the German handball players significantly increased the TV reach of the quarter-finals two days earlier. According to AGF video research, the market share of the semi-final in Rotterdam was 20.1 percent.
ZDF had previously shown the handball players’ quarter-final victory against Brazil, making it the first time a game was shown on a public television station during the current World Cup. The Internet provider “Sporteurope.TV” shows all games.
The number of viewers for handball was also higher than that for biathlon broadcasts, which regularly provide the sport’s top ratings in winter. The broadcast of the World Cup in Hochfilzen on Erste was watched by 2.119 million people in the afternoon, accounting for a market share of 25.7 percent.
pk/dpa
