Handball-EM
Gislason on top: “I should actually hand it out now”
After winning Olympic silver, the German handball players are now also assured of a European Championship medal. For the national coach, this is confirmation of the work he has done – and also a little satisfaction.
Alfred Gislason couldn’t resist a little dig after the German handball players’ celebrated entry into the European Championship final. “Actually, I should dish it out a bit now,” said the national coach, alluding to the sometimes strong public criticism in the past.
“I always have to think about 2023, when I tested the young people. Unfortunately, we played against Spain, Denmark and Sweden back then. We came under the wheels a few times and were then beaten up so much in the press,” said Gislason after the 31:28 win in the semi-finals against World Cup runners-up Croatia.
In retrospect, it was the right thing to do “that we stuck with the boys. They are our greatest talents,” said the 66-year-old Icelander and praised: “They have developed further in this tournament, have become more clarified and have grown together as a team. Getting through to the final of this European Championship is a sensational achievement.”
See you again in Denmark
In the fight for gold, there will now be a new edition of the Olympic final against top favorite Denmark on Sunday (6 p.m./ZDF and Dyn), which the DHB selection clearly lost with 26:39 in the summer of 2024. “For me the game in Lille was extremely bitter,” said Gislason looking back.
He was really angry at the time, “because I had the feeling that the boys had simply given the game away after a quarter of an hour. After the game, everyone went to Paris for the closing ceremony, but I left straight away because I was so disappointed with the way we played,” said the national coach.
This time everything should be different. “We will go into the final with a broad chest and I’m hoping for the best performance in the tournament. Our goal is to play a really good game,” promised Gislason and added: “That would do a lot for the team. No matter what it ends up being enough for.”
Difficult road to the European Championship medal
For the Icelander, reaching the final is a confirmation and at the same time a small satisfaction – he was heavily criticized after the preliminary round defeat against Serbia. Now the DHB selection is definitely returning home with a medal.
“If we had sat together at the beginning of January and said this was definitely going to be silver, we would have seemed pretty drunk,” said Gislason. In the duel with the Danes around world handball player Mathias Gidsel, against whom the DHB team lost 26:31 in the main round, they now want more: “I don’t think everyone is happy with silver.”
dpa
