Handball European Championships
“Our best man”: Handball players rely on goalkeeper Wolff
Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff is the great support of the German handball players. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
For the German handball players, the fight for the semi-final ticket at the home European Championships against Austria continues. They are once again relying on their outstanding goalkeeper.
After the emotional victory against In Iceland, Germany’s handball players celebrated the birthday of backcourt player Christoph Steinert and the first two points of the European Championship main round.
Alfred Gislason, on the other hand, was already thinking about his next opponent. “I spent relatively little time with the news on my cell phone, but rather spent time with the Austrians well into the night,” reported the national coach and demanded full concentration from his protégés around goalkeeper Andreas Wolff: “Every game is a final and it starts from at the front. A defeat against Austria – and the dream of the semi-finals would be over.”
Wolff warns about Austria
In the thrilling prestigious duel with their neighbors on Saturday (8.30 p.m./ARD and Dyn), the DHB selection has to step up after the successful show of strength against Iceland in order to keep the handball euphoria in the country high. “We are now playing against the team of the moment, which has so far surprised extremely positively and has an exceptional player in its ranks in Mykola Bilyk. They will demand everything from us,” said Wolff, who was outstanding against Iceland, about their rivals.
The Austrians are currently ahead of the German team (2:2) in the Group I table with 3:1 points and feel very comfortable in their role as outsiders. “We have already exceeded all expectations and hope to be able to continue riding this wave,” said long-time Bundesliga professional Robert Weber and announced: “I’m really excited about the duel with Germany in a sold-out hall. It’s one of the biggest games that you can experience.”
DHB team relies on fans
The rivalry between the two teams is not as big as in football, but it is still maintained. “That’s a nice classic,” said left winger Lukas Mertens. Wolff and Co. definitely want to win it with the support of almost 20,000 fans in order to keep their chance of reaching the semi-finals alive.
“We hope that we can develop the flow with the incredible audience behind us,” said right winger Timo Kastening. However, captain Johannes Golla is not the only one who knows that this requires improvement in all parts of the team. “We are responsible for ensuring that the atmosphere here is really great. If we manage to do that, the hall will support us,” said the cyclist.
Things were particularly difficult against Iceland on offense. “We have to do a better job of attacking, it wasn’t that effective,” said Julian Köster. The backcourt player completed the victory with his goal a few seconds before the end and sent teammates and fans into ecstasy.
This feeling of exhilaration should carry the team to the next two points against Austria. The national coach doesn’t care about the rivalry anyway. “It’s none of my business,” said the 64-year-old Icelander and made it clear: “I just want to win games.”
Goalkeeper provides support
His protégés continue to rely on their exceptional keeper, who was the guarantee of victory against Iceland. “I don’t want to praise him too much. But you can say that in this condition he is probably the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment. He keeps us in the tournament, is our life insurance and our best man,” Golla said about Wolff. “We are happy that he is in such good spirits.”
Left winger Mertens summed it up succinctly: “Andi saved our asses. What he did was unbelievable.”
Gislason also knows what he has in the 32-year-old veteran goalkeeper. “Andi is one of our world-class players and an important leadership figure. He gives the boys a lot of security,” praised the national coach and added: “He has become more balanced and has matured into a world-class goalkeeper. I’m very pleased about that.”
Both of them fought out a lot of arguments during their time together at THW Kiel (2016 to 2019). “It was more difficult for him than for me. He was young, impulsive and always wanted to play. But Niklas Landin wasn’t that good when he came off the bench. That’s why Andi was always angry because he was never allowed to start,” reported Gislason in retrospect. At the same time, he assured: “Even if we had arguments in Kiel, our relationship was always good.”
For Axel Kromer, Wolff is “a trump card at the home European Championships that we will continue to build on. Having such a man on the team is worth his weight in gold,” said the sports director of the German Handball Association. The team is also relying on this against Austria.