European Handball Championship
Swiss top star Andy Schmid is worried about having a pee break at the European Championship game
Andy Schmid from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen. He is in action for the Swiss team at the start of the European Handball Championships.
© Uwe Anspach/dpa/archive image / DPA
At the European Handball Championships there are more spectators, more space – and more routes. A match in a football stadium is simply different. The Swiss top star Andy Schmid has to say goodbye to his habits.
Before the start of the European Handball Championships and the opening game against Germany, Swiss handball player Andy Schmid finds the backdrop in the Düsseldorf football stadium “takes getting used to and surreal”. “Everything is different. I usually go to the toilet again during the warm-up. The path is a little further here now. I have to be careful that my lactate doesn’t skyrocket,” said the 40-year-old playmaker before the duel with the Selection of the German Handball Association this Wednesday (8.45 p.m./ZDF/Dyn, You can find the game plan here). He also still has to get used to the temperatures in the hall. These are reportedly quite high because of all the lights.
The start of the European Handball Championship in front of 53,000 spectators – that’s a record
53,000 spectators are expected in the converted arena. A handball game has never taken place in front of a larger audience. “Everything is a bit more spacious,” said Schmid, looking at the free space behind the goals and added: “As a creature of habit, you have to say goodbye to your habits.”
The long-time professional from Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen sees the pressure before the neighborhood duel on the German side. “But we also know that on good days we can push such nations into a corner. Of course we hope that Germany feels the pressure and the initial nervousness,” said Schmid, who is ending his active career at the Swiss club HC Kriens-Luzern.
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You can see in the photo series: A DHB selection made up of veterans and “young wild ones” is at the start at the European Handball Championships in Germany. It starts this Wednesday – against Switzerland. An insight into the team around coach Alfred Gislason.