Handball
Groetzki’s injury dampens German European Championship euphoria
Patrick Groetzki was injured in the friendly against Portugal. photo
© Frank Molter/dpa
Patrick Groetzki’s shock diagnosis dampens the mood among Germany’s handball players. The European Championship squad shrinks to 17 players. National coach Gislason has to reschedule – but has several options.
The shock diagnosis reached Germany’s handball players on the way to Cologne. Four days before the start of the European Championship, the team was forced to retire due to injury Patrick Groetzki.
The selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) has to undertake the medal mission at their home tournament without their oldest national player at 34 and most experienced with 173 international matches. “An initial radiological examination showed that the old foot injury, which had kept Groetzki out of action until the beginning of December, had recurred,” said the DHB after the successful European Championship dress rehearsal against Portugal. Groetzki did not experience the last minutes of the 35:31 in the Kiel Arena, but was already being examined in the hospital.
What happened? The right winger from the Rhein-Neckar Löwen was about to jump in the 23rd minute when he stopped his movement and finally left the field limping. When Groetzki buried his pained face in a large towel, he probably already knew what was to be officially announced a few hours later. “It’s really very bitter, but unfortunately injuries are part of sport. And unfortunately it happened to me at the worst time,” Groetzki told “Mannheimer Morgen”.
German European Championship squad is shrinking
It is the second setback within a few weeks for the cup winners, and for national coach Alfred Gislason it is the next unforeseen loss after Marian Michalczik’s injury. And for the entire team, it was a bitter mood dampener in the midst of the euphoria after two friendly wins against Portugal. “First and foremost, this is an extremely bitter diagnosis for Patrick. We feel for him and wish him all the best for the upcoming rehab,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer.
The German squad continues to shrink. Late on Saturday evening, 17 players traveled to North Rhine-Westphalia, where the spectacular opening game against Switzerland will take place on Wednesday in front of 53,000 people in the Düsseldorf football arena. Other opponents in the preliminary round are North Macedonia and world champion France.
Two options on the right wing
Gislason has to reschedule. Tim Hornke and Lukas Zerbe are two other right wingers in the large 35-man squad for the European Championships. “We will now coordinate internally how we will react after this failure. We have until January 9th to report the official squad to the EHF,” said Kromer. But the 46-year-old also knows that Groetzki’s experience is irreplaceable.
The Pforzheimer is considered a haven of peace in the German national team. Someone who won Olympic bronze in Rio in 2016 and knows how to deal with pressure and successfully compete in major tournaments. A player who could have been a solid point of reference for the newcomers in the DHB team around the U21 world champions around Nils Lichtlein and David Späth. Instead, the 34-year-old traveled to Mannheim on Sunday, where further examinations are planned in coordination with his club Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
Groetzki “a communicative character”
Even before the diagnosis, Späth described his teammate as an “extremely important player” and emphasized Groetzki’s experience. Captain Johannes Golla described his teammate as a “very communicative character who fits well into the group”. Backcourt player Julian Köster spoke of a “bitter failure”.