The handball player Juri Knorr has the ability to surprise his national coach in an absolutely positive way in one moment – and in the next moment to drive him completely crazy. This could be seen at the weekend in the two final test matches before the start of the World Cup (from January 12 in Poland and Sweden), especially in the first showdown with Iceland on Saturday in Bremen.
Knorr played a first half in which everyone could see the enormous potential inherent in this highly talented player – and that he could actually be the handball player who will lead the German team in the coming decade. Knorr acted like a very experienced middleman who has already fought many handball battles – and not a 22-year-old who has not even played 30 international matches. The son of 83-time German national player Thomas Knorr seized control of the game; it was hard for the Icelanders to tell whether he was looking for a finish himself in attack or whether he pushed through to a better-positioned team-mate at the last moment.
He played with so much esprit and wit that the thought that the German handball players could finally play for medals again with this Juri Knorr in major tournaments sent the whole hall into ecstasy. “He makes a huge game,” said national coach Alfred Gislason, “but only for 40 minutes”.
Gislason now relies on Knorr – and not just at the EM 2024
Because there was also the other Knorr, the erratic and unfocused one, who made worse and worse decisions towards the end of the game, who failed the simplest passes, who drove Gislason to the brink of madness. The Icelander found surprisingly clear words for the drop in performance of his young game driver. Knorr made “a lot, a lot of technical mistakes,” criticized Gislason. “Incredibly expensive mistakes” are those. With six goals, the DHB team led in between and steered towards a safe friendly victory against a World Cup secret favorite. In the end Iceland won 31:30 (14:18). A badly unnecessary defeat, not only, but also because of Knorr.
Gislason’s decision to formulate his criticism publicly on television after the game allowed several conclusions, in particular that there is no longer a grace period for Knorr under the Icelander. The national coach does not want to build up the playmaker of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen for another year, according to his age, in order to let Knorr on the big stage at the 2024 home European Championship. No, Gislason already needs Knorr because he is a player who takes the German game to a completely different level in good moments. He needs it now to close the gap to the top nations at the World Cup. Hence the many minutes of play for Knorr, hence the clearly worded criticism.
Gislason’s plan is clear: Knorr should be the middleman of the German team at this World Cup – and not a backup. The national coach thinks Knorr is ready for it.
The good news is that Knorr also feels ready. He is generally good at dealing with criticism; the difficult phase last winter, when Knorr – not vaccinated – missed the European Championships in Hungary and Slovakia and faced a lot of headwind, made him stronger. As of this season, Knorr is no longer a youth playmaker: his apprenticeship at FC Barcelona and at the Rhein-Neckar Löwen under Andy Schmid are over, now Knorr leads his team, in the Bundesliga he is even third in the top scorer list. People who see him in training every day attest him a huge step.
In the second game, Knorr scored four times in the first ten minutes
In the second game of Germany against Iceland, on Sunday in Hanover, Knorr showed his class. As if the public criticism of Gislason from the day before hadn’t existed, he started extremely self-confidently. Four goals in the first ten minutes, three of them seven meters. Once he flew past his opponent, who abused him badly; Shortly before the ground he let go of a throw out of extreme distress, which hissed into the goal from a difficult angle. Gislason seemed quite content.
The big slump didn’t happen this time. Knorr was the most accurate German player with 13 goals, the DHB team won the last test before the start of the World Cup 33:31 (19:14). That looked like a performance that the German team could show up for at the World Cup.
In Poland and Sweden, Knorr wants to show that the national coach is right to rely on him. He wanted to “play a bigger role,” said Knorr: “And it’s also nice that something is expected of me.” Being able to withstand criticism and deal with pressure are good prerequisites for getting far in handball.