The German handball players are not among the medal favorites at the World Cup. A year before the home EM, the DHB team wants to make positive headlines after recent weak tournament performances.
No snappy slogans, no pithy declarations of war: After seven tournament appearances in a row without a medal, Germany’s handball players see themselves as outsiders with the potential for a return to the top of the world at the World Cup that begins this Wednesday.
“It would be nice if we could give the fans a medal. But we’re not in a position to say that as a goal because we’re not among the favourites. We can’t dream, we have to be realistic,” announced national coach Alfred Gislason the route for the finals in Poland and Sweden.
Qatar as the opening opponent
On Thursday – one day after the opening game between co-hosts Poland and record champion France – the DHB entourage sets off from the training camp in Barsinghausen to Katowice. There, Asian champions Qatar are the opening opponents on Friday. Other rivals in preliminary round group E are Serbia and Algeria.
After all, the German team is traveling to Poland with good memories, where the last gold coup was achieved in 2016 with the European Championship triumph. The signs are similar. Back then, too, the DHB sent a relatively young team with many inexperienced players into the race, who surpassed themselves in the course of the tournament and delighted the fans in Germany.
Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff is one of five players in the current World Cup squad who was there back then. “It’s time for a medal again,” said the 31-year-old. “But that’s not the expectation and approach at this tournament. The World Cup is designed for us to develop as a team. We want to regain international recognition and be among the teams you don’t want to play against.”
Home EM next year
Finally, in 2024, the home European Championship is coming up, in which the team would like to play for a medal. “We are striving for a development, because we want to be fully there at the latest at the European Championships,” said DHB sports director Axel Kromer.
However, the association is also hoping for a successful World Cup appearance for marketing reasons, in order to rekindle the handball euphoria among the fans. That had ebbed away significantly in the corona pandemic and in view of the recent weak tournament performance. “Of course it helps us to organize the EM if we are successful in sport. The better we perform at the World Cup, the higher the probability that we will sell even more tickets for the EM,” said DHB CEO Mark Schober.
Gislason doesn’t really care. The national coach concentrates fully on his 18 World Cup drivers, who he believes have made a leap since the chaotic Corona EM last year with 18 positive cases in the DHB team and seventh place. “We have a really good mix in the team, which is growing together better and better. The mood is outstanding. Everyone is ambitious and knows what they can do,” said Gislason.
The 63-year-old Icelander doesn’t want to make his protégés smaller than they are. “We’re not among the favourites, but we have quality. We want to perform convincingly and achieve a good placement,” emphasized Gislason. The first contenders for gold are not just defending champions Denmark, Olympic champions France and European champions Sweden.
Group victory as an intermediate goal
The first goal of the German team is to win the group – if possible with a clean sheet. “It’s important to take as many points as possible into the main round, because we want to reach the knockout phase. If you make a mistake in the preliminary round, you can hardly make up for it,” said the national coach.
The DHB selection relies on factors such as passion, fighting spirit and teamwork. “We will be most successful when everyone fulfills their role and contributes what they can. We don’t have the individual skills like other nations. We have to be a team – and not just on paper, but also on the record. That will be our job,” said playmaker Juri Knorr.
He and his teammates are particularly looking forward to the fans returning to the halls in the nine World Cup locations after the games at the 2021 finals in Egypt had to take place in front of empty ranks due to Corona and there were also significant restrictions at the 2022 European Championship gave. “You don’t have to invoke the spirit of the World Cup because every player is looking forward to a World Cup in front of spectators,” said captain Johannes Golla.
Gislason, who took over the position of national coach at the beginning of February 2020 practically at the beginning of the pandemic, can hardly wait for his first normal tournament. “I’m really looking forward to the World Cup,” he said, formulating his very personal World Cup wish: “I hope that at the end of January we can say we played a really good tournament and that we’re proud of ours, regardless of where we placed performance.”