Olympic Games fixed, contract extension of the national coach fixed. So an all-round successful day at the all-important handball qualifying game against Austria? Not at all. Things are not so rosy between Alfred Gislason and the German Handball Association.
Just no careless mistakes, just nothing stupid. David Späth takes this requirement to heart very carefully. He stands on the sidelines and counts with his fingers. One two three four five six. Six German players are on the board. Then he looks up at the scoreboard: no time penalty ongoing. And again he goes through all his teammates on the blue surface with his fingers. Still six. Only then does he enter the field towards the goal.
It’s a small scene from the second half that represents what the German national handball team had planned to do in the all-important game in the Olympic qualification against Austria. Finally stop making so many mistakes. Be more effective offensively, be secure defensively. And then book the ticket to Paris. The pressure was great, huge. Not only because it was about the success of the team, but also about the job of national coach Alfred Gislason. Thanks to the 34:31 win, qualification has been achieved and the national handball team will represent Germany in France. With the Icelander on the sidelines.
The 65-year-old has to let that sink in first. While his players and coaching team are jumping around the hall like crazy, he stays a bit off to the side for now. The final phase of the game was too grueling, in which Austria intercepted the ball several more times with an offensive defense and was within one goal again. Gislason’s tension only gradually drops. At the subsequent press conference he can joke again.
The relationship between the coach and the association seems tense
And yet it becomes clear: the situation annoyed the experienced coach. “I was relatively calm about the whole situation,” he says, but also emphasizes: “Of course I wasn’t happy that it was directly in the press.” A clear criticism of the German Handball Association, which communicated the contract extension directly with Aber. In the past few days, Gislason had to answer a few sporting questions, especially those about his contract and the strange situation. He seemed increasingly unnerved.
The Icelander, who was not known to be a chatterbox anyway, became even more taciturn, smiled less, and looked more at his hands than at the questioners. The association is to blame for this, after all there was no need to extend the collaboration with Gislason before the qualifying tournament. The relationship between the coach and the association seems tense. Not the best prerequisites before the Olympic tournament, where, due to the few participating nations, you can only compete against top-class players. The groups will be drawn on April 16th.
The strange situation arose from a dilemma, say sports director Axel Kromer and DHB President Andreas Michelmann. “What solution could we have offered you so that you don’t ask a lot of questions during this tournament,” said Kromer to the journalists. And Michelmann explains the dilemma that existed from the association’s point of view: If only the extension had been communicated and the team had failed in qualifying, the clause would have had to be subsequently confessed. The tenor: The association wanted to create peace, including for the team.
But that didn’t work. There was a lot of discussion and it was attributed to the team also having to play for the coach. “I think there was too much pressure on the team. I think it was also due to my situation,” says Gislason.
“Otherwise I would have signed somewhere else”
He reports openly about the conversations. According to him, the contract should actually have been extended after the World Cup in Poland last year. Then there were a lot of “experiments” with the team, only friendly games against the absolute top teams Denmark, Spain and Sweden, “that didn’t always look good.” In the fall he already had a few other inquiries. “I wanted to know what the DHB wanted, otherwise I would have signed somewhere else some time ago.”
Michelmann also addresses this in his defense. What would have happened if Gislason had signed somewhere else in between. It would then have been said: “How stupid are you at the DHB, Dagur Sigurdsson ran away from you back then. Why didn’t you learn anything?” Sigurdsson, who was the new national coach in Saturday’s defeat against Croatia, moved on to Japan in 2017 after winning the European Championship title and Olympic bronze from the DHB.
Now it’s worked out, with a much more mature performance than the day before against Croatia, Germany gets the ticket they’ve been longing for. “It’s a weight off my heart,” said Michelmann. “I’m most happy for the team and the coach.” The president’s own demands, prestige and the economic aspect should also suit him.
This Sunday a team presented itself whose body language was right from the start, who played with aggression without being unfair, where everyone went after everyone else. The supposed déjà vu of never-ending technical errors is quickly broken. After the first two botched attacks, the ball is running. The 18:15 half-time lead clearly shows the direction the team is heading.
The young and the pension refuser
Renars Uscins is once again the best thrower and is voted player of the game by the fans for the third time in the third game. Because goalkeeper Andreas Wolff has problems with throws from the backcourt, Späth comes in – and saves the Austrians’ first two attempts. The emotional bouncy ball is back immediately, further heating up the already spectacular atmosphere in the ZAG Arena in Hanover. Kromer emphasizes the positive, in his opinion the burden in the team is now spread across more shoulders. “We have been very dependent on Juri Knorr in the past few months and have spread this across several shoulders. That suits us well.” That will be good for the team.
And should also help with the fluctuating performance of the young players who still have the status of talent. The 21-year-old Uscins showed outstanding performances in front of his home crowd, Julian Köster plays so calmly that you can easily forget that he only turned 24 on Saturday, and Knorr won’t be until May. Späth and Nils Lichtlein are also just 21 years old. They are all the talented young people that Gislason likes to talk about. “I’m looking forward to continuing to accompany this young, talented team,” he says, with a view to the home World Cup in 2027, until which his contract now runs.
Speaking of age, he would not have become a pensioner if Germany had failed. Not only because others would sign him immediately, but also out of self-protection. “I once tried to quit handball, but it didn’t work.” The man who is so passionate about the sport is now staying with the DHB team. Now all that remains to be done is to smooth things out regarding the contractual clause before the trip to Paris.