DHB star is “incredibly happy”
As Wolff suffers, a debt is finally repaid
By Till Erdenberger, Cologne
January 23, 2024, 9:33 p.m
Andreas Wolff plays an inspiring European Championship. The goalkeeper of the German national handball team is keeping his team on course for the semi-finals with world-class performances in a row. But finally he gives his colleagues the opportunity to keep a promise.
Less than 34 minutes had been played when the German national handball team had broken Hungary: Shortly after the start of the second half of the important European Championship main round game, coach Chema Rodríguez wanted to take a timeout to break the German frenzy. When the buzzer sounded signaling the interruption, the German players pumped themselves up, intoxicated by their own performance.
Most of the 19,750 spectators in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne celebrated the DHB team for an offensive that finally broke all chains and a defense that built a remarkable bulwark against Hungary’s team of colossi with great strength and tremendous mobility. After 34 minutes, the hosts were fully back in this tournament, in which big goals can only be achieved with great euphoria. It was a spectacle, an emotional release after days of self-doubt. Andreas Wolff had not yet held the ball at this point when Germany celebrated. Often it was the goalkeeper who single-handedly brought the arena to a boil with spectacular saves; this time his colleagues stepped in.
“I put all the balls in myself”
Wolff, this goalkeeper titan, who had previously either “saved the German team’s ass” (left winger Lukas Mertens) or “kept it in the tournament” (captain Johannes Golla) with world-class performances in a row, had to suffer for a long time against Hungary. “The boys showed a completely different face in attack today,” said Wolff, looking at the people in front of him. And added with a laugh: “Unfortunately I showed a completely different face in the first half. I was on all the balls and put all the balls in myself.”
After less than a quarter of an hour, the 32-year-old cleared the goal. Because David Späth wasn’t having any luck either, Wolff took over again before the break. But nothing changed at first: it took around 40 minutes for Wolff, the “current best goalkeeper in the world,” whom his captain Golla had recently named him, to make his first real save.
“I have no idea why that was the case today. Normally, before a game with statistics like that, you already felt that you were a little unfocused or off track,” said Wolff, who never tired of the “fantastic defensive work.” to praise his colleagues. “I read the throws well, I reacted well – and then I managed to catch the balls so that they landed behind me in the goal. If you count the balls that I bowled in myself, you’re definitely going to get there to a double-digit number. That’s quite remarkable.”
In the past, the goalkeeper said, he would have “torn himself to pieces” after a game like that. The fact that he came back from the 40-minute crisis is no coincidence, but the result of a self-imposed process: “The sense of duty, having to play a good tournament, having to carry the whole team on my shoulders” came to this at some point led to “that you lost yourself in yourself,” Wolff recently reported in an ARD documentary. He sought professional help from a psychologist and together they worked out new ways to channel his great strengths and great ambition into great quality. “I learned that it’s okay to make a mistake. Then you concede a stupid ball. You won’t be able to change that, but it’s not the end of the world either. Then you concentrate on the next one .”
“I’m incredibly happy”
In the last twenty minutes of the game against Hungary, the annoyed but by no means self-destructive Wolff actually increased his catch rate to a strong 31 percent and ensured that for the first time in this European Championship main round, the German fans shouted “yours” well before the final siren “Team were able to celebrate. In the end he saved nine balls. Given the strongest main round performance of his colleagues, it was the best time for a long period of poor ratings. “I’m glad that the boys carried me through the first half,” he thanked his teammates.
“I hope that we can show over the course of the tournament that we can take the pressure off him and David if things don’t go well for both of them for twenty minutes,” said right winger Timo Kastening after the tremor victory over Iceland (26:24). said. Wolff had two seven-meter penalties in the last few minutes and previously saved ball for ball. Two days later, against Austria, he repaired his team’s incredibly nervous performance with 14 saves. Now they redeemed their “debt”.
“I’m incredibly happy that Andi had the game today where he was a bit unlucky,” said left winger Rune Dahmke after the win. “It had to come at some point. And today we were able to carry it. However, it shouldn’t happen at the same time that we have a misfire together,” laughed the Kieler, who was particularly strong in defense against Hungary. “But when you have Andi behind you, you always have the confidence that he’ll come at some point! Today he took a little longer.”