“Didn’t really want to leave”
Ukraine’s handball players find refuge in Germany
03/29/2022 11:59 am
The handball players of the Ukrainian national team are allowed to stay in Großwallstadt in Bavaria for 20 days. Coach Slava Lochmann is already hoping for an extension, because the horrors of war leave no one indifferent. He emphasizes: You can fight in the hall, but not with a weapon.
The horror of the Russian war of aggression slammed into Slava Lochmann’s life in the early hours of February 24th. “We woke up at 4:30 a.m. to the sound of the bombs,” reports the national coach of the Ukrainian national handball team, visibly moved. Since then, nothing has been the same for the 44-year-old.
Slava Lochmann played for Großwallstadt from 2004 to 2007.
(Photo: imago images/PanoramaC)
The former Bundesliga professional from TV Großwallstadt fled with his family from their apartment in the center of Kiev to a friend on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. When the situation became more and more threatening, Lochmann set off with his wife and three children via Hungary at the beginning of March to Großwallstadt, where he still has many friends and acquaintances from his active days. “It’s important that my family is safe,” says the former backcourt player.
In the meantime, he has made up for all national players who do not play for clubs abroad. They were also allowed to take their families with them. “I didn’t really want to leave. But it was important to me to get my wife and children to safety,” reports goalkeeper Gennady Komok.
Plane diverted with top club
The 34-year-old is one of eleven players who are under contract with top club Motor Zaporizhschja and, like Lochmann, were surprised by the Russian attack. When the team returned from the Champions League group game at Polish club Vive Kielce on February 24, Zaporizhia airport was under fire. The plane was diverted to Kyiv, where it had to land in a field. War was also raging in the capital.
The stay in Germany brings back some normality. But the special permit from the Ukrainian sports minister is initially only valid for 20 days. Lochmann hopes for more time. “I spoke to our federation president. Maybe we can stay two more months. I hope the team doesn’t have to go home,” he says.
Handball is an important outlet for Lochmann, because the terrible events at home won’t let him go. “When we train or play, I’m 100 percent focused on the team. Otherwise, I only think about my parents, my country and what’s happening there now,” says the former backcourt player.
Above all, worrying about his mother and father gets on his nerves. Both live in Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine. When he called them the other day, Lochmann says, a bomb went off somewhere in the city. Then the sirens wailed. “They had to go to the air-raid shelter. They sit there all day,” reports the gentle giant. “That sucks.”
“We are not soldiers”
Staying at home and fighting the aggressors like some athletes do was not an option for him. “We don’t fight at the front, we fight indoors. We’re not soldiers. I’ve never held a gun in my life, only ever held a ball,” says Lochmann and adds: “Handball is my life. Mine I carry the country in my heart.”
In his view, the performances of Ukrainian athletes at competitions are also of great importance. “We have to show that we have a country,” emphasizes Lochmann. That’s why there’s two hours of training twice a day in Großwallstadt. Qualification for the European Championship 2024 in Germany begins in autumn. “We have to be prepared for that,” says the coach.
In addition, he is still flirting with participation in the 2023 World Cup, although Ukraine could not play the playoff qualifiers against Finland because of the war. “I hope that we get a wildcard for the World Cup,” says Lochmann. But one thing is even more important to him. “My greatest wish is for the war to end quickly. Far too many people have already died, especially children,” says the family man, adding desperately: “And for what?”