Gislason with new serenity
Icelandic volcano no longer explodes
By Michael Wilkening, Bratislava
01/24/2022, 11:55 am
Sometimes successful coach Alfred Gislason explodes. Then he stands at the edge of the field and becomes a volcano. But he has long since made a change. At the European Handball Championship, he forms a unit with the young team plagued by Corona. “I’m really having fun,” says the Icelander.
He still exists, the well-known Alfred Gislason, who stands on the sidelines gesticulating wildly and can explode from one second to the next like a volcano on his home island of Iceland. In the 21:25 defeat against Sweden on Sunday evening, the coach of the German national handball team was terribly upset in the second half when his protégés missed several opportunities in the second half with sloppy passes in the counterattack. The defeat against the Scandinavians destroyed the last theoretical hopes of reaching the semi-finals at the European Championships in Slovakia and Hungary. For Gislason, who is used to success, it is unusual not to be among the top players, but in the days in Bratislava the national coach showed that he has made a change and can therefore be the right man for the rebuilding that has been initiated.
There were doubts about this ability. Henning Fritz, former world-class goalkeeper and world champion from 2007, verbalized them immediately before the start of the European Championship. “If you decide to change the team and have a lot of young players, is Alfred Gislason also a future-oriented solution?” he asked himself, expressing what some in the handball world were thinking. Alfred Gislason was the coach of THW Kiel for eleven years, during which time he won major titles year after year, the Champions League alone three times. Gislason knows the taste of victory, but has always achieved it with exceptionally well-managed teams. He did not appear as a talent developer.
Close bond after caesura
But it is precisely this quality that is necessary if the German national team is to succeed in making its way back to the top of the world in a few years. After the Olympic Games in Tokyo almost six months ago, there was a turning point within the team because established forces such as Uwe Gensheimer, Steffen Weinhold, Johannes Bitter and Hendrik Pekeler resigned or announced a longer break. Germany, which had failed to win a medal at major tournaments, had to reposition themselves – and the association’s leadership decided to do this with the 62-year-old Icelander. Gislason’s contract was extended until 2024 ahead of the European Championship.
In Bratislava, where the Germans landed three victories in the preliminary round but then lost three times in the main round, this decision proved to be the right one. The young German team and the highly decorated coach have developed a close bond with each other. The players believe in what the coach teaches them, which is a key requirement for success in team sports. Gislason himself has reinvented himself because he has come to terms with not working with top international players but has players with him whom he should raise to this level if possible.
Mild Gislason variant
This has led to an unprecedented level of composure for the Icelander. “Alfred has calmed down considerably, you can see that off the pitch in particular,” says Patrick Wiencek. The circle runner knows the coach from his time in Kiel and has observed a change. “He has changed in dealing with the young people, in my opinion positively,” explains the veteran within the German team. Gislason has accepted that he cannot win every game with this team, and his newfound mildness has also helped to accept the confusion and many personnel changes caused by the Corona outbreak.
Despite the setbacks, the national coach enjoyed working with players who make mistakes and lack quality – but who sacrifice themselves for the team. “I really enjoy it, I’m very proud of the boys,” says Gislason, noticeably honest. The national coach laughs and smiles much more frequently during the European Championships than in the first two years of his work at the DHB. “Alfred has become more relaxed,” Rune Dahmke remarked. The left wing won many titles with Gislason in Kiel and got to know his long-time coach in Bratislava. “You can’t lose in Kiel and you have the position that Denmark has at the European Championships,” says Dahmke. Gislason doesn’t feel this absolute pressure at the moment, but is willing to be able to feel it again with the German handball players in a few years. Despite or because of the calmness that has been gained.