“Will sing both hymns”
The national coach is now in double trouble
By Till Erdenberger, Berlin
January 17, 2024, 10:32 a.m
The German national handball team loses for the first time at the home European Championship; any further defeat would probably mean the end of all dreams of a rousing finale. The upcoming game is a special test for national coach Alfred Gíslason.
He was “very proud” of his team, said national coach Alfred Gíslason. The team, the German national handball team, had previously played a great game against the record world champions France, and with just ten minutes to go the co-favorites for the European Championship title were on the verge of defeat. The handball crowd raced, with the big victory in mind. But points are not awarded on the verge of victory or defeat. The French won 33:30, a game that the Germans didn’t have to lose. And so the DHB team goes into the main round of the home European Championship with a little frustration, a lot of confidence, but zero points.
“Of course I’m disappointed that we lost the game. Overall, we fought well. There were little things that we were missing,” said goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who was particularly strong in the second half. “Overall, we held up well; we kept up with the French for a long time.” They want to “get a few percent better in every game,” backroom player Sebastian Heymann revealed the German team’s demands on itself. The DHB completed the two compulsory tasks at the start against Switzerland (27:14) and North Macedonia (34:25). Team between excitement and sovereignty, the first real yardstick at medal level gave an initial idea of the host’s true performance.
Only finals left
One of the main reasons they identified for their elimination from the World Cup a year ago against the same opponents was the depth of the squad. In January 2024, France’s coach Guillaume Gille was also able to change at will without any loss of quality. Gíslason rotated heavily in the first two games and repeatedly gave his key players Knorr and Golla a breather.
But now the national coach lost courage or trust in his second row, Golla and Knorr had to do hard work over almost the entire distance. Golla “had what felt like two hundred duels on the opponent’s side and then another hundred on his own,” as colleague Justus Fischer described the captain’s evening. Maybe he should have changed earlier, the 64-year-old admitted, maybe he should have given “Golla a few minutes’ break” – “but afterwards you’re always smarter. And maybe then we would have given the game away.” Gíslason frankly explained that the French, this “world selection” (Wolff), were a bit too big for a few of his players.
“The French deserved to win,” said Gíslason. Nevertheless, he looked ahead optimistically: “Of course it would have been great if we could have taken the two points from today. We didn’t do that and we didn’t deserve that. But there was a lot of positive things there. We still have the goal to get to the semi-finals.”
Now the world-class coach is under double pressure: a defeat against Iceland in the first main round game on Thursday (8.30 p.m./ZDF, Dyn and in the live ticker on ntv.de) would almost certainly mean the abrupt end of all German dreams of a winter fairy tale shimmering with precious metals. Each of the four games in the main round is an anticipated final. The first one, however, is particularly complicated for Gíslason, the Icelander.
“A little weird”
Even before the European Championships, Gíslason had explained in a conversation with the German Press Agency that it was difficult for him to play with the DHB team against Iceland. It’s a bit strange when you’re on the other side during the national anthems stands,” said the long-time Bundesliga coach. The former backcourt player played 190 games for the Icelandic national team, and in 2007, as national coach, he led them to eighth place at the World Cup in Germany – the biggest success for the small country to date.
This time they traveled to Germany with great ambitions after disappointing previous tournaments, the backcourt with the two Magdeburg players Gisli Kristjansson and Omar Ingi Magnusson embodies absolute world class, Germany’s director Juri Knorr even sees Iceland as a secret favorite. And then they delivered a disappointing preliminary round: Due to the disastrous 25:33 in the preliminary round final against Hungary, the team led by former world handball player Aron Palmarsson also has no points. The frustration is great: “I don’t have an answer, to be honest. We make so many childish, technical mistakes – that simply can’t be true,” said the former Bundesliga professional from THW Kiel to the German Press Agency. “Maybe it’s good for us that we meet the Germans after a game like this. We have to be there at 120 percent.”
“I can guarantee that”
His elderly father will now be sitting in the stands in Cologne, as will many other family members, said Gislason. He is curious to see which jersey his family will wear – and will watch it closely. He will “sing both national anthems, even if it’s difficult,” but beyond that he made no concessions; the loyalties are of course clearly divided: “I will do everything to win this game. I can guarantee that. I’m Icelandic “But I work with the German team and love this team,” Gislason assured.
Doubts about the loyalties of Gislason, who is highly valued as a coach and personality not only in German handball, are of course nonsense. Nevertheless, the national coach reiterated: “Maybe I’m selfish, but I also always want to win among friends or family.” He has no other choice.