Austria’s handball players are performing one miracle after another at the European Championships in Germany. While there are no Carinthians in the red-white-red squad, there is one at the top: association president Markus Plazer. The ÖHB boss criticizes the infrastructure in this country – and wants the old days back in Carinthia too.
Carinthians in the national handball team? You search in vain! Bernd Friede (62 games), Marian Klopcic (51) and Dean Pomorisac (1) have ended their careers. St. Veiter Sebastain Spendier (10/ Schwaz) was not nominated for the current European Championship in Germany. After all, there is someone on call with the Ferlach wing Mathias Rath. And right at the top, a Carinthian is laughing down: Markus Plazer, President of our Handball Association (ÖHB) since 2021. “Now everything is just an extra task.” Of course, the Klagenfurt native was with the big ones Sensations (including the 33:33 against vice-world champion Spain or the 22:22 against superior Germany!) in Mannheim and Cologne. “If someone had told me that we, as a small handball nation, would survive the preliminary round with world powers like Spain, Croatia and Romania, I would never have believed it,” the 62-year-old cheers, emphasizing: “Everything that follows now, It’s a bonus!” Too few clubs in Carinthia. But why isn’t Plazer’s fellow countryman there? “At that time, Carinthia had five clubs in Klagenfurt, others in Wolfsberg, Villach, Feldkirchen and St. Veit. Today there is only Ferlach at the top – they do a great job, but they always have five or six legionnaires in important positions. In addition, there is only the SVVW and KAC, both of which want to make a difference with the young talent,” explains Plazer. Meanwhile, HC Kärnten has completely disappeared from the scene. . “We don’t have a suitable infrastructure!” The deputy state police director also sees a need to catch up in terms of infrastructure. “In Austria in general and of course also in Carinthia. Clubs have to play poker with schools about hall times. In Slovenia, for example, there are their own halls and even open-air spaces. And in Klagenfurt, sports fields are empty during the holidays because they are cordoned off. And that in the so-called sports state capital, which doesn’t even have an indoor swimming pool. . .”
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