Wednesday January 12, 2022
Stars, mode, broadcast
Corona disrupts the handball EM even before the start
The incidences in Europe are almost everywhere in the three-digit range, but the handball championship is still played in front of spectators. The final rounds even in front of a full house. The DHB selection does not really know what it can do, while the favorites should be based on Bob Hanning’s standards.
What’s up?
The 15th European Handball Championship in Slovakia and Hungary starts on Thursday, the medal games will take place on January 30th in Budapest. The German team will take on the action against Belarus on Friday (6 p.m. / ARD) and will also face Austria (January 16) and Poland (January 18) in the evenly matched preliminary group D in Bratislava.
What are the German chances?
The DHB team is like a lucky bag. From preliminary rounds to medal games: everything seems possible. Nine tournament debutants – as seen in the 35:34 success in the EM dress rehearsal against Olympic champion France – provide plenty of fresh air. But you still have to prove yourself when it comes to the whole picture. This time the association and national coach Alfred Gislason decided not to set an official objective. Since the sensational European Championship title in 2016, German handball has been waiting for a place on the podium.
How does the German team rate their own chances?
Timo Kastening does not see the German team among the best four nations: “That is currently the reality, accordingly you have to lower expectations a bit,” said the right wing of Bundesliga club MT Melsungen in a Spox interview. For the 26-year-old left-hander, there is no question that “we will be able to reach the top of the world again in the near future and we will also be able to play ourselves into a frenzy during a tournament”. The games in the preliminary round could all be won, but on bad days they could all be lost. Kastening: “If you lose the first two games, everything you said before the tournament doesn’t matter.”
Who are the favorites?
World champion Denmark is of course one of the title candidates, the team around three-time world handball player Mikkel Hansen and the up-and-coming Mathias Gidsel successfully defended the world championship title last year. Olympic champion France is always mentioned when it comes to favorites. Nikola Karabatic may now be 37 years old, his class is still undisputed. In addition, with 324 international matches, he is by far the most experienced professional to play at this European Championship. In its shadow, however, the next generation has long since grown up in players like Ludovic Fabregas and Dika Mem.
Karabatic was subject to the DHB selection in the test with 34:35.
(Photo: imago images / wolf-sportfoto)
The Spanish selection is aiming for the title hat-trick after the successes in 2018 and 2020, with the lost final in 2016 against Germany, the Iberians were even in the final three times in a row. The legendary Raul Entrerrios is no longer there, but a change looks different in view of the veterans in the squad. After winning World Cup silver in 2017 and 2019 and European Championship bronze in 2020, Norway is looking at the big coup, the first big title in men’s handball. The performance of back space star Sander Sagosen will be elementary for this. Croatia lost to the Spaniards in the final two years ago and is again an aspirant for the finals – even if an exceptional professional misses the start of the tournament (see below).
What’s the mode like?
The preliminary round is played in six groups of four. The first two teams in each group move into the main round, in which there are then two groups of six. The two best-placed teams of the two main round groups reach the semifinals, the third-placed teams play off the fifth place. All finals will be played in Budapest.
How much does Corona influence the tournament?
Corona was the big topic of the past few days. “It’s scary when you see the number of infections in European handball,” said DHB captain Johannes Golla on ARD. While the German team has so far been spared the virus, a number of infections made the headlines in other nations. When numerous stars threatened to be canceled for the start of the tournament, the European Handball Federation (EHF) shortened the mandatory quarantine of players who tested positive for the EM from 14 to 5 days. The organizers have opted for a strict hygiene concept with a close-knit test strategy, but there will not be a completely sealed off tournament bubble such as the one at the World Cup in Egypt a year ago. Well-known professionals such as the Croatians Domagoj Duvnjak and Luka Cindric or the Dane Jannick Green will miss the start of the tournament due to the corona, but they can still hope for the further course.
Are spectators allowed?
Yes. As in all of Europe, the incidences in the host countries have been in the three-digit range for weeks and the vaccination rates are well below those in Germany (under 50 in Slovakia, just over 60 in Hungary). However, the Slovak authorities have approved a maximum occupancy rate of 25 percent, which corresponds to 2500 spectators in the German pre- and main round venue Bratislava. In Budapest, where the game will only be played from the semi-finals, there are currently no restrictions whatsoever.
How can you follow the European Championship games from home?
Handball fans in Germany can look forward to an extensive range of moving images. ARD and ZDF broadcast all German EM appearances live, and there are up to 18 games without German participation on free TV at Eurosport. And if that’s not enough, you can watch all 65 EM games live and on demand on the Internet on Sportdeutschland.TV. The online platform offers the digital tournament pass at a price of twelve euros; individual games can be purchased for 3.50 euros.
What else could be said?
Bob Hanning may not have been Vice President of the DHB since last year, but the coach of third division club 1. VfL Potsdam, the cooperation partner of his club Füchse Berlin, is still available for clear announcements. His prognosis for the tournament, expressed in “Kicker”: “Whoever has the fewest corona cases will be European champions.”