The EM hype in a quick check
The Chancellor delivers and the DHB team keeps the party going
By Till Erdenberger, Berlin
January 14, 2024, 10:48 p.m
The German national handball team starts successfully from the frenzy into the crazy everyday life of the European Handball Championship. After the world record spectacle, a confident performance of duty is enough for the first milestone.
What actually happened in the arena in Berlin?
The first piece of good news for the German national handball team was already there when they were still sitting in the dressing room: In the first game of the evening, Switzerland took a bad hit in the world record game in Düsseldorf at the start of the European Championship against the DHB team , sensationally took a point from the big favorites France with 26:26. And so sorted out the performance of the German team, which, supported by a merciless defense, only conceded 14 goals.
The fact that at the end of this handball evening, which was once again a success from a German perspective, the “Oh how is that beautiful”-O-meter, as it is used again and again in the halls of the country with a mixture of reflex and habit, was rejected, but they have to make up for it Platte took care of itself again: against the North Macedonians, who were completely overwhelmed at times, the German team’s early entry at 34:25 (18:13) was never in danger.
A lot of inspired moments from the axis from playmaker Juri Knorr and pivot Johannes Golla and an attentive defense that won numerous ball wins and easy goals were enough for a clear lead after the first half – in which – and this is the most surprising news of the evening – the German goalkeeping performance played no role at all.
The guests never had a chance, not even when the German team briefly sagged in the second half. Goal after goal, the team, which was wildly changing over the course of the game, pulled away, and in the end there was a clear victory. Thanks to an efficient, sometimes fast-paced game against a dissolving opponent’s retreat. With beautiful, sometimes spectacular goals. And nothing that has to scare the French. But they have enough to do with themselves for now.
This is what it was like in the hall:
It got really loud twice in the Berlin Mercedes-Benz Arena around the kick-off of the second preliminary round game: when goalkeeper hero Andreas Wolff came in – and when the presence of guest of honor Olaf Scholz was announced. While the 2016 European champion was celebrated frenetically, the 2024 Chancellor was booed.
The intoxication from the opening game was by no means followed by a hangover. No, it should come to the German handball people sometime in the week after January 28th, after the final weekend of this home European Championship. But every good party also needs phases of relative calm. The second German preliminary round game was not a rush, the Mercedes-Benz Arena was not the stage for the next big spectacle. Of course, it was sold out with 13,571 spectators. But it wasn’t a world record game, it wasn’t a spectacle, it wasn’t a crime thriller and it wasn’t a game for sporting survival. National coach Alfred Gislason spoke of the “friendly match atmosphere”. The height of the fall was low and at the end of the day the DHB team ensured a one-sided handball game even without the great shine. You have to be able to endure that sometimes.
The scene of the game:
Hold on tight, you can even rub your eyes: Andreas Wolff, Germany’s super goalkeeper, only saved nine percent of the throws that hit his goal. The 32-year-old produced a parade. A non-performance after Wolff delivered an incredible performance at the start. Other days will come again, Wolff is a world-class support who must pave the way to greater goals. Now Wolff gave the goal away early for the young David Späth. And the U21 world champion woke up the audience, who had settled in early with the comfortable feeling of an inevitable mandatory victory, with three saves at the start of the second half. Then everything went back to normal.
Will Germany now become European champions?
These tournaments, in sport itself, are about results. About important points for advancement, for titles, for achieving goals and successes. Soberly speaking, the German national team secured two important points against North Macedonia, and the first milestone, the main round, has been reached ahead of schedule. That’s not a success, the goals are completely different and go well beyond the main round. The dreams anyway.
But these victories also have soft factors: the handball euphoria should carry the team through the tournament, they had repeatedly invoked the home advantage. The national coach, the players, those in charge. The success over the toxic but overwhelmed outsider now fit perfectly into the script: the excitement of the world record opening game was followed by a confident mandatory victory.
Another of these accompanying factors that can help the German team in the further course of the tournament: As against Switzerland, the national coach was able to give important players a long break. Captain Johannes Golla became a part-time worker after less than a quarter of an hour, and the offensively unhappy Julian Köster was permanently sent to the bench a short time later. As the game progressed, Gislason made substitutions and gave the entire squad playing time. That helps now that the team has entered the usual two-day rhythm at major tournaments.
Of course, the evening does not change the situation before the group final against Olympic champions France – at least not for the German team with a view to the main round: If the DHB team beats the plucked French, they will take two points on the way to the semi-finals. If we lost in the last preliminary round game, it would be zero.
How did the top politician fare this time?
With the Chancellor in the main round: After Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened the European Championships in Düsseldorf, Olaf Scholz stopped by. The protocol did not provide for the Chancellor to appear at a microphone. Steinmeier caused astonishment during his speech in Düsseldorf when he initially moved the “European Championship in Europe” to the year “twenty-twentytwo”, i.e. 2022, in the English-language part of his speech. And that caused laughter in the hall.
The Chancellor, who was occasionally seen in the stands at second division club 1. VfL Potsdam in his free time, was simply greeted with a concert of whistles. This is folklore in the world’s sports arenas. “We have a clear expectation that the Chancellor will loudly support the team. Because that’s what all the fans who come into the hall do,” DHB sports director Axel Kromer demanded with a wink. And Scholz delivered: He clapped, like all of the 13,571 spectators in the hall. He didn’t allow for failures. His predecessor Angela Merkel did not find the time to visit the tournament at the 2019 home World Cup.
The voices:
National coach Alfred Gislason: “The second half was very good, but in the first half we had a lot of missed shots and missed too many chances. A lot of things were good there – but actually not good enough.”
Jannik Kohlbacher (on ZDF): “It’s crazy what handball Germany is doing here. It’s phenomenal and infectious. We want to win every game.”