Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Women fail at handball world championships
The big frustration after the last litter
Again the German handball women knock on the door to the top of the world at the World Cup, but they are refused entry again. After the quarter-final against Spain, the disappointment is great. It goes back home without a medal.
Marked by a short night, Henk Groener drew a sobering World Cup balance with deep circles under his eyes. The loyalty of the top of the association was little consolation for the national coach of the German handball women after the disappointing end in the quarter-finals. “We showed in the tournament that we have grown, but unfortunately also noticed in the end that we had not grown enough to be able to play the decisive games successfully,” said Groener on Wednesday before the German team’s return flight from Barcelona to Mannheim. Without the hoped-for medal, the 61-year-old Dutchman returned home with his protégés – once again.
Despite the disappointment about the 21:26 in the knockout game against hosts Spain, the German Handball Federation wants to stick to the cooperation with Groener. “I stand by my statement that he is the right coach,” emphasized DHB President Andreas Michelmann before leaving. Sports director Axel Kromer would also like to extend the contract with Groener, which expires at the end of April 2022. “Why shouldn’t I want that? If something is on the right track, consistency in the coaching team is valuable. I have a good feeling,” said Kromer. The DHB Presidium will decide on a new contract at its next meeting in February of next year.
According to Michelmann, the fact that the DHB selection is still waiting for the first medal since the bronze medal in 2007 is not due to the national coach. “I am very pleasantly touched by the way the team and the trainer treat each other with his entire staff. It all fits,” said the 62-year-old DHB boss, describing his impressions gained during the World Cup.
“Unfortunately not our best performance”
The coach question is not the problem in German women’s handball anyway. “We have to work on the quality of the players in the short term and create long-term structures that other countries have already had for a long time. That is our problem. It is time for the league to slowly get out of the mix. And the same applies to the national associations. Without Money won’t work, “said Michelmann. The goal is clearly formulated: At the latest at the home World Cup in 2025, the DHB selection should be so competitive that they can take the last step towards the top of the world.
Therefore, sports director Kromer will analyze the World Cup finals in depth together with Groener, who did not want to comment on his future at the DHB on Wednesday. In the likely event that Groener remains in office, the national coach already has a to-do list in his head. “We drop too low when things don’t go that way. We’ll work on whether the reasons for this are technical, tactical or mental. It’s also clear that our position attack has to get better,” said Groener . The magic word is constancy, because the World Cup has shown that “the absolute level of performance is okay.”
Precisely because of this, the players were deeply frustrated. “We know that we can actually do better. It’s a shame that we can’t make it in a game where the semifinals are at stake,” said Meike Schmelzer. For backcourt player Alina Grijseels it was clear: “With 100 percent we would have won the game. Unfortunately, we did not show our best performance.” It is now time to continue working on this. The next chance is at the EM 2022.