Worst start since 2016
THW Kiel is stumbling ever worse into the crisis
October 1, 2023, 2:15 p.m
The last time the Handball Bundesliga saw a champion with double-digit minus points was in 2007. Such a rarity is probably needed if THW Kiel wants to defend its title this season. In Magdeburg, the North Germans suffered their third defeat in a row. The worries are great.
Filip Jicha was served. After the final siren, the coach of the handball champion THW Kiel stood on the parquet with a blank look in his eyes while the hall virtually exploded around him. The defeat in the top Bundesliga game at SC Magdeburg was particularly painful for the Czechs. While the North Germans slipped deep into the crisis, their opponents managed to break free.
“It was a top game with all the trimmings,” said the disappointed Jicha after the 31:34 (15:17) defeat by the Champions League winners – the third league defeat in a row: “We missed 100% chances, that was hurt us. Everything should have gone perfectly, but we didn’t have the killer instinct. We have to accept that in a phase like this.”
With 6:6 points, the defending champions are in ninth place in the no-man’s land of the table, their worst start to the season since the 2017/18 season. Back then, the Kiel team ended up fifth and even missed out on international business. This horror scenario is also looming on the Baltic Sea this year.
Magdeburg, on the other hand, has “a lot of fun”
The surprise team from MT Melsungen has already taken the lead with 14:0 points, and their pursuers have also been in rising form recently – unlike the THW. But at least the national coach encouraged the ailing champion. “I think you can definitely become champions this season even with double-digit minus points,” said Alfred Gíslason at “Handball-World”.
The last time a club achieved that was in 2007 – of course it was Kiel. Right winger Niclas Ekberg also believes in catching up. “We can definitely still become champions,” said the Swede on the streaming service Dyn: “We will continue to work and get the points back.” However, the mortgage is already huge.
Magdeburg was also threatened with this. After the stuttering start – especially in the Champions League – the runner-up is back on track in third place (11:3), at least in the Bundesliga. The win against the record champions confirmed the positive trend. It was “incredibly fun,” said coach Bennet Wiegert, “how both teams sacrifice themselves to fight for points in a top game. I’m very proud and happy. Now it goes on, on and on.”