Good news straight away: The German handball players got a team together for their European Championship game on Tuesday evening. A curious one, only 14 players were in the squad, including some players who were still sitting on the sofa at home in Germany 24 hours earlier; with a goalkeeper who announced his retirement from the national team a few months ago. But now Johannes Bitter, 39, from HSV Hamburg was back in the German goal. He had “not trained that much handball” in the last few days, Bitter truthfully explained. But when national coach Alfred Gislason called, it was clear to him: he wanted to help.
And so did Bitter, the only goalkeeper in the squad. Like the rest of the German team, he delivered – in one of the most complicated hours for German handball – a performance that can hardly be overestimated, and which was even rewarded with the group victory. With the safe 30:23 (15:12) against Poland, the German team finished first in the preliminary round of the European Championships in Hungary and Slovakia – and took two important points into the main round.
Suddenly important again: Johannes Bitter (middle) parried against Poland, although he had actually long since announced his withdrawal from the national team.
(Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa)
“A huge compliment to the boys,” said Gislason after the game. “The omens were not good at all,” explained captain Johannes Golla: “But we said to ourselves that we want to win the game for the boys who are infected.”
Nine players with positive corona tests, such a situation in the middle of a European championship can be considered a worst-case scenario. The well-known names were joined on Tuesday by left winger Marcel Schiller and goalkeeper Till Klimpke, whose tests were also positive. Five players were hastily nominated from Germany to fill the decimated team again, including well-known players such as Bitter, Paul Drux and Fabian Wiede. The players spent the hours before the game in their single rooms: the food was delivered to the room door, training was cancelled, instead the results of the latest PCR tests were expected. In the afternoon we went straight into the hall. Even the experienced national coach Gislason, who has really been through a lot in handball, said: “I’ve never had a situation like this.”
The new team is convincing: Bitter saves, Steinert scores, Köster towers above
Curiously, the badly shaken German team had the best start of the tournament so far. Was not behind as quickly as against Belarus and Austria, but led 5:3 (13th minute). The defense also grabbed a lot better than the last time, and if a free throw came through, Bitter was ready: from the first minute he was a strong support, as if he had never left the national team after 170 international matches. In attack, Christoph Steinert from HC Erlangen stepped in as the main goal scorer in the absence of Timo Kastening or Julius Kühn: Six of his first six attempts found their way into the goal.
At the back, Bitter parried an uncomfortable flat ball from Poland’s Michal Daszek (16′), then clenched his fist in the direction of the German bench. Only seven goals conceded after 20 minutes, could that be true?
As the season progressed, it became clear that the German team wasn’t really well-rehearsed. An example: Rune Dahmke from Kiel struggled through for more than 60 minutes on the left wing, although he had only been nominated on Monday evening – and actually no longer belongs to the closest circle of the DHB squad. Others took heart: Above all Julian Köster, at 21 the youngest player in the squad, who plays in the second division at VfL Gummersbach – he threw three goals before half-time. “Guys, very, very good,” Gislason announced during the first time-out. The Icelander was visibly impressed.
At half-time, the German team was leading 15:12, and this really amazing handball evening continued after the break. The Poles were initially able to shorten the gap, but they never managed to equalise. At the latest when goalkeeper Bitter fished away a free counterattack by the Poles in the middle of the second half, the worst resistance seemed to be broken. Steinert ended up with nine goals, the young Köster with six; he was even named “Player of the Game”. After the final whistle, the German team cheered as if they couldn’t believe what had just happened.
Despite this achievement, it is difficult to predict what will happen next. The first main round match against Spain is scheduled for Thursday; assuming there aren’t many more positive cases reported. From the next great performance of the German handball players to the withdrawal of the team from the tournament, everything seems possible.
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