There are many injuries in handball, but only the virus is causing real worries: Julius Kühn (left) in action in the friendly against Ludovic Fabregas (France) on January 9th.
Photo: imago images / Rene Schulz
On Thursday afternoon a few players from the Swedish national team stood on the field of the Ondrej Nepela Arena in Bratislava and looked at the impressive structure from the middle. The grandstands rise steeply and offer space for a total of 10,000 people. It is easy to imagine that there can be an impressive atmosphere here when the hall is fully occupied. When the Swedes started in the evening with the duel against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European handball championship, the venue of the preliminary round groups D and E was only filled to a maximum of 25 percent – and not even this number of visitors had come.
That could be different on Friday, because for the start of the German handball players’ tournament against Belarus (6 p.m.), some German supporters made their way to the Slovak capital. Breathtaking volume will not prevail, however, the restrictions due to the pandemic do not allow that. For Julius Kühn, the backcourt player at MT Melsungen, that’s perfectly fine. “There are more important topics,” said the national player and looked happy that the selection of the German Handball Federation is holding the preliminary and possibly the main round in Slovakia and not in the halls of co-host Hungary. In Budapest and elsewhere, the arenas can be fully used, and some nations have complained about the hygiene rules in the team hotels in Hungary.
Kühn, who was part of the national team at the European Championship triumph six years ago and is one of the few experienced workers, feels more comfortable with the fact that he feels well protected from being infected with the corona virus in the German team’s quarters. This is better for your health and could also be an advantage at the European Championships in the next two and a half weeks. “That’s black humor, but we’ve already been joking,” said Kühn with a slight grin: “If we all stay healthy, we can go far at the EM.”
The German delegation has so far successfully kept the pathogen away, which is why the preparation for the EM could be completed without complications. That gives Kühn and his colleagues a good feeling, because many competitors were caught before the tournament started. Poland, for example, the third opponent of the German team in the preliminary round, recently reported seven positive cases within the team. Belarus, the first opponent of the DHB selection, can probably compete with the best possible formation – and should therefore become the toughest rival of the Germans in the first phase of the tournament. National coach Alfred Gislason warns urgently against the Belarusians, who have some players in their own ranks who are regularly used in the Champions League. “The first six is really good,” said Gislason. From the Icelander’s point of view, the game is “clearly a fifty-fifty game.”
For the rest of the tournament, the outcome is of immense importance for the Germans because the team is inexperienced and a victory would inspire the start. The young team needs emotional tailwind in order to remain carefree. In addition, in the event of a defeat, qualification for the main round would be on the brink. Only the best two teams in the group, which includes Belarus and Poland as well as Austria, make it into the second phase of the tournament. A quick end would be a disaster for the DHB, the national coach and the team, even if the public’s expectations are low after many resignations and cancellations of established forces.
Basically Gislason indirectly announced the approach for a victory against Belarus. Because only the first guard of the opponent meets high international standards, it is a matter of tiredly playing the best formation of the Belarusians. Run a lot and fast forward and use the breadth of the squad for yourself, that should be the target of the national coach for the European championship. “We already have a plan,” said Alfred Gislason – without a wink, but in a resolute voice.
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