A busy schedule this week for the water polo players from Waspo 98 Hannover: four games are scheduled in five days. On Tuesday we play Marseille in the Champions League (new start time: 6 p.m.), Wednesday (7 p.m.) the Bundesliga “away game” at the White Sharks, Friday (7 p.m.) the league duel at arch-rival Spandau. And Saturday (4 p.m.) the league game at OSC Potsdam. Time to surface and breathe briefly remains only on Thursday.
“The priority is clearly the Champions League,” explains Waspo coach Karsten Seehafer. After all, there are enough duels against Spandau.
For Waspo, fourth place is still at stake in the premier class, which entitles them to participate in the Final 8. Hannover lurks in fifth place with eleven points behind Budapest (13). Marseille, on the other hand, is level on points (23) with Pro Recco at the top of Group B. The French are favourites. “We want to create a surprise,” says Seehafer. “That would do us good.” For self-confidence and for the points account. His team lost the first leg in the Mediterranean 10:13 in mid-December. Goal in the second leg: “To put the opponent under pressure. To do this, we have to play well and improve our graduation rate,” demands Seehafer. “Unfortunately, we don’t score enough goals, even though we have one of the strongest offensives in Europe.”
The preparation was anything but ideal. On Monday, Waspo was able to train together again for the first time in a week. The numerous national players were in action at the European Championship qualification. Center Jorn Winkelhorst (Netherlands) came back with a bruised hand. His use for Waspo in the Stadionbad is questionable.
By Simon Lange
