Three and a half weeks ago in Dortmund: The expertise of probably the best player in handball history was in demand. The selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) had just defeated France 35:30. It was the first German victory over the Tokyo Olympic champion and current European champion in two and a half years, and Nikola Karabatic was now asked to say what he thought of it.
The 40-year-old Frenchman, who will end his exceptional career after the Summer Games, seemed in good spirits despite the defeat. After all, not much had happened, it was just a friendly match in preparation for the Olympics. Karabatic spoke about the Germans: “They showed that they have a lot of quality and can achieve something. If they can beat the European champions, they can beat anyone.”
Since that Saturday in mid-July, the DHB team has confirmed Karabatic’s appreciation with ease. Apart from Croatia, they have actually beaten everyone at the Olympic tournament, including medal contenders Sweden and the strong Spanish team, and have advanced to the quarter-finals as group winners after four wins.
German strength, French weakness
There, the German men will face familiar faces this Wednesday (1:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Olympics, on ZDF and on Eurosport): Nikola Karabatic, his brother Luka and all the other stars of the Olympic host. “We would certainly have taken it differently,” said German captain Johannes Golla, “but that’s how it is now.”
With confidence: Captain Johannes Golla leads the way.AFP
The fact that the quarter-final clash, which both sides would have preferred to have avoided at the start of the knockout phase, is due to the strength of the Germans and the weakness of the French. The hosts only just made it through the preliminary round in Paris as fourth in their group, started with three games without a win and had their backs against the wall until the end. “We didn’t play our best handball, but we won with our heads,” said Nikola Karabatic about the performances, such as the recent one against Hungary.
Golla expects “the right emotions”
The stars, who triumphed at the European Championships in Germany six months ago, appeared sluggish and uninspired in the preliminary round. What has carried them so far is their high individual class and the frenetic support of the audience. “We gained self-confidence in the group phase, the French certainly did not,” said Gollas, who expects “the right emotions” from his team.
In French handball, the alarm is high in view of the encounter with the players of national coach Alfred Gislason, who have left few gaps in defence so far in the tournament and have been tough and have shown variations in attack even without being trained as right wingers. The German players are on average younger than the French, who have earned their merits in many elimination games.
“It’s a fifty-fifty game”
But unlike the encounters in recent years, the Grande Nation no longer sees itself as the favorite in the neighborhood duel. “Anything is possible in the quarterfinals,” said center Ludovic Fabregas, almost sheepishly by French standards: “It’s a fifty-fifty game because the Germans are playing really well.”
Gislason’s young group will have to get used to an even hotter atmosphere after moving from Paris to Lille. After the basketball players left, the Pierre-Mauroy football stadium was converted into a handball arena for a week. 27,000 spectators – four times as many as in the Paris arena – will put on a magical performance.
When asked about this, Gislason answered as calmly as his players should: “It’s a handball game.” The national coach knows that there is more at stake: for the Germans, after winning bronze in 2016, it’s about getting into the medal round again, for Nikola Karabatic it’s about the end.
