- "Great nonetheless": Handball players smile away final defeat
With the gleaming silver medal around their necks, Germany's handballers could smile again. It didn't take long for pride in their impressive Olympic run to push aside the frustration of their humiliating final defeat against Denmark. "We made it to the Olympic final. If someone had told us that beforehand, we would have signed the contract in blood," said left-back Rune Dahmke. And Kai Häfner, after his 151st and last game for the German Handball Federation, said: "The further the game recedes, the greater the joy over silver."
After sensational tournament victories against European champions France and bogey team Spain, the completely overwhelmed German team lost the final in Lille against world champions Denmark, led by World Handballer of the Year Mathias Gidsel, 26:39 (12:21), thus missing out on the crowning glory of their otherwise outstanding Olympic appearance. "Of course, we had imagined a different final, but the tournament result is still fantastic," summarized DHB sports director Axel Kromer.
Not all members of the German team could immediately rejoice in their sensational final appearance. "The disappointment is huge over our performance. It's really hurting right now," reported captain Johannes Golla, who also said: "That was maybe our worst game." Playmaker Juri Knorr felt like he was in a "nightmare" immediately after the final whistle and admitted: "We shouldn't have presented ourselves like that, we didn't deserve a gold medal. That's clear."
Historical defeat
Gislason criticized the defensive performance but also pointed out: "We are by far the youngest team and have played a great tournament." However, the final defeat will go down in history: It was the highest defeat in an Olympic final ever. Germany shattered its gold dreams above all with a disastrous defensive performance. The Danes could sometimes walk through the German defense completely unchallenged.
Despite the bitter defeat, Knorr and Co. brought the German Handball Federation the biggest success of recent history since the Olympic silver in 2004 in Athens, the World Cup triumph in 2007, and the European Championship win in 2016. That Gislason won the silver medal with the youngest Olympic team ever lets the federation dream of a glorious future - even if the game against Denmark left a different impression. "We definitely have a good future ahead of us, but we still have a lot to learn," said Knorr, who was the best German scorer with six goals in front of around 27,000 fans in the cauldron of Lille.
Last German Olympic victory in 1980
The Scandinavians, led by star player Gidsel of the Berlin Foxes, underlined their dominance in world handball with their second Olympic gold after 2016 in Rio. After the following World Cup triumphs in 2019, 2021, and 2023, this is already their fifth major tournament victory in the past eight years.
For Germany, however, the success of the DDR team in 1980 in Moscow remains the only title of a hall handball team under the five rings. In 2004 in Athens, the team around Stefan Kretzschmar had to settle for silver against the Croats. Eight years ago in Rio, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff and his teammates won bronze.
At least after the epic quarter-final victory over France, the DHB team firmly believed in the gold coup. The six-second miracle in Lille, in which goal scorer Renars Uscins saved the German team with the final whistle, was meant to inspire the entire team. However, in the final against Denmark, the nerves failed.
The Danes scored from almost every position at will. Their efficiency in the first half was at times 90 percent. Moreover, their offensive defense caused major problems for the DHB team. The young German squad seemed nervous and couldn't find any way to break through the Danish defense. "We have to work harder," demanded Gislason, as his protégés trailed 5:10 after numerous turnovers.
The German fans tried to entertain themselves on the tribunes with a La-Ola wave. Because the game of their men on the field offered little cause for joy. After 20 minutes, the game was practically already decided, and Denmark led double digits for the first time after a display of power.
Wolff with 3 saves after 35 minutes
Those who hoped for an improvement in the German team's performance after the break were disappointed. The feeds to the circle and to captain Johannes Golla were unsuccessful, the shots were inaccurate, and the goalkeeper performance was poor.
Wolff had made three saves after 35 minutes. Also because the defense was a complete disaster. Never before had a team conceded so many goals in an Olympic final. Thus, Denmark's Gidsel could largely unimpeded crown himself as the tournament's top scorer.
Rune Dahmke expressed his joy and disappointment after the Olympic final, stating, "We made it to the Olympic final. If someone had told us that beforehand, we would have signed the contract in blood." Later, he reflected on the silver medal, saying, "Of course, the further the game recedes, the greater the joy over silver."
