The medal hunt begins for Christmas grouch Gislason
The opening game of the European Handball Championship will be a world record, that is already certain. Until then, the German national team only has a short time to get to know each other and warm up. For national coach Alfred Gislason, however, this is a nicer task than playing Santa Claus.
Alfred Gislason is not at all unhappy about the abrupt end to the festivities. "Although my daughter tried to get me to run around like Santa Claus for my grandchildren this year, Christmas isn't really my thing," says the national team coach. So the fact that work calls immediately after the holidays is doubly convenient for Gislason.
Today, Wednesday, the months of waiting come to an end: with the three-day training course in Frankfurt, Gislason and the German handball team start the hot phase of preparation exactly 15 days before the opening game and get into the mood for the home European Championship. "I see the first training course as a warm-up for January 1st. Not in the sense of party preheating, more like a good diesel engine. It used to have to warm up first. I remember that from my tractor at home," says Gislason and laughs.
Gislason and his 19 team members are in a great mood ahead of the upcoming highlight of the season (January 10 to 28) and the motto for the three days until Friday is to slowly ramp up for the medal hunt. For the DHB team, which has been shaken by a number of withdrawals, and its five tournament debutants, it will also be about team building. "A good team spirit can make up for a lot," said Gislason.
Two endurance tests still to come
This was also demonstrated at Euro 2016, when Germany sensationally won their last title to date with an inexperienced team under coach Dagur Sigurdsson. Comparisons with the golden boys of that time, four of whom are also taking part in January, do not annoy Gislason "at all. A lot is possible in team sport, we can take that out of it. But not much more than that."
Gislason wants to write his own story with his team over the next five weeks. However, the experienced master coach deliberately avoids making grandiose announcements. "We look from game to game," he says and is also full of anticipation. He has already experienced a tournament in Germany as Iceland's national coach, but now it is "a bit different" because: "Germany is my second home."
Initially, his full focus will be on preparation anyway. Over the next few days, they will "talk a lot about what we want to do and how we want to do it", explained Gislason: "The boys should get to know each other better. Especially those who have been less involved so far need to find their feet quickly."
The final European Championship countdown then starts on New Year's Day in Brunsbüttel. The highlight of the preparations will be two endurance tests against Portugal on January 4 and 6 in Flensburg and Kiel. The European Championship begins for the German team with the world record match against Switzerland in front of over 50,000 spectators in the Düsseldorf soccer arena. Further preliminary round opponents are North Macedonia and France. Until then, however, it's time to "pre-game".
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Gislason and his team are preparing for the European Handball Championship, where they will represent the German national handball team. The DHB team, led by coach Alfred Gislason, is looking to build team spirit and get ready for the opening game against Switzerland, which will take place in front of over 50,000 spectators in the Düsseldorf soccer arena. The German handball-em team is also focusing on endurance, as they have two tests against Portugal scheduled on January 4 and 6 in Flensburg and Kiel, respectively.
Source: www.ntv.de
