Corona madness continues: DHB confusion at European Handball Championship takes on new proportions

Created: 01/19/2022, 19:25

By: Patrick Mayer

Bubble against Corona: Germany's team hotel at the European Handball Championship.

© IMAGO / Bildbyran

The DHB team defied the corona virus vortex at the European Handball Championship.

But the Corona mess around the German national team remains huge.

Update from January 19, 7:20 p.m .:

After all the Corona cases, two players should be nominated again.

According to the picture, this time it is Tobias Reichmann (MT Melsungen), who handball fans should know.

The 33-year-old became European champion in 2016.

Lukas Stutzke from Bergisches HC should also follow

Update from January 19, 3:48 p.m .:

The German handball players have more corona cases to complain about at the European Championship.

This was announced by the German Handball Federation on Wednesday.

How many and which players tested positive initially remained open.

First report from January 19, 2:30 p.m.:

Munich/Bratislava – what a setback.

What morals.

What a mess.

Germany drew attention to themselves at the European Handball Championship with a strong performance and a 33:23 (15:12) against Poland.

And that after a big corona vortex with nine players in the DHB team of national coach Alfred Gislason* who tested positive.

Germany at the European Handball Championship: Corona confusion around the DHB team

The solidarity in the German handball family and the spontaneous support from the Bundesliga (HBL) are huge in this mixed situation.

Five players moved up, including European champions Paul Drux (26) and Fabian Wiede (27) from Füchsen Berlin.

The backcourt players weren't even part of the preliminary squad of 35 before the tournament.

Both had canceled for the European Handball Championship 2022 in Hungary and Slovakia*, Drux, because he wanted to give his strained body a break after knee problems.

Wiede, according to his own statements, for family reasons.

It's not clear yet if we're going to risk training.

National coach Alfred Gislason

An exemption from the European Handball Federation has now made it possible for them to move up.

In addition, left wing Rune Dahmke (28 / THW Kiel), goalkeeper Johannes "Jogi" Bitter (39 / HSV Hamburg) and pivot Sebastian Firnhaber (27 / HC Erlangen) joined the German national team.

Curious: If Bitter had also tested positive at short notice or had failed in the game due to injury, field player Drux would have had to go in goal.

The playmaker joked afterwards: "I even warmed up at half-time.

I don't know why Alfred didn't switch then."

Despite the huge morale against the Poles, the corona mess is taking on new proportions.

You could say: The DHB team drives with a view to the corona virus*, the situation could change by the hour.

In the video: From the plane to the goal - "Jogi" Bitter with an express assignment at the handball championship

It was still unclear on Wednesday morning whether national coach Gislason would be able to train with the DHB team before Germany's first intermediate round match against the defending European Championship champion Spain (Thursday, 6 p.m., ARD and here in the live ticker).

"It's not yet clear whether we're going to risk training," said the 62-year-old Icelander at the team hotel in Slovakia's capital, Bratislava: "We'll do a quick test before training.

The organizers then plan to do a PCR test after the training session.”

Germany at the European Handball Championship: Nine positive corona tests in the DHB team

Despite the Corona chaos with the chance of the semi-finals: national coach Alfred Gislason (Wednesday) and the DHB team at the European Handball Championship.

© IMAGO / Laci Perenyi

However, it is also unclear how the replacements will continue if players from the original squad test their freedom.

A first candidate for this scenario is backcourt shooter Julius Kühn (MT Melsungen).

The 28-year-old is boosted and symptom-free.

With negative PCR tests* on Wednesday and Thursday morning, the 2016 European champion could be on the plate against handball heavyweight Spain on Thursday evening.

Germany at the European Handball Championship: Corona vortex - DHB team has the chance to reach the semifinals

So do the followers have to make room again?

Are they sometimes not even used in the main round?

Do they even have to leave again?

The German Handball Federation (DHB) was unable to answer

all of this on Wednesday morning when asked by

One is "highly flexible" and first of all "grateful for the support from the Bundesliga," said a spokesman.

Everything else has to be seen from day to day, it said.

On Wednesday morning, seven and eight goalkeepers Daniel Rebmann (Frisch Auf Göppingen) and right winger Patrick Zieker (TVB Stuttgart) arrived at the team hotel in Bratislava, where the DHB team had booked several floors as a bubble for the handball championship*.

There the players stay separate from all other guests.

The German handball players even brought their own chef with them.

That did not prevent the corona outbreak during the European Championship*.

So the Covid mess remains big while the underdog suddenly has a real shot at the semis.

*