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German handball players: party mood despite the end of the EM
Photo: MARTIN DIVISEK / EPA
Germany's handball players have made a conciliatory EM farewell.
The 13-strong core team of national coach Alfred Gíslason defeated Russia in a real thriller thanks to an energetic performance in the fourth main round game 30:29 (16:12).
"It's a good feeling to say goodbye like that," said captain Johannes Golla in a television interview. "We want to play courageous handball and inspire the spectators, today it worked." The EM-Aus was still bitter, "of course we would have would like to play two more games, but it was also exhausting for body and mind because of the many uncertainties.
In this respect it is also good to put a tick on it.«
The best German throwers in front of 1443 spectators in Bratislava were Golla, right winger Tobias Reichmann and left winger Patrick Zieker with five goals each.
Despite the sporting insignificance of the game, the entire German team showed enormous will and defied the circumstances with a lot of passion and fighting spirit.
At the end of the tournament, the selection of the German Handball Federation (DHB) had more infections with a total of 15 corona cases than there were operational players available.
That was hardly noticeable against Russia.
Golla went ahead in defense and attack with great commitment.
In addition, goalkeeper Daniel Rebmann stood out with great saves and backcourt player Paul Drux with a good overview.
Whether Germany will finish the European Championship, which was held under extreme conditions, in seventh or eighth place depends on the results of the main round group 1 playing on Wednesday evening.
At the EM 2020, the DHB selection had reached fifth place.
However, the tournaments are difficult to compare due to the severe corona turbulence.
Only 13 players on the arc
There were just 13 German players on the match sheet against Russia, three fewer than Gislason should have called up.
On Wednesday morning, along with ten replacements, only four of the 17 players who started the European Championship mission exactly two weeks earlier will climb onto the charter plane to Frankfurt am Main.
In addition to leader Golla, only playmaker Philipp Weber, backcourt player Julian Köster and Lukas Zerbe remained negative throughout the tournament.
After the defeats against defending champion Spain (23:29), the European Championship third Norway (23:28) and vice world champion Sweden (21:25), the DHB team had no chance of reaching the semi-finals before the game.
While the EM was over for the corona patients with the journey home before the official conclusion, the rest gave everything.
Russia in the lead for the first time shortly before the end
The Russians, coached by long-standing Bundesliga coach Velimir Petkovic, were initially behind most of the time.
Hendrik Wagner, who after his unsuccessful return from the corona isolation only watched the game from the stands for safety reasons, applauded.
However, in the seventh game in eleven days, the wear and tear was also noticeable.
The game therefore remained exciting until the end, at 26:25 (51 st ) Russia took the lead for the first time.
The game was decided by a double Kempa twelve seconds before the end, Zieker converted ice cold.
sol/dpa/sid