Goalie Andreas Mechel comes to SC Riessersee from Oberliga champions Starbulls Rosenheim. The 31-year-old is "normal" for a goalkeeper, but he also has his tics.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Goalkeepers in sports are always said to be a little different from their teammates on the field, they tick in a different beat, never come along without a spleen and are a special breed of athlete. If you ask Andreas Mechel about it, he replies: "A lot of people tell me I'm one of the most normal goalkeepers." In the future, the players of SC Riessersee will be able to see this for themselves. Mechel is moving from Oberliga champions and DEL2 promoted Rosenheim to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and has signed a two-year contract. Jürgen Klopp once said at his presentation in Liverpool, in reference to Jose Mourinho, who called himself "the special one", that he was "the normal one". Now, with Mechel, the SCR has its own "the normal one".
Stay away from Mechel's equipment
But the 31-year-old from Tegernsee is not quite "normal" either. If you asked his family, they would say something different, Mechel admits with a grin. Because he can't do without ticks either. This is reflected in his private life when he checks three times to see if the door is really locked. On the ice or in the dressing room, it's better to keep your hands off your clothes. Because they always have to be in a certain arrangement. "When I'm gone, no one is allowed to touch the things," he jokingly warns his teammates, of whom he already knows Lubor Dibelka, Alexander Höller, Felix Linden and Michael Boehm. The order of dressing is also strictly fixed. First come the left pieces of equipment, then the right ones. If he were to start the other way around, he would have to take everything off again and start all over again. "Otherwise, I'm quite normal – I think."
Many years of DEL2 experience
Otherwise, the White-Blues will get a goalie who has a lot of experience. Mechel learned the game between the posts at TEV Miesbach before moving to the Bietigheim Steelers in the DEL2. Subsequently, he performed his little spleens with the Tölzer Löwen and most recently with the Starbulls from Rosenheim. The question arises: Why the change now after the rise of the Upper Bavaria opponent? "You're supposed to go when it's at its best," says Mechel. He was looking for a new challenge. He likes to play for traditional clubs where there is a story behind it. He was also attracted by the location, the proximity to his home in Murnau and the professional conditions at the Werdenfelsers. At the same time, the ambitions of the people of Riessersee appeal to him. "I think the club belongs in the second division." And he wants to be part of the path there, to be a part of it.
Mechel wants to be promoted - But what does the SCR want?
But to date, the SCR has not officially commented on its future goals as to whether it will stick to the 2024 project. Many unanswered questions still haunt the white-blues. But managing director Pana Christakakis gave Mechel the impression in the talks that the promotion to the DEL2 should continue to be realized. If the SCR were only interested in staying in the upper league, the goalie would probably not have come. "You could say that," says Mechel. He wants to attack at the top with the White-Blues and experience from a different perspective what he has experienced again and again in recent years. That it was never easy in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. "Being an opponent in this stadium has never been the best feeling, there are easier tasks. But at the same time, of course, it's fun when you have challenges."
New goalkeeper duo already know each other
This also awaits him in the fight for space between the posts. Boehm also has ambitions to secure the SCR housing as often as possible. No problem for Mechel, in Rosenheim there was also an open competition between the goalies. In addition, he already knows Boehm from past times with the Tölzer Löwen. His memories are only of a positive nature: "The cooperation was great and fun." Makes sense, since both are goalies, they tick in the same rhythm.