On the day before the handball classic against Spain, Omikron struck again mercilessly. During voluntary training in Bratislava, national coach Alfred Gislason only had a remaining squad available, and a little later it leaked out: At least three other players have been infected with Corona – the personnel situation in the DHB team is taking dramatic turns before the start of the main round of the European Championship .
The positive cases are Christoph Steinert, Djibril M’Bengue and Sebastian Heymann – the number of German players in quarantine has increased to twelve. Rune Dahmke from Kiel, who had moved up, was also absent from training. Defending champions Spain have not yet reported a failure. Everything boils down to an unequal duel with the big tournament favorites on Thursday (6:00 p.m. in the live ticker).
Gislason had already vividly described the “very absurd situation” in Bratislava before the next Omikron news. “This is the most exciting time of the day, waiting for the results of the Covid test,” said the Icelander. The desire for the crackers in the main round is just as great as the fear of further corona cases. And they didn’t stay away.
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The previous performances whet your appetite for more – and gave the players a broad chest in the fight for the semifinals. “We now have four finals, which we ideally win. If we can do that, a lot is possible,” tournament debutant Steinert said briskly – before he too was slowed down. Eleven of the originally 17 nominated players are now out – plus the nominated Hendrik Wagner.
Germany “gross underdog” even without a dozen infections
Despite the bad news of the past few days, Gislason was “optimistic that we can manage the situations with the team”. The appearance against Poland (30:23) had given him confidence. But the opponents are getting bigger, it’s happening in quick succession, and only the first two teams in the group of six qualify for the medal games in Budapest. Norway is already waiting on Friday (8:30 p.m. in the live ticker).
At home, more and more spectators follow the lively performances of the badly battered selection of the German Handball Association. More than five million spectators watched the preliminary round against Poland, the best German tournament performance to date. Now not only the experienced Gislason is waiting for the “hardest opponent ever on paper and in reality”. Even without a dozen infections, his team would be a “blatant underdog”.
But since Wednesday afternoon, the signs are even worse. Staying healthy has huge benefits. “We see in ourselves and in other teams that it’s definitely a factor. Teams without cases have a better chance, that’s definitely the truth,” said Paul Drux.
DHB and HBL confer in the evening
“We have learned in the past few days how quickly the situation can change. We will have to assess this new situation together,” said Mark Schober, CEO of the German Handball Federation (DHB), in a press release.
A conference between the DHB and the Handball Bundesliga (HBL) was scheduled for Wednesday evening to discuss the new situation. “We will coordinate with the DHB, discuss the situation and decide together. The question is whether it still makes sense to leave the team in Bratislava,” said HBL President Uwe Schwenker to “SID”.
However, the official confirmed that he would discuss a possible withdrawal “with all calm and objectivity”. “You can’t just leave. The following applies to me: Good is faster. At the moment you have to make sure that the chain of infection doesn’t break. Unfortunately, our European Championship team is a reflection of society. But now, endlessly loading players from the Bundesliga does the trick makes little sense,” added Schwenker.
(SID)
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