The 40-year-old will face host Germany on Wednesday evening with Switzerland in the opening game of the European Championship – in a football stadium in front of over 50,000 spectators. Despite the world record setting, Schmid is not enthusiastic about this idea.
“The opening game was a long time away,” says Andy Schmid about Switzerland’s first match at the European Championships.
Michael Buholzer / Keystone
Andy Schmid, what was the biggest audience you’ve ever played in front of?
In 2014, we played a Bundesliga game with the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen in the Eintracht Frankfurt football stadium, in front of almost 45,000 spectators.
Handball in the football stadium. What kind of experience is this?
I don’t just have good memories. Our sport is losing part of its essence. Handball remains an indoor sport. In the football stadium, the spectators are far away and the response from the audience is delayed. That makes it difficult.
So you don’t think Switzerland’s opening European Championship game against Germany in the Fortuna Düsseldorf stadium in front of over 50,000 spectators is a good idea?
This is an event that is well received by the public and sponsors. A game like this helps handball and brings our sport into focus. But I wouldn’t mind if we didn’t compete in this stadium.
You played in the Bundesliga for the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen for twelve years. How is it for you at your last European Championship to meet Germany of all places?
What made me most happy was that we were even taking part in this tournament. The game against Germany closes a circle for me. But this situation was too much for me. I tried to distance myself from it.
How did you manage that?
This game was always floating around somewhere. And at the same time, the European Championships and this opening game were a long way away. There was probably a protective mechanism inside me. I was able to distract myself well. But now the anticipation and excitement are growing every day.
German handball legend Stefan Kretzschmar said you could still annoy the German team even at 40 years old. Is anger all there is to it?
I am convinced that more is possible. If everything fits together, even a victory. But it is difficult to estimate. Anything can happen. The goalies become important and there are two or three field players on each side. A big role is played by which team handles the pressure better. Now that sounds like empty phrases. But that’s the reality. I know that Germany can win against any opponent, especially in its own country. And we often had chances to win against big nations or even won. But sometimes we also suffered significant defeats.
You returned to Switzerland from the Bundesliga in 2022 and now play for Kriens-Luzern. In front of a lot fewer spectators, handball is a lot smaller here. How did you digest this change?
I didn’t come back naively, the change was planned and a conscious decision. The transition was easy because I was well prepared.
Nevertheless, you compared saying goodbye to the Rhine-Neckar Lions to the pain of separation after a relationship.
This farewell showed me just how fast-moving the sport is. In the summer of 2022, I said goodbye to 12,000 spectators with tears in my eyes. Six months later it was forgotten. The Lions moved on, I moved on. Nothing has collapsed, it has simply become different.
Andy Schmid spent his entire Bundesliga career with the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen.
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What are you missing?
Maybe the highlights, close top games in full halls, for example against THW Kiel. But the public only sees these highlights and doesn’t know what’s behind them. Constant pressure, long journeys, a busy schedule, a lot of foregoing time with the family. Because I know all of these aspects, I hardly miss the highlights. For example, my wife is always happy when we stay in a hotel and there is a breakfast buffet. I’ve slept and eaten breakfast in hotels so many times, I don’t need it that often anymore.
You have already compared the Bundesliga to a treadmill.
By that I meant more the psychological component. You are constantly under pressure. It doesn’t help you if you played well on Wednesday, you have to be good again on Saturday. This was getting to me more and more. As a young player, I was able to ignore the psychological stress. But the older I got, the more I studied and my thoughts began to circle.
When you returned to Switzerland, the expectations of you were high, both in the club and in the national team. Did you get rid of the pressure?
The pressure became different, but I underestimated it. Mentally, I got off the treadmill. But the expectations in the club were much more personal than in the Bundesliga. People in Switzerland know me from the time when I was dominant in the Bundesliga. I noticed this especially when I missed throws. Then I sensed disbelief from the audience that this was happening to me too.
You recently said that you are no longer a top athlete with heart and soul. Then what are you?
I am still a handball player with heart and soul. Ambition and grit are still there. But I see more than just sport. I came back mainly because of my family. We wanted to find peace and tackle the transformation from top athlete to the post-career phase. This transformation is now almost complete. I no longer have the irrepressible will to go to training or games. This will still emerges sometimes, but no longer every week.
When do you feel old?
In many situations, in every training actually. I see the younger players playing football 20 minutes before training. I, on the other hand, notice after training and games that I no longer have the same performance as I used to.
Did you miss the right time to resign?
I’m convinced I’ve been playing for a year too long. But I was aware that it would be one year too long if we qualified for this European Championship. I’ve known for a while that I wouldn’t have the right time. This is also extremely difficult. At the peak, no one wants to give up when they’re on the ground, but neither do they.
How did you know it was one year too many?
In the first season after returning to Switzerland everything was new. It was exciting to play in every hall again and meet people from before. But this tension wears off. A European Championship last summer would have been perfect. But the tournament takes place in January. So I knew that I had to make the most of this six months to be ready for the European Championships.
The last dance: Andy Schmid will be playing for the Swiss national team for the last time at the European Championships in Germany.
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They will be direct next summer Swiss after his playing career National coach. Why are you not taking a break?
I am obsessed with handball, it is my passion. If someone has this passion for playing golf or collecting stamps, they don’t take a break either. The job as national coach offers me a lot of freedom and a different rhythm. But it will also turn my life upside down. As a player, I was controlled by others for years. Everything was predetermined: games, training, physiotherapy, food and travel. This rhythm is now gone, it is also a kind of break.
Will you miss the structure of playing life?
I respect this change. That’s why the rough planning for the coming season is already in place. I know where the junior teams play. When the regional selections tournaments will be held. I want to be present on these occasions. I’ll have to find the rhythm of my everyday life in the summer.
You are known for carefully thinking through every decision. Why did you become a national coach instead of a club coach?
If I had taken over a club team straight away in July, I would have missed the change of rhythm. In my opinion, getting started as a national coach is easier. This statement sounds paradoxical. But it’s easier to prepare blocks for the national team than to be in action week after week. Athletic training and the control of when the team has to be at its best performance level are eliminated. And I didn’t want to subject my family to an engagement abroad. Everything works for me in the Swiss association.
What goals do you set for yourself as a trainer?
I want to think outside the box. I won’t turn everything upside down and I won’t pretend to know everything better. For example, I don’t know enough about the topic of junior training; it was far away until now. I know what a 22-year-old national player has to be able to do. We have specialists to help this player get there. I have the highest goals with the senior national team. It is not a given that we will qualify for every World Cup and European Championship; the standard has become too high for that. I just want to get the most out of the team.
As with your return to Switzerland, the expectations of you as national coach are high. What can you gain in this position?
These thoughts hardly exist for me. It is the same in every professional field. An expectation meets reality. I can handle that.
How would a coach Schmid coach the player Schmid?
I hope that I will have a player similar to me who will be my extended arm on the field. Someone who understood my game system. Such handball players only have to be limited in certain cases. You need help when things don’t work. And you have to slow them down if they go overboard. I already have one or two players like that in mind.
Why do you need an extended arm?
A coach has to worry about so much, defense, plays and substitutions. It helps when there is a player who carries the basic idea of the game onto the field and I as a coach can concentrate on the finer details.
You complete the course to become a professional trainer and had to characterize your trainer personality. What did you write down?
A mix of humanity and doggedness. I know from my own experience that a player doesn’t always feel good. And that mistakes happen on the field. For me, the national team is a performance-oriented oasis of well-being. The players have to enjoy coming to the national team. I am convinced that athletes perform best when they feel comfortable. The path to this state is a fine line. For me, this is one of the biggest challenges in my coaching job.
A defining figure of Swiss handball
krp. · Andy Schmid, 40 years old, is the best Swiss handball player in history. After starting his career in Switzerland, including at GC and Amicitia, Schmid moved to Bjerringbro-Silkeborg in 2009. After a year in Denmark, he was transferred to the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen. In twelve years in the Bundesliga, Schmid became probably the best playmaker in the world. With the Lions he became German champion twice, cup winner once and triumphed in the EHF Cup. Schmid was also voted the most valuable player in the Bundesliga five times.
In 2022 he returned to Switzerland to Kriens-Luzern. Schmid will end his career there next summer and become national coach. He has so far taken part in the 2006 and 2020 European Championships as well as the 2021 World Cup with the national team.
At the 2024 European Championship, Schmid and Switzerland will meet Germany (January 10, 8:45 p.m.), France (January 14, 6 p.m.) and North Macedonia (January 16, 6 p.m.) in the preliminary round.
From player to coach: Andy Schmid will play his last international matches at the European Championships in Germany – in the summer he will become the Swiss national coach.
Michael Buholzer / Keystone