Denmark’s Simon Pytlick is attacked by the German defense.Image: dpa / Federico Gambarini
Sport
Germany missed the sensation at the home European Championships: In the semi-finals, the German handball players were eliminated by tournament favorites Denmark, but they did well. They kept up with the Scandinavians until shortly before the end, but ultimately lost 26:29.
“I’m very proud of the boys, it was a phenomenal first half,” said national coach Alfred Gíslason on ZDF, who had to do without DHB star Kai Häfner at short notice. Häfner was missing from the German team for personal reasons. In the end, Gíslason also had to admit: “In the end, the routine prevailed.”
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The best German thrower on Friday evening was 21-year-old Renars Uscins with five goals, and Andreas Wolff showed a strong performance in goal. Emil Jakobsen, Mikkel Hansen and Simon Pytlick scored most often for the Danes (five goals).
It was precisely that Pytlick that really upset DHB legend Pascal Hens in the hall. In Dyn Handball’s “Harzblut” talk, “Pommes” revealed how he was excited about the game in Cologne’s Lanxess Arena – and why the Dane drove him crazy.
The atmosphere in the arena was outstanding, says Hens, praising the support of the German fans. And he himself was in the middle of it all: “I was screaming, I had no idea what my children thought of me,” he says in the talk, in which Stefan Kretzschmar and Michael “Mimi” Kraus also took part. He also reveals that he was “a bit anti-social” and didn’t hold back with insults.
DHB legend “French fries” rages because of the Denmark star
When “Kretsche” asked who he had insulted, “Pommes” said: “The referees and the Danes.” Then it becomes clear: “That Heymann gets two minutes twice just because Pytlick throws his feet under the ceiling of the hall,” he rages. “I definitely insulted him,” says the Dyn expert.
Because Pytlick, who caused Germany some problems, clashed several times with DHB player Sebastian Heymann. Early in the game, the German received two two-minute penalties for fouls on Pytlick, so he had to temporarily leave the game. From Pascal Hens’ point of view, this is wrong.
Mimi Kraus agrees with him: “He’s even jumping off,” he says, referring to the 23-year-old Pytlick, who currently plays for Flensburg in the handball Bundesliga. Pascal Hens adds: “Some would say ‘clever’, but that kind of thing upsets me.” However, the Dyn expert also admits that he doesn’t have slow motion in the arena and that one naturally sees the situations “through the lens of Germany”.
In the first semi-final, Olympic champion France defeated Sweden 34:30 after extra time and will face Denmark in the final on Sunday (5.45 p.m.). Germany will play against Sweden for third place on Sunday at 3 p.m.
(with material from AFP)
The cheers were followed by disillusionment. After double support from Iceland and France, it was already clear in the run-up to Germany’s game against Croatia that the DHB team would be in the semi-finals of a European Championship for the first time in eight years. However, the euphoria could not be taken into the last main round game, which was insignificant in terms of sport.