After the victory over Spain and advancing to the EM main round, handball national coach Alfred Gislason has rebutted criticism from former DHB vice-president Bob Hanning. National player Juri Knorr, however, praised the Icelander for his leadership style. The German Handball Federation remains open about Gislason's future.
The Handball European Championship in Herning is sparking heated debates about German national coach Alfred Gislason. After the 34:27 victory over Spain, which propelled Germany into the main round as group winners, the 66-year-old Icelander countered accusations from Bob Hanning. "Maybe he should have focused a bit more on the Italians," Gislason said with a winner's grin. Hanning, now a columnist for the 'Bild' newspaper and coach of the Italian national team, had sharply criticized after Germany's narrow 29:30 loss to Serbia. "It's about the future of this team, the future of the national coach, and nothing less than the future of our sport," he emphasized. Hanning criticized the lack of structure in defense and the underutilization of the squad's depth.
Former national player Stefan Kretzschmar joined the criticism. Even before the tournament, Hanning had attacked Gislason's nominations, as left winger Lukas Mertens and Rune Dahmke were selected instead of Berlin's Tim Freihöfer. "Everything that stands for fairness and substance has been set aside here," he judged. Gislason defended himself: "Everyone views their club from their own perspective. But it's unusual for another national coach to publicly criticize our decisions." Mertens shone against Spain, while Dahmke saw little action due to injury.
While Germany advances with maximum points, Hanning's Italians failed in the preliminary round after losses to Iceland and Hungary—their first EM participation since 1998. National player Juri Knorr celebrated Gislason: "The best feeling." The DHB remains reserved about the coach's future, despite the successes.
