“German Handball Players Prepare for First Home Games of 2023 with Full Halls and High Expectations”

Markus Gaugisch is looking forward to the first home international matches as national coach of the German women’s handball team at the start of the World Cup year. “I’m really happy and can’t wait. It’s a great motivation and an extra kick,” said the 48-year-old from Göppingen about the upcoming duels with Hungary on Friday (7:30 p.m.) in Ludwigsburg and Poland on Sunday (3:00 p.m.) in Heidelberg.

The great fan support should also give an extra kick: the interest in the two games is so huge that the Ludwigsburg Arena is already almost sold out with around 3,200 tickets sold. There are also only remaining tickets for the match in Heidelberg.

The players, whom Gaugisch has gathered for a course in Ludwigsburg since Monday, do not have time for the beauties of the region. At the so-called three-country tournament, he wants to use the DHB selection to gain momentum for the World Cup qualification in April against the blatant outsider Greece, but above all to promote the development of the team with regard to the World Cup. Nobody in the German Handball Federation doubts that they will take part in the final round from November 30th to December 17th in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

DHB selection wants to install “new elements”.

“We want to expand our offensive game and add one or two new elements. We have to include all positions in order to be more difficult to calculate,” Gaugisch described one of the main tasks and added: “We want to use every minute we are together.” The start of the course was encouraging.

“I have a very good impression and the feeling that everyone is highly motivated and wants to continue working on things. It’s an active cooperation. Everyone feels comfortable and wants to go full throttle,” reported Gaugisch on Tuesday. He’s not the only one already looking forward to the Olympic Games next year, for which the DHB team wants to qualify again for the first time since 2008.

“The thirst for the Olympics is great. We want to strike when the opportunity arises,” said sporting director Axel Kromer about the big goal. Will that increase the pressure for Gaugish? No, says the national coach: “It’s more of a positive thing that drives everyone. It increases the desire to give everything and achieve a place at the World Cup in order to make the dream of the Olympics come true.”

The two games at the weekend should take the German team one step further on the desired path to Paris. “The games are important as they will show us where we are at this point in our development and what we need to work on further,” said Gaugisch. “These are games that take us further because we have to push ourselves to the limit in order to be successful.” Until the end of the current season, the 48-year-old will be in charge of the national team as well as the SG BBM Bietigheim Bundesliga team.

Gaugisch aligns with the top four in the world

Left winger Antje Döll (Bietigheim), right winger Amelie Berger (HSG Bensheim/Auerbach) and backcourt player Alicia Stolle (Ferencvaros Budapest), who were sorely missed at the European Championships last year, are back after injuries. “With the return of Antje and Amelie, we can draw on international experience in the two wing positions,” said Gaugisch.

In the further development of the team, the national coach is guided by the top four in the world – France, Norway, Denmark and Sweden: “They are good role models. They are able to change their system during a game. They have different cover variants and are able to set different impulses on offense. That’s where we want to develop.”