Published 2024-01-28 17.46
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COLOGNE. After a few minutes on the bench, the living wall came back into Sweden’s goal.
Andreas Palicka was decisive when Sweden took EC bronze.
– Now dad is the best in the world, says son Aston.
Before Andreas Palicka could concede a goal in Sweden’s bronze medal match against Germany, he had time to lie knocked out on the floor.
Despite the hard shot right in the face, the goalkeeper got up and delivered a monster effort.
With 19 saves and a save percentage of 44, Palicka was named player of the match and was a prominent figure when Sweden won 34–31.
“Incredibly important”
The goalkeeper was particularly good in the final minutes when he jumped in instead of Tobias Thulin again after resting for a while.
– In the last ten, there was little strength left. It was nice, it was an incredibly important victory for the soul and for Swedish handball. And for the heart and the head, if it’s still there. It almost got shot down again. It means an incredibly fucking lot, says Palicka after the victory.
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full screen Andreas Palicka gets a hug from Albin Lagergren after the EC bronze. Photo: Ludvig Thunman / Bildbyrån
Sweden had decided to win the bronze medal match after the blow against France on Friday.
– It’s anger and quality. It cannot be described in any other way, says Palicka, who played with a sore foot.
– I was really pumped in the second half. The pain relief in the foot started to wear off and the movements became a bit half-hearted, he says.
Palicka is praised
After the match, Palicka was showered with praise.
Among other things from son Aston, who two years ago decided that dad was “only” second best in the world.
Despite Palicka being one of Sweden’s golden heroes in the European Championship 2022, Aston believed that he was a little worse than Denmark’s Niklas Landin in an interview with SVT.
Now the son has changed his mind.
– Now dad is the best in the world, says Aston.
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fullscreen Aston and Andreas Palicka. Photo: Johan Flinck
“Adrenaline and power”
Aston was not alone in the tributes.
– Fantastic. A fantastic person, captain and goalkeeper. Incredible. To be so strong in these pressured situations is absolutely incredible, says Sweden’s goalkeeping coach Tomas Svensson.
Svensson tries to put into words Palicka’s greatness.
– He pushes himself up a lot. He lives very much on his will and has done so his entire career. He is just becoming more and more professional in the way he focuses and prepares for the games. He mobilizes and lives on adrenaline and power. He can barely walk the next morning, but he is also better trained than he was a couple of years ago, he says.
Svensson himself played in the national team until he was 40 years old.
– But I wasn’t as good as “Palle” is now, I must say.
“As usual”
The teammates are embarrassed to have Palicka in the goal.
– It’s as usual, he’s good, says Max Darj.
– When it has to be decided, he is there and we need that if we are to win medals. He is very important to us. He is our team captain, our “go to guy” when it comes to matches like this. It’s nice to have him back there.
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full screen Andreas Palicka laughs when his son Aston offers a show on SVT after the gold two years ago. Photo: Daniel Stiller / Bildbyrån
