Interview with Stefan Salger ahead of his game against former club Ludwigshafen

Interview before the game against former club Ludwigshafen

October 4, 2023 – 1:51 p.m

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More on the topic: TV Großwallstadt (TVG) – everything about the Handallverein

New signing Stefan Salger (far right) has scored 16 goals for TV Großwallstadt so far, two of them at the start of the season against Dessau-Rosslauer HV. On Saturday the left-hander will face his former club Ludwigshafen.

Photo: Stefan Gregor

New signing Stefan Salger scored 16 goals for TV Großwallstadt in the first five games of the season. In his team’s 31:37 defeat in Nordhorn on Sunday, the backcourt player was one of the few constants in the team and netted six times. An interview with Salger before Saturday’s game against his former club Eulen Ludwigshafen. On Saturday, the 27-year-old and TVG will face Eulen Ludwigshafen, his former club, in the 2nd Handball Bundesliga in Elsenfeld. Our media company spoke to Salger about this task as well as last-second goals and his personal TVG interim balance in the still young season.

Simple question: What do goals mean to you?
Sales: Overcoming the opposing defense and scoring a goal is a task for every handball player in attack and, if it works, a sense of achievement at the same time. It doesn’t matter whether this is achieved through a well-rehearsed move or an individual performance. Scoring goals is the maximum reward you can have in the game. You only have that if you manage to defend an opponent’s throw or help the goalkeeper parry a ball.

As a backcourt player, you are measured by goals, especially by your height. Do you sometimes find the 2.07 meters a burden?
Sales: I would never talk about being a burden when it comes to handball. I keep saying: Yes, handball is our profession! This includes diligent training, concentrated preparation for the game and the willingness to align everything in life so that you can achieve your maximum physical and mental performance. But handball should be fun and remain a hobby somewhere! Just like when you were young you had your first experiences and were really happy about your first goal. For me, handball is what I love, what I live for and where all my passion lies in it. It’s not a burden, but fulfillment.

TVG welcomes the Eulen Ludwigshafen, the “miracle bag” of the 2nd Bundesliga

TV Großwallstadt will meet the Eulen Ludwigshafen on Saturday in the 2nd handball Bundesliga at 6 p.m. in the Elsenfelder Untermainhalle. After three home wins in a row, coach Michael Roth’s team wants to maintain a strong record

further expand the domestic audience.

The team from Ludwigshafen is now coached by Johannes Wohlrab (previously TV Hüttenberg) and has several important players such as Lion Zacharias (Rhein-Neckar Löwen), Sergej Gorpishin (1. VfL Potsdam), Max Neuhaus (TUSEM Essen), Jan Remmlinger (HG Oftersheim/Schwetzingen), Stefan Salger (TV Großwallstadt), Matej Asanin (temporary end of career), Enes Keskic (destination unknown) and Pascal Bührer (SG Köntreib-Teningen). On the other hand, the new signings are Finn-Lukas Leun (from SC DHfK Leipzig with second-game rights), Mats Grupe (Rhein-Neckar Löwen, also with second-game rights) for goal, Kian Schwarzer from TBV Lemgo Lippe on left wing, Mex Raguse from VfL Lübeck-Schwartau for Backcourt and pivot Tom Bergner, who last played for Bergischen HC, are top-class players.

In the first five games of the season, the Owls once again lived up to their reputation of being the league’s “lucky bag”. After expected home wins against Vinnhorst (31:27) and Aue (40:29) as well as the predictable away defeat in Bietigheim (25:31), they caused a sensation with a 41:31 win at TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke. But then they lost at home against Hagen with 30:36. The most successful goalscorers are the newcomers Schwarzer (42/18) and Raguse (26) as well as Jannek Klein (25) and right winger Alexander Falk (23).

You scored 162 goals for the Eulen Ludwigshafen in the 2021/22 season and were your team’s second-best goalscorer behind national player Hendrik Wagner. What worked so well that season?
Sales: At that time I had the trust of the coach, the team and the whole club. In addition, there is great support from the fans, especially for the Owls. This increases self-confidence. Added to this is the fun of the game and the spirit of achieving something together. I’m thinking of the game against Nordhorn two years ago, when we were down by five goals with five minutes to go and then caught up. I was allowed to throw in the last second and hit the ball in the free throw to win. Everything has to be right for such strength and mental strength.

If I get the trust, I’ll take the decisive throw.

You scored a spectacular last-second goal once again that season. A specialty of yours?
Sales: I actually scored important goals in the final stages of the season for the Owls. I like to take responsibility in such situations. If I get the trust, I’ll take the decisive throw.

A season later you had to give way to Jannek Klein in the half-right back position. That’s why they achieved a comparatively manageable 66 hits. What was it about?
Sales: This is relatively simple. In handball there is the coach. He decides on the lineup. The coach had more trust in Jannek Klein back then. And you have to say: Jannek did it very well too. Accordingly, I didn’t have the playing time to score more goals. But that’s how it works in the professional business!

Stefan Sales

Photo: Victoria Schwab

You have scored 16 times for TVG so far – with a strong goal rate of 76 percent. What is your personal balance after five match days?
Sales: I feel absolutely comfortable in the club. We have a great team that is very strong in terms of handball, and the team structure also fits pretty well. We all get along very, very well. And we have the great advantage that the team has been playing together like this for a long time. It goes without saying that Magic – Florian Mohr – and I, as the only newcomers, needed some time to get used to it. Personally, I got a better and better feeling from game to game and now hope that I can further improve my performance.

We mustn’t let the owls roll and get into their flow.

A look at Saturday’s opponent. The Eulen Ludwigshafen have been something of a surprise bag of the league in recent years. What does the TVG have to watch out for in the game against your former club?
Sales: We mustn’t let the owls roll and get into their flow. They really like to talk about the emotionality, about the fighting spirit. That’s why we can’t let them warm up so that everyone in the backfield thinks they can have a go. We have to cover aggressively from the start and take advantage of our chances up front. Of course, the support of our fans is important. In the game against Bietigheim in Aschaffenburg, the hall was really loud. Then you manage to decide the game when you are twice outnumbered.

Manfred White

Handball, 2nd Bundesliga, season 2023/24, 6th matchday

TV Großwallstadt – Eulen Ludwigshafen (Saturday, October 7th,

6 p.m., Untermainhalle Elsenfeld); TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke – HC Elbflorenz; EHV Aue – TV Hüttenberg; HSC Coburg – ASV Hamm-Westphalia; Dessau-Rosslauer HV – TSV Bayer Dormagen; SG BBM Bietigheim – VfL Lübeck-Schwartau; VfL Eintracht Hagen – HSG Nordhorn-Lingen; GWD Minden – TuSEM Essen; TuS Vinnhorst – 1. VfL Potsdam.

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