Rhein-Neckar Löwen have lost contact with the leading group of the handball Bundesliga. Sebastian Hinze should bring the two-time German champion back on track.
When Sebastian Hinze sits in an armchair and listens to records, his wife likes to talk about “retirement style”. The new Rhein-Neckar coach Löwen is still quite young at 43. It is therefore not surprising that Hinze started his new job with the Bundesliga handball team full of passion and enthusiasm.
Gensheimer feels the enthusiasm
Lion captain Uwe Gensheimer also feels the enthusiasm. “Sebastian is very happy with this task, you can tell by him,” says the world-class left winger of the man facing a real challenge. He should bring back the two-time German champions who fell to the top teams of the Bundesliga. But it will take time. Hinze speaks of “three to five years”.
An unusual solution
Already in the spring of 2021 the lions made the commitment of the native from Wuppertal perfect. They waited a year and a half for the coach of their dreams, who was under contract with Bergisches HC until June. An unusual solution. But also one of which the inhabitants of North Baden were and are convinced. They absolutely wanted Hinze, precisely because in discussions with the managers he presented a convincing plan and also found clear words about it.
The coach underlines that he said “nothing bad”, only his “evaluation” of “how I see the lions compared to the other top teams”. And they were only “crashed for the first time”.
For a long time it was considered difficult to imagine that Hinze would one day leave Bergisches HC. He worked there for ten years and there were always requests from other clubs. But the coach always refused because he couldn’t understand why the clubs concerned wanted him out of everyone.
Hinze: “I’m a coach who likes to grow up”
With lions, however, it was different. He immediately found the job interesting because the Palatinate is a club “in transition” “and I am a coach who likes to grow. I immediately felt that I could help here,” says Hinze. Rather less decisive for him was the attraction of driving a former top club again. Rather, it’s always about the task, as he points out with a pleasant distance from professional activity.
“My personal happiness does not depend on my job as a Bundesliga manager,” says Hinze. Now he is with the lions. From time to time Hinze comes to train on his bike, in an endurance session he also raced with the team – and finished last. He looks like a boy friend. But Hinze doesn’t call himself that.
“I think you can get along with me quite well. But when we’re in the room, there are clear announcements.” National goalkeeper Joel Birlehm confirms: “Sebastian is not far from the team, but he has a good distance and a plan that we want to implement,” he says. If this plan works, Hinze should soon be able to relax in his “retiree style” on the wingchair again.
