On Sunday, Füchse Berlin will face THW Kiel in a crucial match for positioning near the top of the Bundesliga table. With both teams at 12:4 points, the stakes are high, as the loser may need to reconsider their championship ambitions. The league is exceptionally competitive this season, with surprising contenders like TSV Hannover-Burgdorf and MT Melsungen threatening traditional powerhouses. Despite recent struggles, Kiel remains a formidable opponent as they regain key players. The tension builds as both teams seek vital points to enhance their title chase.
On Sunday, the Füchse Berlin face THW Kiel in a crucial match that could determine their standing near the top of the Handball Bundesliga. The loser might have to postpone their championship ambitions for the time being.
Stefan Kretzschmar is feeling stressed. Standing with coffee and a cigarette in front of the hall in Berlin-Reinickendorf, he is already late for his next appointment. However, when asked about the tight standings in the Handball Bundesliga, he pauses to share his thoughts. “The league is incredibly exciting. It’s impossible to make predictions, which makes it so interesting,” he notes. It feels as though you’re hearing not from the sports director of Füchse, Stefan Kretzschmar, but rather the neutral handball fan within him.
Halfway through the first half of the season, it’s not the record champions Kiel sitting at the top of the table, but rather TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, a team that’s previously settled in the mid-table. Additionally, the top challengers aren’t the usual suspects like SC Magdeburg or Füchse Berlin, but MT Melsungen.
Jaron Siewert, Füchse Berlin coach
Struggle Against the Olympic Blues
Kiel and Berlin are closely matched, both holding a record of 12:4 points: Füchse at fourth place and THW right behind them. This is not a standing that pleases the record champions Kiel. Füchse coach Jaron Siewert, nevertheless, cautions against underestimating the opponent in the upcoming match at Max-Schmeling-Halle (Saturday at 3 PM): “Kiel has been spoken of more poorly than they actually are. I see them definitely as a championship candidate,” Siewert insists. “They’ve recovered excellently, and now their key players are returning. They have a world-class team.”
The fact that the serial champions Kiel need reassurance from a direct competitor speaks volumes about the tight title race in the Bundesliga.
“Currently, I don’t think any spectator can complain. There are more close games than ever because it’s so balanced,” adds Michael Allendorf, sporting director of Melsungen. The tightness of the championship contenders has its reasons.
Too many games and too little recovery time is a lament heard across many areas of elite sports. The handball calendar, in particular, is packed with extraordinary highlights this year. “The strain is enormous,” Allendorf states, reflecting on the season: “First there was the European Championship in January, then the Olympics in the summer, and shortly after that, the season started again.”
Max Beneke, Füchse Berlin
Olympic Champions Frequently Injured
For Stefan Kretzschmar, who once represented the national team 218 times, the dense schedule of major events is another reason for the tight race at the top: “I don’t want to call it Olympic Blues, but some players have definitely struggled with minimal vacation time and the highlight of the Olympics in the summer.” Teams with fewer national players could thus benefit twice: “Hannover had to send very few players away.”
However, participating in a tournament can also be invigorating. German national player Justus Fischer returned from the Olympics in Paris to Hannover “with brutal confidence.”
Allendorf acknowledges this advantage: “We only had Adrian Sipos as an Olympic participant. That certainly benefited us as we could train in nearly full strength throughout the entire preparation,” he remarks.
Three Füchse players participated in the Olympics, including Lasse Andersson and Mathias Gidsel, who both remained in Paris until the end and returned as Olympic champions. Both have frequently been sidelined recently. During the Handball EM, the Reinickendorfer team had seven players representing their respective national teams. Nine Kiel players fought for Olympic medals in Paris, and even eleven represented THW during the Handball EM.
In the Strongest League in the World, Anyone Can Lose to Anyone
Looking at the table reveals that all the so-called giants have dropped significant points. Notably, Hannover and Melsungen have emerged as the dark horses against the favorites. Melsungen has won away against Kiel and at home against Füchse; Hannover triumphed over Füchse and Flensburg.
The top of the table has tightened, now featuring both leaders Hannover and followers Melsungen, alongside two clubs that aim to establish themselves at the top permanently. “It’s the strongest league in