Criticism used as motivation: Swiss shake up the handball Bundesliga

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

The German handball experts agreed on one point before the start of the season: the two promoted teams Eisenach and Balingen will be relegated immediately. The difference in quality with the established Bundesliga clubs is too great.

The fact that the prediction has not yet come true and that Eisenach is in midfield after ten match days is partly thanks to three Swiss: top scorer Manuel Zehnder (23), coach Misha Kaufmann (39) and winger Timothy Reichmuth (24). ). “Of course we have heard these reviews,” says Zehnder. “They were an extra motivation. We knew what we could do and so we weren’t really surprised at the start of the season.”

In addition to the tumbling giants from Kiel and Flensburg, the surprising newcomer is the topic of conversation on the first matchdays of the Bundesliga. Zehnder does not have to look far for the reasons: “Misha is a world-class trainer. He is tactically flexible and adapts perfectly to our opponents.” In particular, the unusually attacking defense with three advanced players poses a number of problems for other teams.

The fact that Zehnder praises his coach so much also has to do with the special relationship between the two: he already played under Kaufmann in Switzerland at Suhr Aarau. They have known each other for almost ten years now. Now they want to stay in the competition together. «This competition does not sleep. We have to be able to adapt our game and learn from the six defeats so far,” says Zehnder. So far, Eisenach has only scored points at its own home, the Werner Assmann Hall, which with over 3,000 seats is one of the smallest but also the loudest in the competition.

Zehnder is flourishing

For Zehnder personally, the loan to the newly promoted team is a dream constellation after a disappointing first Bundesliga season at the ambitious HC Erlangen: “I enjoy the coach’s full confidence here and I can make a mistake every now and then. At Erlangen I was immediately back on the bench if I didn’t perform.” With 71 goals he is the third best goalscorer in the league, although there are still one or two missed shots too many, as he puts it. Zehnder’s contract with Erlangen runs until 2026. It is still unclear whether he will return to the Nuremberg region after this season or remain in Eisenach (state of Thuringia).

It is clear that the Swiss national team should also benefit from his quality and speed. After a hesitant start – Zehnder could have played for the DHB because of his German mother – he has now become an indispensable part of Michael Suter’s team. Zehnder sees no problem in the fact that, like team leader Andy Schmid (40), he prefers to be deployed in the position of playmaker: “Of course I always want to play. But just because I have played ten good Bundesliga games, I don’t demand that Andy should be on the bench.

Source : Blick