National handball team starts European Championship in front of 53,000 spectators: Even Federer has never played in front of so many fans

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World record spectators at the European Handball Championships. And the Swiss national team is in the middle of its opening match against Germany. The 53,000 fans in Düsseldorf are an unprecedented, incredible audience, but 53,000 are also extraordinary far beyond handball boundaries.

Apart from our football stars in the major foreign leagues, hardly any Swiss athlete has ever competed in front of so many people. Not even Roger Federer (42), the greatest Swiss athlete in history. The largest tennis stadium is in New York with 24,000 seats. And when Federer played in a football stadium and set the tennis world record, there were ‘only’ 52,000 fans at the ‘Match for Africa’ in Cape Town.

Stucki: “Don’t be shocked by the invasion”

Christian Stucki (38), on the other hand, knows the extraordinary leap from fairly quiet locations to a gigantic arena, as handball players are now experiencing. Stucki became wrestling king in Zug in 2019 in front of 56,000 fans. He says: “It’s really cool to compete in front of so many spectators. That was always special for me during my eight participations in the Federal Government. The first time was 40,000 ago, then it got a little bigger. Then Zug was the highlight with 56,000.”

Stucki encourages our national team: “Don’t be afraid in the beginning. It’s a special feeling when you march in. Enjoy everything, the people, the atmosphere. It will roar and rage. But enjoy it, take this atmosphere with you.”

The Bernese gives the handball players even more tips: “There will certainly be many Germans in the stadium, but that doesn’t matter. Just give it your all, enjoy playing sports in front of so many people and show what you can do. It will be fine.”

Zenhäuser and Schurter are encouraging

However, many other athletes have never competed in front of 53,000 people. Such as the ski stars in the World Cup, starting with high-flyer Marco Odermatt (26). But Ramon Zenhäuser (31) mentions that he always reaches the magical limit in night slalom. “As a slalom specialist who has already competed several times in Schladming in front of 50,000 spectators, I can assure our handball players that such a large audience is an additional motivation,” says Zenhäuser.

While ex-swinger Stucki would only be considered a pivot with his handball stance, Zenhäuser would be considered a defensive shooter with his 2.02 meters. But he waves it away: “Although from a purely physical point of view I would have good conditions for this sport as a double meter player, I have never really played handball. Unfortunately there are only a few clubs here in Valais. But of course I am looking forward to this European Championship.”

Graubünden is not exactly a handball stronghold either. Nino Schurter (37) from Chur became a legend in mountain biking and won everything there was to win. Despite winning the Olympics, he never kicked in front of 53,000 fans.

That’s why Schurter says: “It is an enormous privilege to compete against such a background. You train every day for such great performances.” Schurter has never cycled in front of 50,000 people – in front of tens of thousands such as at various world championships or at the home World Cup in Lenzerheide GR. “I was always grateful when there were so many fans,” says the Graubünden resident, who keeps his fingers crossed for the handball players and says: “ You should not see the great atmosphere as extra pressure, but as a source of extra tension. Energy. That has always been the case for me.”

Mehmedi: “The first time is special”

A Swiss who was already on the field in the Düsseldorf Arena is ex-Nati star Admir Mehmedi (32). As a football player against Fortuna Düsseldorf. “At a certain point, such sets are no longer special. “I have always played in front of so many fans throughout my career,” says Schaffhausen’s current sports director.

But Mehmedi also knows this wow effect that awaits handball players. Because the first time in front of really full stands remains with him to this day. In 2009, as a young FCZ player, he appeared on the field for the first time in front of 56,000 fans in the Champions League in Marseille. Mehmedi about the heated atmosphere: “It was special because it was also in Marseille.”

Just like the FCZ in Marseille, the national handball team will also have the public against it. But slalom rider Zenhäuser knows a recipe for an away match: “There is a good chance that Switzerland will have many fans against them against the hosts. But that can also provide extra motivation, because as an athlete you say to yourself: ‘Friends, now I will show you!’ My fellow driver Henrik Kristoffersen works in exactly the same way. The more hostile the atmosphere, the faster he drives.”

Source : Blick