After the villainy, the resurrection: that is what lies behind the Swiss handball sensation

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What was the beating for the national handball team after the 14:27 defeat against Germany – also by this newspaper? The word slap appeared almost everywhere and some called the start of the European Championship embarrassing. In Germany there was even anger about the Swiss performance. “In fact, everyone was there, except Andy Schmid,” complained former international Michael “Mimi” Kraus (40) to Dyn.

Instead of big words, the national team responds with big actions: the 26:26 against Olympic champions and co-favorites France is one of the biggest surprises in Swiss handball history. A surprise that almost no one thought possible and that would not have been possible without impeccable character and team spirit. “We suffered for three days,” Schmid said in an SRF interview about the time between the matches in Germany and France. Even Läustermaul Kraus should not have missed his twelve assists.

Andy Schmid (40) shows once again what has made him such an excellent playmaker during his career: the partially blind passes find their way to the circle runner, even when there is actually no gap in the world-class French defense . The addressee of these face-offs is primarily Lukas Laube, who converted nine of his ten throws and was named the best player of the game. In total, 12 of Nati’s 26 goals came from outside the circle.

On Wednesday, the Swiss were no less than 13 goals worse than the Germans. But in times of need they tried to force their luck. They lost their heads and started throwing the balls away. Especially in the second half, many of the German goals came as counter-attacks after mistakes. It was very different against France: even when they were four goals behind for the first time in the second half, the Swiss remained calm. The ball moves smoothly, there are no hasty finishes or unnecessarily fast play on display.

The slightly flatter defense of the French suits the Swiss better on Wednesday than the more aggressive defense of the Germans. Moreover, France is continually surprised by Schmid’s passes. The Germans, on the other hand, were well prepared for the tricks of their former teammate and opponent from the Bundesliga. And: Just when Nati’s attack starts to falter, coach Michael Suter uses the seventh field player. It’s nice to be lucky that the French goalkeeper didn’t hit the empty Swiss goal twice.

Source : Blick