Youngster Felix Aellen stirs up the handball competition

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The originally planned first small steps in the NLA turned into big leaps: with Felix Aellen, a teenager immediately started in the Swiss handball world. The 19-year-old backcourt player for BSV Bern has gone from an up-and-coming newcomer to one of the most interesting acts in the league in less than a year.

Aellen can now call himself a national player, is by far the youngest and is one of the top scorers in Nationalliga A – and already plays a key role in the club.

“Actually, the intention was that I would first gain as much experience as possible in my first real NLA season. But then one thing led to another”, Aellen looks back with a smile. Failures in the team suddenly gave «Fixu» more playing time – and paved the way for him to show his huge potential.

Only a trio more successful

Aellen plays so well that he quickly becomes a mainstay of the team. 160 goals in the main round underline this. It is the fourth best value in the league. Behind the toppers Lukas von Deschwanden (Wacker Thun/201 goals), Andy Schmid (Kriens-Luzern/201) and Aleksander Spende (Basel/225).

Aellen says: “This season is definitely my breakthrough. The sudden amount of playing time has allowed me to gain more and more confidence and take responsibility.”

EM participation is possible

A year ago, Aellen played in the NLB with partner club TV Solothurn and was captain of the U21 national team. After his national debut at the beginning of the year, he can now rightly hope for Euro 2024 in Germany (“that would be great”). And he has a chance to shine again in the playoff semi-final series against Kriens-Luzern that starts on Thursday. He says: “It will be very difficult for us against Andy Schmid, Fabian Böhm and Co. But we also have an advantage: the pressure is clearly on the opponent – ​​we can take advantage of that.”

Aellen will only turn 20 in October, but he already speaks calmly and reflects like a veteran. He does not want to be proud of his steep climb. On the contrary. He says: “The top is still waiting for me. I have to confirm my performance next season, that will be a big challenge.” This is why he doesn’t want to look too far ahead in his career. Of course he also dreams of going abroad and big titles, but he also says: “I know that a few more years in Switzerland will do me good. I want to be an experienced player in this league.”

A candidate for abroad

Of course his coach Martin Rubin likes to hear that. But he also says: “If Felix has settled, I am convinced that he will be a candidate for abroad. He has everything to make a great career.”

Rubin especially praises Aellen’s focus on sports – also outside of training: “He invests a lot, studies videos, talks to people who have a lot of experience. He always wants to get better.” And then Rubin also expresses a wish: “Once he is gone, he is welcome to return to BSV Bern in his handball autumn.”

Source : Blick