Kriens – Cadets in the final: New handball rivals

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Andy Schmid (39) against Joan Canellas (36) or Kriens-Luzern against Kadetten Schaffhausen: Handball Switzerland will get its dream final from Whit Monday. At the same time, the current season could be the start of a long rivalry for national supremacy.

In the last three playoff finals, the cadets (champion 2019, 2022, runner-up 2021) still faced Pathi Winterthur. Now Kriens-Luzern has broken through this phalanx by winning the cup and reaching the final.

The heated cup final, which Schaffhausen lost 30:32, showed how seriously the cadets take their new challenger. After the game, they wrote in an official club statement about the lack of fairness. In addition, two scenes were shown suggesting attacks by the two Krienser Schmid and goalkeeper Rok Zaponsek. Although the waves have now calmed down, explosiveness is still not lacking for the upcoming best-of-five series.

Because with coach Peter Kukucka and international Dimitrij Küttel, two central HCK figures have a long cadet past. In addition, Schaffhausen winger Nik Tominenc will also move to Central Switzerland after the season, taking over as head of sports from Nick Christen.

Kriens-Luzern is a long-term project

The revival in Kriens, of course, has a lot to do with the name Andy Schmid. In the wake of the long-standing Bundesliga star, other international players such as the German Fabian Böhm and the Croat Marin Sipic have also found their way to Switzerland.

But what will happen to the club when Schmid ends his career in 2024 at the age of almost 41 and takes over as national coach? The construction of the Pilatus Arena alone shows that the project in Kriens is about something sustainable and not a quick fix. The new hall with 4,500 seats should finally be ready at the end of 2025. And while other Swiss handball clubs are still run on a voluntary basis, professional organizational structures have long been in place in Kriens-Luzern.

The biggest flaw in the new handball glory in Central Switzerland is the indoor situation: In order not to play the home games in a better school gym, Kriens-Luzern moves to the Stadthalle Sursee for important games – including the playoff final. (cmu)

Source : Blick