Former world handball player Daniel Stephan criticised national coach Christian Prokop after the disappointing preliminary round of the German team at the European Championship in Croatia.
“Unfortunately, Prokop was unable to provide any impetus from the bank, on the contrary,” Stephan wrote in his Sport1 column:”He has changed too much and was therefore unable to give his players the necessary security.
You shouldn’t make the mistake of badmouthing everything,”but you still have to critically address some things that have been noticed,”Stephan continued.
Prokop’s tactical move to act with seven field players had brought the necessary success in the attack, but still “you get the impression that the team and the coach have not yet adjusted to each other”. This can also be seen in the “time-outs”, where the team is unable to carry out the instructions on the pitch afterwards. is played differently”.
The biggest problems, Stephan continued, were the reigning European champion in the attack, who had not “coped with the physically aggressive coverage of the opponents”:”There was a lack of clout and self-confidence in his own strength. A properly functioning structure was also not available.”
Here too much has changed and with (Julius, d. Red.) Boldly a player was sacrificed “who deserved to show his last shown performances in the Bundesliga also at the European Championship”.
After a win over Montenegro and two draws against Slovenia and Macedonia, Germany finished second in Group C and entered the main round with two points. Their first opponent will be the Czech Republic on Friday, followed by Spain and Olympic champion Denmark.
Despite all the criticism, Stephan still believes that the semi-final will be reached:”However, this requires an increase in the performance of the team and the coach.