Handball-EM: Hanning-Interview:”The coach has to make serious decisions”.

After the defeat against Spain, the European Championship in Croatia is over for the German national team. Immediately afterwards, Bob Hanning answered journalists’ questions in the Varazdin Arena.

The DHB vice-president commented on national coach Christian Prokop, on the subject of Finn Lemke and on how to deal with the whole mess.

Question: Mr. Hanning, the German team gave the game completely out of hand in the second half. What was going on with the DHB team at this stage?

Bob Hanning: We fell apart, all of us together. I take Steffen Fäth in this place because he had a cold. Nevertheless, Christian Prokop had to bring it sometime and try it with him. I think we can agree on that. Unfortunately, however, Steffen could not help us in this constitution.

Question: Spain had a 9-0 run, Germany, on the other hand, had about 12 minutes without a goal.

Hanning: We didn’t find a solution at all, and in five or six minutes we gave everything we had previously won to ourselves. What happened at this stage is hard to digest.

Question: Why has the team never managed to keep a steady hand in their game throughout the tournament?

Hanning: I don’t have an exact explanation for this in a hurry. It must be said that we have not been constant, I agree. Anything else wouldn’t be honest. The fact is that we have made far too many mistakes, including recurring mistakes. And we have never succeeded in consistently appearing as a unit for more than 60 minutes. Then you have a problem because a European championship does not forgive mistakes.

Question: Who is to blame for the end of the main round?

Hanning: It would be dubious to settle up so soon after the game. One thing is clear: we missed our target. We did not achieve what we had set ourselves, nor did we discuss it. It would have been quite possible to reach the goal, i. e. the semi-final. Now it’s time to analyse what it was all about. After such a tournament you can critically question many things. But to say from an emotion:”This and that was wrong, here and there one should have done something different, would be dubious.

Question: What role did the coach play in this poor performance?

Hanning: The coach is part of the team. He’s as much a part of the squad as I am and every single player is. That’s why the coach has to make his decisions just like I mean and the players have to work through them seriously. In order to come up with solutions how to do better in the future.

Question: The topic surrounding the non-nomination of Finn Lemke has caused a stir. Was this persona underestimated by the national coach?

Hanning: On the subject of Lemke, I just say: I don’t think it did us any good.

Question: You should know even better than Prokop what an important role Lemke plays within the team. Do you have to blame yourself for not having warned the national coach?

Hanning: I think the sports decision has to be made by the coach. And he was convinced he was doing it right. After three days he has already reacted.

Question: Are there other things that Prokop did wrong?

Hanning: We have to work through this calmly. We didn’t do our homework the way we should have done it. That’s what I can say today. It is clear and correct that criticism is the result.

Question: Do you expect strong headwinds in the coming days?

Hanning: If you play like us, badly, you deserve a headwind. That wasn’t good, we just threw it away. Too easy and way too fast. There were also some good moments in this tournament, but it wasn’t all bad. But the result is bad – and then everything is bad.

Question: When will the European Championships begin?

Hanning: We now let a few days pass, then we sit down together within the next three weeks and analyze the EM. You have to allow a little time to pass until everyone’s opinion has consolidated a little bit.