Christian Zeitz returns to the Handball Bundesliga once again: The 39-year-old – most recently active with third division team SG Nußloch – signed with TVB Stuttgart until the end of the season.
“Of course we are aware that Christian can’t win games for us alone. We don’t expect him to do so either,” explained Stuttgart’s managing director and coach Jürgen Schweikardt. “Nevertheless, we are convinced that with his experience and presence, especially after David Schmidt’s retirement, he can be an important factor in the fight to keep his class. He is a player who can make the difference at the decisive moment.
Schmidt had injured his throwing hand in the home game against SC DHfK Liepzig and was out of the tournament for several weeks. In the right back area Zeitz is supposed to relieve Robert Markotic who is also injured. The 2007 World Champion will be part of the “Wild Boys” squad as early as Thursday evening during a guest appearance at MT Melsungen. The 166-time national team player had last played for third-league club Nußloch, but was forced out of the game on Wednesday after filing for insolvency.
Zeitz himself is looking forward to the new challenge. “I know what a difficult situation the club is in,” said the 39-year-old: “Together we are now working to keep TVB Stuttgart in the upper echelons of German handball. With 13:29 points, the Swabians are currently only just ahead of the first relegation spot in the HBL as the 16th in the table.
After an inglorious retirement: On Sunday they will go straight to Kiel
Zeitz is in for a piquant reunion on Sunday (4pm) when the TVB makes a guest appearance at the THW Kiel. Zeitz had played for the Kielers from 2003 to 2014 and from 2016 to 2018, becoming champion nine times and Champions League winner three times with them. However, he retired in discord: After contract disputes he was suspended, and subsequently the THW even removed Zeitz’ portrait from the ancestral portrait gallery in Kiel’s Sparkassen-Arena.