It only took a few minutes for andreas wolff to look ahead. The german national handball goalkeeper did it in his sometimes dry but clear way.
"With all due respect to korea, who did a good job, they weren’t our size," said wolff, who was named player of the match, after the easy 30:19 win to start the world cup at home.
13.500 spectators had enthusiastically celebrated the first victory, german president frank-walter steinmeier applauded on the tribune – but the unequal showdown with the asians hardly occupied wolff’s mind afterwards. For him, the game in the mercedes-benz arena in berlin had apparently not even been a real start to the tournament.
"I’m looking forward to when the tournament really gets going on saturday," said wolff. Then it’s on to the brazilians, who could cause the DHB selection a lot more difficulties. He could hardly wait to see "if we’re going to have a game of point and shoot, what the atmosphere will be like for 60 minutes," said wolff.
If it goes according to the plan of national coach christian prokop, however, his team will not yet experience this against the sudamericans. A commanding victory in the second game should lay the foundation for the targeted entry into the main round. Another basis for this is the torhut wolff. The 27-year-old pays back prokop’s unusually early decision to make him number one goalkeeper with strong performances. Against the koreans, the THW kiel keeper was the best german with a number of saves, and he also made numerous saves against argentina in the dress rehearsal for the world cup.
"If the coach tells you that he trusts you, then that is of course a completely different motivation than if you are unsure whether you will play or not," said the 2016 european champion. The second goalkeeper silvio heinevetter accepts the clear distribution of roles without any problems so far. Heinevetter is there when wolff needs a break. In training, the two self-confident keepers, who in the past were often said to have a complicated relationship, could recently be seen talking to each other.
"We need a goalkeeper team that is able to consistently complement each other. Because that is simply crucial for a tournament like this," said prokop. Even wolff will experience weak phases during the world cup. Against the brazilians, however, he will now get a taste of what he likes so much: a full handball arena on a saturday evening (18.3 p.M./television) and a game against an opponent who is at least physically much stronger.
Wolff loves these duels on a rough stage. Best proof is the successful european championship 2016 in poland, where he had shown his best performance in the final against spain.