THW Kiel is worried about Champions League qualification. After bankruptcies against VfL Gummersbach (26:34) and TVB Stuttgart (27:32), the “Zebras” already have 14 minus points in the handball Bundesliga.
After 24 games, the THW is in fifth place in the table – four points behind third place, which may be enough for the premier class, and already five points behind second place, which means secure qualification for the Champions League.
“THW can’t lose anything anymore!”
That’s why Stefan Kretzschmar says in Dyn-Format “Kretzsche & Schmiso”: “The THW can’t lose anything until the end of the season! That’s actually not possible in this league.”
The former sports director of Füchse Berlin says: “If Johansson is out, if the most creative element of THW Kiel, Skipagotu, is out and Madsen with his throwing power is out – then that of course has an impact on the performance of this club and this team.”
Kretzschmar: THW is a “highlight team”
Kretzschmar expresses doubts about the team’s mentality: “THW Kiel is not a team in which players are capable or have the motivation level, and now I might be exaggerating to say that they give 100 percent in every game.”
Instead, Kiel is a “highlight team that can win at the Final Four.” Stefan Kretzschmar emphasizes Dyn: “They can win this thing. They can win at home against Magdeburg, whose kryptonite they are obviously. But they find it difficult to do that week after week with the structure and also with the bloodletting that they have, which cannot be explained away.”
Next THW opponent Flensburg “also a bit vulnerable”
For the 53-year-old, the mix between young, hungry players and internationally experienced players at the “Zebras” is not right.
The next game for Filip Jicha’s team? The Bundesliga northern derby against SG Flensburg-Handewitt on Saturday (March 14th). Kretzschmar expects a “highly exciting” duel. Because: Flensburg are “beatable and also a bit vulnerable and not as stable as they need to be”.
