Sascha Staat Unplugged

From Kielce we move on to Macedonia – Skopje to be exact – in our preview of next season’s Champions League.  After Yugoslavia’s split up, the nation of Macedonia became one of the most interesting stories in the world of handball, while superstar Kiril Lazarov put the small country on the map with his outstanding performances over the years.  So …

I’ve seen a lot of handball games on location, especially in recent times.  Finals of all major tournaments like the EURO, the World Championship or even the Olympic games. Final matches of European club competitions like the EHF Cup or the Cup Winners Cup.  But none of them did come anywhere close to the dramatic ending of this year’s Champions …

I guess by now all of you have read about the new rules which were put into effect prior to the start of the new season.  They were in use already during the Olympic games in Rio da Janeiro, which was not just bad timing, but also let me think what the hell was going on in the minds of …

He’s young, maybe a little bit crazy as well, but first and foremost he’s fun to talk to.  He was a member of the young German national team that stunned the world of handball, winning the EHF Euro 2016 in Poland.  And since Jannik Kohlbacher is a “stregspiller”, why not take a closer look at him and his position, his …

Yes, he’s as cold as ice, but unlike the musicians of “Foreigner” in their world-famous song from 1977, Dagur Sigurdsson is taking advice, mostly from his assistant coaches Axel Kromer and Alexander Haase.  Still, the Icelandic mastermind is in the spotlight, and rightfully so.  Within two years he has changed the attitude and culture of the German national handball team …

He’s outspoken, he’s charismatic, and he’s a good player.  Still German “stregspiller” Christoph Theuerkauf is currently without a club.  It’s strange because when you look at his career and his age, – he’s still just 31 years old – you might think a lot of teams could use someone like Theuerkauf.  So, I gave him a call to ask him …

Yes, Russian athletes are probably not the most popular people these days.  After German journalist Hajo Seppelt had uncovered a national doping system and the McLaren report was published, a lot of people wanted Russia to be excluded from the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro.  We all know the outcome of the story, so we should put it behind …

Yes, I know, the league officially started last night when HSG Wetzlar hosted Füchse Berlin in a very entertaining game.  It’s a shame nobody could witness what happened except for the 4,083 spectators on location.  But that’s another issue that I will talk about at a later stage.  Let’s focus on the sport and what the so-called “best handball league …

After taking a look back at the women’s tournament of Rio de Janeiro, now let’s have a look at the men’s competition.  It was expected to be an open race before the first match and when you just focus on the semifinals, where both games were decided in the final seconds, one of them going to extra-time, it tells you …

The Olympic games ended just a week ago in the rain of Rio de Janeiro, but it’s never too early to look back at what has happened in Brazil.  What will we remember from the handball tournament? Let’s start with the women’s side, where the host had big hopes coming into the competition, beating the reigning World- and European champion, …