Thanks to Andy Schmid at FC Kriens-Lucerne, the new handball joy has swept across Switzerland. After losing in the final, he still felt complacent.
legend:
He brought handball back into the spotlight
Andy Schmid.
Freshfocus/Martin Meinberger
Andy Schmid is the undisputed Swiss handball star. He felt this after returning to Switzerland. During his twelve years with Rhein-Neckar Löwen, Schmid developed into one of the best players in the world and was named the Bundesliga’s Most Valuable Player no fewer than five times.
His commitment to Kriens-Lucerne therefore brought enormous expectations. Schmid knew this. “I came back with mixed feelings and had a lot of respect,” the 40-year-old said in an interview. Keystone SDA to. However, it was worse than he had imagined.
withstood the pressure
He not only felt the expectations of the club, but also of opponents and fans. The pressure was intense. To be honest, I underestimated it a bit.” It was clear to Schmid that the resulting euphoria would have dissipated quickly if he hadn’t performed. “I knew I could still put my mark on the game. But I had to be very ready, both physically and mentally. The level of the league was better than expected.”
But Schmid didn’t need any startup time. In his first eight league matches, he never scored fewer than eight goals, a total of 83 goals. In the entire season, he scored 259 goals in 33 matches. It also fit perfectly with the Marin Sipic axis.
The cadets are currently at a different level than us. You have more quality.
Kriens-Lucerne qualified on pole and celebrated with Winning the cup for the second title in the history of the club and failing in the playoffs only in the final at Kadeten Schaffhausen (1: 3 victories). “You exceeded my expectations. It was a great season with lots of halls in it, says Schmid. More was not possible.
The last statement confirms his character. Because he could have grumbled because on Thursday in the fourth and final game (28:32) due to a partial rupture of the Achilles tendon he was injured, like three other members of the team.
Instead, Schmid presents himself as a fair loser. “The cadets are currently at a different level than we are now. You have more quality. You have to honestly say that. While we had to do well from the start because of the high expectations, they initially had other priorities with the Europa League.”
The Europeans Schaffhausen were defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual winner Fuchsia Berlin. “We weren’t able to do that. That’s the reality, and the cadets should have a lot of respect for that.”
EM 2024 is the last big target
As far as his injury was concerned, Schmid was lucky. If his Achilles tendon had ruptured, his career would have been over. It would have been more bitter because the next season will be particularly light. The Swiss national team will play the opening match of the European Championship against host Germany on January 10 at the Football Arena in Dusseldorf.
50,000 spectators are expected. “It is second to none. “It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Schmid says with great anticipation. It is already clear that Schmid will stop in 2024. Then he will replace Michael Suter as coach of Switzerland.
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