AImmediately after the game, Lina Grijseels wasn’t quite sure how to classify everything. On the one hand, there was the clear 32:25 win against Iceland, the enthusiastic spectators in the full Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, and the successful start to the home World Cup. But there were also the first 20 minutes of the opening game, the avoidable slight mistakes, the many bad passes, the slow start to the tournament. But the 29-year-old has already experienced a lot, she was the face of this team alongside Emily Vogel for years, and she is also one of the ones who should lead the way at the world games in Germany and the Netherlands.
Of course, nervousness played a role at the beginning, explained Grijseels, the pressure was as great as the crowd in the sold-out hall with 5,527 spectators, which was also difficult to miss. The fluid moves and well-choreographed fast-paced counter-attacks were offset by unnecessary ball losses, but the German team gradually knew how to free themselves from them. The game was evenly balanced until 6:6, then the better selection increasingly prevailed – and these were the Germans, who were also clearly physically superior. Grijseels, in particular, took responsibility in the bumpy phases, charging through the Icelandic defense in one-on-one games or putting his teammates in the spotlight. The playmaker was not only the top scorer with seven goals, she was also named the best player of the game, as is usual in major title fights.
It is the role that their coach Markus Gaugisch has assigned that Grijseels takes responsibility, sets the rhythm on the field and leads the team. The backcourt player takes on this leadership position: “Sure, I’m the one with Emily who is supposed to lead the way and take the boys by the hand, I’m happy to do that.” Like the aforementioned teammate Vogel, 27, who has been playing for the Hungarian top club Ferencvaros Budapest for five years, Grijseels has also gained a lot of experience at the highest level. After stints with the French series champions Metz and the Romanian equivalent Bucharest, she returned to her hometown club Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga this season and is also playing in the Champions League with the black and yellow.
This experience should help to get past the quarter-finals at the home World Cup, that is the host’s ambitious goal. In recent years it has always been over in the quarter-finals at the latest, the last World Cup medal was bronze in 2007. National coach Gaugisch’s team had four overpowering nations in front of them in France, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and at the latest when it came against one of these teams, it was the end of the line. Co-hosts Netherlands are also expecting a lot for the current World Cup.
National coach Gaugisch has a good mix of proven talent and promising talent
So how does Grijseels see the start of the tournament? “I’m proud of the team, how cool we reacted in the second half, because the Icelanders never gave up.” Of course she knows that we have to improve and that a win against Iceland is not what the German team is aiming for, but she is confident: “In defense we didn’t have the access we wanted at the beginning, we can do better. And in attack we are very variable, I especially liked the sovereignty in the second half.”
In fact, after the 18:14 at half-time, the hosts continued to improve and gave the enthusiastic spectators an idea of how the big goal could be achieved: The aggressive defense in front of the strong Katharina Filter in the goal resulted in ball wins, which were converted into quick counterattacks and safe goals, mainly by the nimble Jenny Behrend on the right wing, who scored five times. The young novices in the team were also convincing: Aimée von Pereira, alongside Vogel and the strong Xenia Smits, gave the defense stability, while Nieke Kühne contributed five goals to the victory on the left. Left-hander Viola Leuchter, 21 years old like Pereira and Kühne, is already in the backcourt. The powerful attacker contributed four goals, but also saw room for improvement: “I was very excited, started stable, then slowed down a bit, but it’s getting better.”
Gaugisch’s continuous work over the past few years can be seen in the team; he has put together a mixture of experienced people and promising talents who are now set to make the breakthrough. “It’s the result of a long process. We’ve been at operating temperature all year long. Now everyone is burning for the common goal that we have,” the coach confirmed, adding that he had put together a personnel puzzle “in which every player can contribute their strengths.”
The protagonists agreed on one more point after the opening game, Grijseels spoke from his colleagues’ hearts: “It was incredibly fun.” On Friday the opponent is outsider Uruguay, followed on Sunday by the last preliminary round game against Serbia (both 6 p.m.), which defeated the South Americans 26:17. Then we go to the main round in Dortmund, ideally with two more wins, because the points from the preliminary round are taken with us. And then at the latest one of the top nations will be waiting in the quarter-finals, but no one wanted to look that far ahead: the fun has just begun.