German handball coach still 'optimistic'

Germany plays its first game in the Handball World Championships in Qatar on Friday, January 15. Although they missed out on qualifying via the direct route, the 2007 World Champions were given a wildcard entry to the event. Germany's national team coach Dagur Sigurdsson will be taking a young team to the tournament.

DW: You have worked as a coach in handball for a long time, now you are heading to your first World Championship. How are you approaching this tournament?

Sigurdsson: I played in a few big tournaments, when I was still active myself. We are excited, but there will also be a lot of hard work involved. I am trying to look at the positives. We have a lot of positive aspects to our team, we have a perfect set-up, in contrast to many other teams. For that reason, I am very optimistic about the tournament.

When Germans think of handball many remember the country's successful hosting of the World Championships back in 2007. Germany is set to host the tournament again in 2019. To what extent is this squad for Qatar part of your planning for that event?

We won't be thinking about the 2019 tournament. We are focused on what is in front of us. The guys are motivated, I can tell. The squad does have a lot of young players. They are good enough for our squad now and they could be an option for 2019.

Through your work in the Bundesliga, you obviously know the sort of players that are playing in Germany. Just how many good young players are out there? When can Germany get back to the lofty heights of 2007?

I have no doubt; it can happen quicker than many people think. But it may take a few years, because there are a lot of top international teams out there. Sweden had problems recently for instance. They were out of the picture for a few years and then suddenly, in 2012, they won silver at the Olympics.

Amongst the youngsters, Paul Drux seems to be a player with a lot of potential. He played with you in Berlin, and was Junior European Champion last year. What are his strengths?

For a 19 year old, he's very good. He's an all-round player. He can play in defense or in attack. He is good in one-on-one situations, and he has a good throw on him, too. The way he plays, he could help our team a lot.

Germany did not qualify for Qatar directly, but got there via a wildcard spot. Now, they are up against the best in the world. How well will the team go?

Due to the wildcard entries, Group C and D are very strong. We will have to meet that challenge first. I believe that our team can beat countries like Poland and Denmark, but we also have to get past Argentina and Russia. It will be tough, and we will have to be strong enough mentally. We are just going to give it our best shot, and then we will have a good chance.

In the last few years France has really dominated international handball and the rest seem to have been playing catch up. Would you agree?

If you look at the last 10 years, France, Spain, Denmark and Croatia have all dominated. Behind them are a large group of teams that play at our level. We have to push our way forward now. You can only do that by winning games though, and by working harder than the others.

Dagur Sigurdsson (41) was born in Reykjavik. In his active career he played in Iceland, Germany, Austria and Japan. Since 2009 he has worked as coach at Füchse Berlin. Since August 1, 2014 he's also worked as the German national team coach.