Pascal Hens grew to become the world champion in 2007 with the German nationwide crew. In an unique interview, he talks about Germany’s possibilities towards quarter-final opponents France, his former team-mate Guillaume Gill and DHB younger star Juri Knorr.
Skysport.de: Before the Norway match, there have been blended opinions within the German crew as as to if Spain or France can be probably the most favorable quarter-final opponent for the DHB crew. Now will probably be towards France on Wednesday. What do you say?
Pascal’s Hens: I feel France is a barely higher crew, however we have not appeared that good towards Spain in latest tournaments. Their goalies have at all times performed towards Germany, similar to the Norwegian goalies determined the sport towards us on Monday. That’s why I do not assume it is unhealthy that we did not play Spain.
Skysport.de: What is the power of the French nationwide crew?
Chickens: The French are a scrappy crew with very sturdy gamers in all positions. They are very nicely skilled and have quite a lot of expertise in defence.
Skysport.de: Nikola Karabátic is aware of many German followers from his time at Kiel, and his brother Luca can be one of many skilled French gamers. Which gamers to be careful for?
Chickens: Nikola Karabatic is not as recent as he was, however due to his nice self-discipline and presence, he is made an look. He and his brother are previous arms, however the French have loads of different gamers to call two video games, equivalent to Dika Mem and Nedim Remilly.
Skysport: France coach Guillaume Gill performed with you for a very long time in Hamburg. What are you able to say about it?
Chickens: “Gino” is an excellent man. During his time, France developed fairly a bit by way of the sport. He has really feel for a way the crew works. The processes are going nicely within the French crew, so it is rather tough to beat.
Pascal Hens (middle) and brothers Guillaume (left) and Bertrand Gil win the German championship with HSV Hamburg in 2011.© Imago
Skysport.de: How ought to Germany play to beat the French?
Chickens: We must defend nicely with good goalkeepers and play bravely going ahead. But if we hesitate to assault towards this skilled protection and fail to complete, the French will overtake us. You ought to attempt to take straightforward objectives away from the opponent with a fast retreat and rating as many straightforward objectives your self as doable.
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The German crew had an in depth combat with the favourite Norway, but it surely was not sufficient for the victory. According to Alfred Gislason, efficiency enchancment continues to be wanted for the quarter-final towards France.
Skysport.de: With Juri Knorr, objectives typically look straightforward. He is a playmaker, scored most of Germany’s objectives within the World Cup and obtained many plaudits for his efficiency. Marcus Baur, your 2007 world champion playmaker, gave Knorr the title of “world class”. Knorr’s coach at Rhine-Neckar Leuven, Sebastian Hinze, would not see him that far, saying he nonetheless wants to realize worldwide expertise. How do you see it?
Chickens: I see him as Sebastian Hinze. We want to provide time to the kid. Markus Baur is correct, Yuri is enjoying freely on this world cup and 22 years may be very far. He has braveness and makes vital selections, however he makes errors. He will be taught lots within the coming years and will probably be much more thrilling for us.
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Despite dropping to Norway, the German crew was not dissatisfied. On the opposite: they proved that they’re equal to the most effective on the planet. That’s why Yuri Knorr sees probability towards France.
Skysport.de: At the 2007 World Cup, you and Germany set the stage for a dramatic semi-final victory over France. Are you jittery forward of Wednesday’s quarter-finals?
Chickens: Not due to the previous, the World Cup title was 16 years in the past, however after I see a crew like France within the quarter-finals of the general World Cup, it offers me goosebumps. I do not see any competitors, however I’m wanting ahead to the sport.
Skysport.de: What is your prediction?
Chickens: A number of issues have to come back collectively if we need to beat France. The predominant factor is, as I mentioned: be courageous! France is the favorite, however not invincible, Germany has no want to cover. In earlier tournaments, we didn’t have the braveness to enter the second wave of such video games, we performed too cautiously and have been afraid of constructing errors. This 12 months we performed with confidence and acquired quite a lot of confidence from the final two video games.
The interview was performed by Torsten Mesch
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