Modernization, renewal, change: the bundesliga clubs have rough expectations of the change in leadership at the german handball association (DHB).
On saturday, bernhard bauer is to be elected as the new president at the federal convention in dusseldorf, replacing ulrich strombach, who is not running again after 15 years. "I hope that there will be a breath of fresh air. It's not like everything was bad before. But the DHB simply hasn't kept up with the development of the HBL and has missed out on professionalization," said benjamin chatton, manager of TSV hannover-burgdorf, in a survey conducted by the news agency dpa.
Like 69-year-old president strombach, his deputies horst bredemeier, wolfgang gremmel and heinz winden are also stepping down from the association's top post. Bob hanning for competitive sports, rolf reincke for finance and organization and anja matthies for legal affairs are to be elected in their place. In addition, there is the revived position of vice-president of mass sports, for which andreas michelmann has applied. The league presidents reiner witte (men) and berndt dugall (women) as well as georg clarke (youth) and karl-friedrich schwark for the state associations will remain in office from the old presidium.
"I have heard many positive things from bernhard bauer. If bauer and bob hanning are elected to the leadership, i hope for a radical change. It's positive to have practitioners at the top," said matthias rudolph, president of championship-winning HSV hamburg.
Hanning in particular has been a source of controversy. When the manager of the foxes berlin made his bid for the handball world championship in spain in january, he was met with just as much criticism from his predecessors as he was for his concept for competitive sports after failing to qualify for the 2012 olympics. The national associations sometimes still look suspiciously at the doer and excellent networker, because he is brash in coming up with ideas and tackling them. But outside the voluntary work he is appreciated for it and therefore he is considered as a great hopeful.
"Bob hanning is known for many ideas. He will certainly move and restructure things," predicted niels pfannenschmidt, coach of TBV lemgo. And magdeburg manager marc-hendrik schmedt also expects decisive impetus from his 45-year-old colleague in berlin: "i have rough hopes that fundamental changes will come, which may also be painful, but are necessary when bob hanning takes over responsibility for the sporting area."
The appointment of volker zerbe proves that the former co-coach of national coach heiner brand has prepared his commitment to the DHB as cleverly as a fox. The former national player and one-time manager of TBV lemgo is to take the pressure off hanning at the fuchses, particularly with regard to their extensive youth work.
The clubs also want the new leadership team to improve the recent poor communication and significantly polish the association's image. "Things have not been going well lately. Whether it was the general weather situation, the way the club was represented or the relationship to the clubs," is how matthias rudolph described the actual state of affairs. He received approval from thorsten storm: "I expect an improvement in the cooperation between the HBL and the DHB and hopefully also a better presentation of our sport to the public," said the manager of the rhein-neckar lows.
However, the leadership of the association was not solely responsible for the recent hardening of the fronts. "Perhaps in the past, both sides were not sufficiently willing to approach each other," admitted frank bohmann, managing director of the league association HBL, and added: "i hope that we will be better on the way there. And not by pointing the finger at the other side. We also have to take a look at our own nose."