Staff shortage at Champ

Coach after victory: “I have real anger in my stomach”

Now that Klimavets (l.) is also injured, only eight players are available

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Linz handball coach Milan Vunjak was fired up despite the 37:28 test win over St. Pölten! Because the squad is (once again) so small that the coaches of the handball champions have to play in the sessions themselves. However, Vunjak does not see any point in filling the squad with talent.

While manager Uwe Schneider and sports director Max Hermann watched Austria's victory against Qatar live from the stands in Croatia, the Linz handball team won a test against second-division side St. Pölten 37:28. So is it all utter bliss for the reigning champions? Not at all! On the contrary, coach Milan Vunjak ranted afterwards: "I have real anger in my stomach!"

"Like a table tennis team"
In addition to goalkeeper Flo Kaiper, who was sent off for the World Cup and made a number of saves against Qatar, many outfield players were missing during the winter preparations. While Elmar Böhm and Sinan Alkic are completing their basic training, two other key players - Matija Car (head cut) and Andrei Klimavets (nose problem) - are missing important sessions for the hot spring.

"We always have a very thin squad anyway, but we currently have eight outfield players available. It's like a table tennis team," continues the 53-year-old successful coach, who has to fill in with assistant coach Manuel Gierlinger during sessions due to the small number of players. "Sometimes I stand in at cover to help out, but that can't be the case," says Vunjak, who doesn't think it makes much sense to fill out his squad with talent from the Future Team.

"Two classes worse"
"When our regular players train against the youngsters, they are not challenged enough," explains the Slovenian. He emphasizes that he has been making representations to the officials since the summer and demanding reinforcements. Especially as he admits: "The title was not all positive. Expectations are higher, but the quality has dropped by two classes!" Words of warning just a few weeks before the start of the hot phase of the season!