In difficult phase - Golla remains DHB captain for handball world championship

In a difficult phase for him personally Johannes Golla receives backing from the German Handball Association. The 28-year-old will also lead the national team at the home World Cup in January as captain. Johannes Golla is the captain of our men’s national team and has led the team on and off the record in an outstanding manner since his appointment to this role. He will also fill this role on the way to and at the home World Cup in January in the usual way, said DHB sports director Ingo Meckes of the German Press Agency. Golla has been captain since November 2021. Golla: Mental health at serious risk The backing of the DHB comes in a difficult phase for Golla personally. The Kreisläufer had recently caused a stir with his desire for a return from the MT Melsungen to the SG Flensburg-Handewitt and spoke publicly about the endangerment of his mental health. "Leaving our entire world behind us, which we have built up on the Fjord in eight years, even people who know me well, have long since seen that I am not well and that it is no longer 'just' homesickness, but my mental health is seriously endangered," Golla wrote on Instagram. Gislason nominates two newcomers for European Championship qualification Before Golla leads the DHB selection at the home World Cup as captain, there are two games for him and his teammates in the European Championship qualification. On 5 November, the DHB selection meets Belgium in Berlin, three days later the team of national coach Alfred Gislason is challenged in Slovakia. For the two games, the Icelander appointed an 18-member squad, which with left-winger David Móré (ThSV Eisenach) and back room player Niklas Theiß (HSG Wetzlar) also include two newcomers. We work with a tribe that knows the processes and is well-rehearsed. But we also emphasized that in individual positions we observe several players and their performances, said Gislason. In addition to Golla, Andreas Wolff, Juri Knorr and Julian Köster are also among the proven performers in the squad.