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Germany booked a place at the <strong>EHF</strong> <strong>EURO</strong> coming from<br />
Qualification Group 5 where they finished first ahead of<br />
Slovenia, Portugal and Switzerland<br />
BEST<br />
7<br />
Wolff<br />
Gensheimer<br />
Pekeler<br />
Groetzki<br />
Fath<br />
Weber<br />
Wiede<br />
64<br />
CHRISTIAN PROKOP<br />
Head Coach<br />
Appointed in February 2017, the 39-year-old Christian<br />
Prokop took over where his predecessor Dagur<br />
Sigurdsson had left without any problems. Under<br />
his guidance, Germany won all four <strong>EHF</strong> <strong>EURO</strong><br />
Qualification matches, including two games against<br />
World Championship 2017 bronze medallists Slovenia.<br />
The only defeat occurred on his debut, in a test match<br />
in Sweden.<br />
Prokop started as a coach at the age of 25 after<br />
a severe knee injury had ended his playing career<br />
prematurely. Parallel to his job with the national team,<br />
Prokop coached German Bundesliga side SC DHfK<br />
Leipzig until June 2017, before turning his full focus to<br />
Uwe Gensheimer & Co. He steered Leipzig to the first<br />
division and was awarded German Handball Coach of<br />
the Season for 2015/16.<br />
Prokop’s contract as head coach of the national team<br />
expires in 2022, and his long-term goal is Olympic gold<br />
in Tokyo.<br />
ANDREAS WOLFF<br />
Key Player<br />
The <strong>EHF</strong> <strong>EURO</strong> 2016 in Poland changed everything<br />
in Andreas Wolff’s life. It was a surprise that he took<br />
over the No. 1 role between the posts from Carsten<br />
Lichtlein during Germany’s campaign, but he went on<br />
to become perhaps the most crucial element of the<br />
trophy win.<br />
After an incredible performance throughout the<br />
tournament, Wolff was the match winner in the final,<br />
saving 48 percent of Spain’s shots for Germany to claim<br />
a 24:17 victory. He was the deserved <strong>EHF</strong> <strong>EURO</strong> Allstar<br />
goalkeeper, which was followed by more awards<br />
such as German handball player of the year, <strong>EHF</strong> Player<br />
of the Month, and even German bearded man of the<br />
year. Next up were the 2016 Olympic Games, where<br />
Germany took the bronze.<br />
Ahead of the 2016/17 season, Wolff transferred to THW<br />
Kiel, where he is part of one of the best goalkeeping<br />
duos in the world with Denmark captain Niklas Landin.<br />
After his contract with ‘Zebras’ will have expired, Wolff<br />
will join Polish Kielce in 2019.
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