Yoon missed last chance

Kyung-Shin Yoon was sitting on the HSV bench with legs bent. He looked at the clock again and again. And he was not mistaken: with only a few seconds to play from the last game of the German Cup Final Four, there was not much to do…

Soon afterwards the Korean congratulated the opponent players. He looked petrified. He was disappointed, exhausted or both. He accepted a certificate and a small gift for being chosen the best player of the Final Four, but it could hardly cheer him up. “This accolade is really important for me,” said Kyung-Shin Yoon. “I wanted to win the DHB Cup. It was something like a farewell game for me, my last chance for a German title.”

Incredible, but true: the handballer who played 12 years in the Bundesliga for Gummersbach (1996-2006) and Hamburg (since 2006) and scored 2867 goals – no one scored as much in the 31 years of the league – never won the championship or the DHB Cup.

In his last attempt – there is still a theoretical chance to reach the top in the Bundesliga – Kyung-Shin Yoon gave everything he could. He scored nine goals in the first half, but HSV lost the game after the halftime break. “We were missing some injured players and also some energy,” said Kyung-Shin Yoon. “I was also very tired by the end.”

In May, immediately after the season, Kyung-Shin Yoon will pack and return to South Korea with his family. At least not without a title: in the last season the 2.04-metre tall left handed player won Cup Winners’ Cup with HSV. And now they may reach even more in the Champions League. On Saturday HSV will play the first semi-final game in Ciudad Real.