New chapter in Flensburg

On 21 December, just one day after the 29:37 defeat from THW Kiel, SG Flensburg-Handewitt fired coach Kent-Harry Andersson despite his contract valid until June 2010.

“This was a necessary step,” underlined Fynn Holpert in the official statement afterwards. “We need to give new impulses for the team and the management and board believe that this decision might bring the team back on the winning track.”

“The players are just as responsible for the bad results as the coach,” said the captain of the team, Ljubomir Vranjes.

Pér Carlen took the team over and the last match of 2008 ended with a draw in Stuttgart against Balingen with him on the bench. At the moment Flensburg are only 6th on the league table.

In fact, there team of the town near the Danish border has not seen such a bad series since 1997. Andersson knew this:

“When you lose many games, the coach will not be spared,” he said.

The 59-year old joined the club in 2003 and he became a successful coach of the team by winning Bundesliga title and guiding the club to the final of the Champions Legaue.

A chapter has been closed in the history of the club. Majority of the players prepare for the World Championship in Croatia now and the next matches will be played in February.

The Champions League Main Round will begin on 15 February in Montpellier. A key game in Group 3, with a hope for a brand new start for Flensburg…