League of Handball : Füchse Berlin: Everything on defense

Velimir Petkovic precedes the reputation as a pretty tough dog. Some people think even a real grinder. "Age Jugo," says Jakov Gojun, the Croatian defence chief of the foxes Berlin on his Trainer approached and grins, "are they always like that, this is totally typical." However, Petkovic has proven in his two years at the Berlin Bundesliga for a long time, he can also be the carrot and not just a whip. Recently, for example, his team should simulate in the final training session, a Cover version, Petkovic had planned for the end of the unit a quarter of an hour; after five minutes, he had seen enough. "It looked fantastic, brilliant," says the Trainer, "so all were exceptionally early." Probably the professionals have provided the day with a red cross in the calendar.

in fact, is on the defensive in the Berlin trust; it is the team that has worn the foxes successfully through the last, injury-plagued weeks. 428 hits, has conceded Petkovic's Team in the course of the first half of the season, makes a strong cut of almost 25 per meeting. Only the top teams of Flensburg, Kiel and Mannheim have come to even less. However, it is not unusual in those times, half of the team. "We have the fight dissolved as a Team and to concentrate on what you can do: work hard and determined to defend," says defense chief Gojun. With a similar recipe, want to try the Berliner, also on Tuesday evening, when you get to the quarter-final of the DHB Cup, the defending champion Rhein-Neckar Löwen received (18 at Max-Schmeling-Halle and live on Sky). If Silvio Heinevetter holds on top of that, as outstanding as in the past few weeks, and recently in the home win against Leipzig (26:23), "then we are hit damn hard," says Gojun. Also Petkovic praises: "I deal a lot with the defense, and the systems, the other play," he says, "believe me, we have one of the best Defensively in the Bundesliga."

Jakov Gojun plays "world-class"

This fact is not least in the outstanding achievements of Jakov Gojuns justified. "When I arrived here in Berlin, I was not satisfied with the way he has played," says Petkovic, "but now? Absolute World Class!“

Gojun is a kind of secret Hero. Anyone who has never played football, or just rare games look, will not recognize the Strengths of 2.04 metres wide and 110-kilogram Croats at first glance. The art for a Minister of defence is precisely that: not to be negative to attract attention. Then he made a rule a good game. Last Gojun noticed almost never negative.

"For me, it is good that I have next to me one that speaks my home language," says Gojun. Since the beginning of the season Mijajlo Marsenic defends in addition to Gojun, after his injury the Team in the middle block finds, slowly but surely, to each other. A short word, a hand sign, a Signal "we understand us very well," says Gojun.

Handball-Bundesliga Füchse Berlin hold connection to the top group

On Tuesday, will now be the entire Berlin cover asked; in the case of the Rhein-Neckar Löwen is by far the best Bundesliga playmaker of the last few years moves into Andy Schmid, the threads. To turn it off, players usually never.