In the DAIKIN HBL, the SG Flensburg-Handewitt will face a team from the bottom of the table for the second time in a row. Their opponents on Saturday are SC DHfK Leipzig. Kick-off in the GP JOULE Arena is at 7 pm.
2025 - that was certainly not SC DHfK Leipzig's year. It finished the last season in 13th place. Between February and June, they only managed two wins and three draws. That was not enough for those responsible in the trade fair city. They parted company with coach Rúnar Sigtryggsson. "We want to bring fresh energy and new impetus into the team and position it in the medium term so that we are once again a serious contender for a single-digit place in the table," explained managing director Karsten Günther. A new coach took up the preparations: Raúl Alonso. "I'm someone," said the Spaniard, "who really enjoys helping to develop processes and seeing how a club gradually improves - day by day, year by year, season by season." However, the Spaniard was quickly caught up in a daily routine that consisted almost exclusively of failures. No other team made as many technical errors as Leipzig. The negative highlight was the 24:42 defeat against SG.
Some personnel changes
After twelve match days, SC DHfK suspended coach Raúl Alonso and sports director Bastian Roschek. The next day, the successor was announced: Frank Carstens. One of the most experienced coaches in the DAIKIN HBL. "There are a lot of little things," he noted. "You have to get a little bit better everywhere." A transfer was made a short time later: Dean Bombač was brought to Saxony from Györ in Hungary. The 36-year-old Slovenian playmaker proved to be the necessary improvement in the build-up play. After just one and a half training sessions, he was in the starting line-up against HSV Hamburg - and on matchday 16, the first win finally came. Although SC DHfK is still deep in the basement of the table, there is now a belief in a turnaround. Given the squad at their disposal, this is hardly surprising. With German international Franz Semper, who is under contract with the SG from 2020 to 2023, and Croatian Marko Mamic, there are even two recent European Championship medal winners in the squad. And the goalkeeping duo of Domenico Ebner and Tomas Mrkva is certainly one of the most experienced in the game.
