It was almost touching when Tobias Wagner encouraged his boss at the end of the year. “We can do it,” said the Austrian handball national player after the last game of the first half of the season shortly before Christmas to the visibly upset Carsten Bissel, chairman of the supervisory board of the first division handball team HC Erlangen. In addition to 8,400 spectators in the sold-out Nuremberg Arena, he had to witness a performance by his team that left little hope behind. Nevertheless, Bissel also promised to stay in the league, and those responsible have now significantly improved the conditions for this with two prominent commitments before the World Cup break until February 9th.
First the Icelandic national player Viggo Kristiansson, 31, sat under the Erlangen Christmas tree after his move from league rivals Leipzig, now the Serbian international Milos Kos from Champions League participants RK Zagreb followed. However, with a lot more noise, because the 22-year-old was recently suspended from the Croatian champions because of a fight in the dressing room. Following a home defeat to Nantes in the Champions League at the end of November, Kos clashed with goalkeeper Matej Mandic after he was criticized by several teammates, according to Croatian media. Teammate Zvonimir Srna jumped to Mandic’s side and attacked Kos, which is why both players were suspended. Mandic suffered a facial injury that could even cost him participation in the World Cup.
:An Icelandic international under the Christmas tree
HC Erlangen is reacting to the ongoing sporting decline and strengthening the squad with Viggo Kristjansson from Leipzig. He shouldn’t be the last in line – and supervisory board boss Carsten Bissel promises to stay in the league at the Christmas party.
As the club announced, it was ruled out that Kos, the only Serb in a team made up almost entirely of Croatians, could continue to be “part of the dressing room”. In fact, Zagreb was happy to quickly find a buyer in Erlangen. The Middle Franconians paid a transfer fee in the mid-five-figure range and gave the left back player a contract until 2027, which reportedly includes several exit clauses.
Those responsible for HCE are of course aware that they are taking a risk. Playmaker Marko Bezjak has already been brought in by the Croatian first division club Nexe despite a ban, which was only valid in Croatia after an assault against an official. Bezjak was quickly integrated, which is what the HCE is now hoping for from Kos. From a sporting perspective, the move is a stroke of luck; a player of this quality would hardly have moved to the second-to-last team in the Bundesliga without this penalty.
In Zagreb, Kos was positioned in the left back and was one of the best goalscorers in the Champions League
Kos was a starter at Zagreb and was one of the top scorers in the Champions League with 54 goals. The Serbian international can be trusted to solve Erlangen’s problems in the left backfield – especially since the Serbs missed the World Cup qualification and Kos will soon join the Erlanger squad, where he can prepare for the start of the second half of the season on February 9th.
Coach Martin Schwalb sees his latest arrival as a welcome reinforcement; he met a “good boy” in conversation: “He knows that he made a mistake that he deeply regrets.” It was an exceptional emotional situation It’s difficult to judge from the outside: “He’s a young player and deserves a second chance.” Squad planner and assistant coach Johannes Sellin, who traveled to Zagreb specifically to talk to Kos over the Christmas period, also had an “excellent impression.” from get Milos”.
#Erlangen #strengthened #Serbian #international #Milos #Kos #suspended #fight #Zagreb
