Twelve years after their last European title, the German hockey men stormed towards their European Championship heroes. In the final thriller in Mönchengladbach, the outstanding goalkeeper Jean Danneberg had finally led the world champions to the European Championship title against long-time rivals the Netherlands, with strong saves in the game and the shootout.
"Unbelievable, in this stadium here, all the spectators, I'm speechless," Danneberg told MagentaSport after the 4:1 in the penalty shootout, in which he won the duel with the scorer twice.
"We fought so hard, developed so much and we always believed in the dream of becoming European champions here. The fact that it's working is breathtaking."
A shoot-out was required after the score was 1-1 after 60 minutes. The Germans then held their nerve, Danneberg shone, Justus Weigand, Michel Struthoff, Hannes Müller and Thies Prinz scored.
It was not until the final quarter that Weigand provided the equaliser after Tijmen Reyenga had put Oranje ahead. For the first time since 2013, the "Honamas" are celebrating a European Championship title again. With their ninth triumph in total, the record winners also kept their great rivals from the Netherlands at bay (seven titles). Spain secured bronze after beating France 2:0.
At least they finally got a little revenge against Oranje: the Netherlands came out on top in a heated duel in the 2024 Olympic final, and the German team also lost the final at the 2021 and 2015 European Championships.
Defensive battle in the "cauldron"
For captain Mats Grambusch, the title in his home city also completes a circle: he was the only player in the squad to be crowned European champion at his tournament debut in 2013, and he is now back at the top in his farewell game for the DHB.
Things got heated on and off the pitch early on Saturday evening, with the crowd turning the sold-out Hockeypark into a real cauldron. Henning had called for "hell", and he got it twice over: the fan groups also had a lively duel, with the chants constantly changing sides as the action on the blue artificial turf unfolded.
But there were no goals at first. Danneberg made a spectacular save with his stick at the final whistle of the first quarter, and even received a handshake from his opponent for the save.
However, even the outstanding German keeper was unable to do anything about the opening goal from a penalty corner. The game remained exciting, and Weigand managed to equalise somewhat surprisingly.