Grijseels: “We have to keep our feet on the ground”

The 26-year-old Grijseels is team captain of Germany, alongside Emily Bölk, and had another night to remember on Friday in Skopje, scoring eight goals in the surprising 36:28 win over Netherlands in their main round opener and receiving the Player of the Match award for the second time.

The match marked a turnaround for Germany, who had only just scraped through the preliminary round.

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: First 21:23 against Spain, then 36:28 against Netherlands – what has happened in the 48 hours in-between?

Alina Grijseels: “We said: ‘We leave Podgorica behind, as we are in Skopje now, we start at zero again, we have nothing to lose’ – and this is how we played against Netherlands: without any pressure. We knew before that on a perfect day we can beat them, and exactly that happened on Friday.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: Is it all about mental stability and confidence?

Alina Grijseels: “The flow was missing in our previous matches, and we could not gain confidence. On Friday, we were cool, did not get overwhelmed by the initial Dutch hectic. Our goalkeeper Katharina Filter saved some important shots, we came into this flow and finally we took a really deserved victory.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: You top almost all German team stats, and even some overall EHF EURO rankings. How important is Alina Grijseels for the team?

Alina Grijseels: “Those stats do not mean that much to me. If I could choose, I would have carried four points to the main round and not score any goal. Of course, I am happy about my performance and that I am somehow one of the leaders in the team, this is my demand. It is insignificant who scores the goals or gives an assist to a goal. We have many players, who take the responsibility.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: You are one of two team captains – how do you share the load with Emily Bölk?

Alina Grijseels: “It is not only about us. We have many key players, like Xenia Smits or Jule Maidhoff, who showed an outstanding match against Netherlands as for the first time we could put pressure from the right back position, or goalkeeper Kathi Filter. We try to spread the workload on as many shoulders as possible.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: Germany narrowly were defeated by your next main round opponents France in two tests in October. Can you turn it around now?

Alina Grijseels: “We will try everything to beat France – first, we use some free days to recharge our batteries, then we will intensely prepare. We played quite well against them, we want to continue like this, but of course: France are France.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: Mathematically, all six teams in group II can still make it to the semi-finals. How will Germany end up in this surprise pack?

Alina Grijseels: “We have to keep our feet on the ground and remain realistic. We started the main round with zero points, now we have two. Montenegro and France still have four. So we shall just focus on us, and finally on Wednesday, we will see, what we have made of it.”

ehfeuro.eurohandball.com: Being born to a Dutch father and a German mother, Friday’s match was a special one for you. To end with a key question: which national food do you prefer: German Bratwurst or Dutch Frikandel?

Alina Grijseels (laughing): “There is only one answer: Frikandel, but in the so-called ‘speciaal’ version (with mayonnaise, ketchup and unions), including French fries with ‘speciaal’ sauce.”