Background information
Fast, furious and fascinating: what’s making me mutate from a sucker for soccer to a handball enthusiast
by Patrick Bardelli
TV Unterstrass: we live handball
9.12.2019
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Alessandro Aellig
Since mid-November, the players from TV Unterstrass have been letting us in on their day-to-day sporting activities via their Instagram account @galaxus_sport. Now it's time to find out what the team's day-to-day routine is like.
The match ended in a resounding victory and the TV Unterstrass players have qualified for the cup semi-finals. The coach's half-time dressing down of the team seems to have paid off. It was necessary, as the players weren't giving it their all at the start.
Thursday evening, Heuel gymnasium in Rümlang. Today, the players from TV Unterstass, who play in League 2, are playing for qualification for the semi-finals of the Zurich Cup. Their opponents come from the Goldküste, the posh eastern shore of Lake Zurich. Faced with SG Meilen/Stäfa, the Zurich team are favourites and must win. Two hours to go until the whistle blows. <[[image:31575000 « La concentration est à son paroxysme avant le match : Victoria, Simone et Ines. »]]
Came to win
"We always play to win," says Ines, who plays the pivot position. Her teammates nod in agreement. And speaking of pivot: occupying this position is not given to all players. The pivot stands with her back to the opposition goal and has to make sure she clears the way for her team-mates. She rarely has the ball, but when she does, she has to score. Opponents are constantly after her. No match is without a few bruises.
Victoria, clearly one of the tallest in the team, plays notably with Simone at the back. Her objective: to score goals by going over the top of the defence. Tonight, she's doing pretty well. She scored five, making her her team's second top scorer. That said, it's not all over yet for the team; we'll have to wait until the second half. It didn't start well. You could see it even before the game and you could read it afterwards on the team website:
the cup match against SG Meilen-Stäfa started right in the changing rooms for us as we listened to our coach's advice. We arrived at the gym highly motivated, but as we warmed up, we quickly noticed that, despite all our goodwill, it wasn't our day. We weren't completing our passes, we even got tangled up in our rallying cry at the start of the game and almost forgot to greet our opponents.
Pause
Victoria, Ines and the other members lead 13 : 11 when the half-time bell rings. It's far too little given the number of chances. It's time for Stefan, the coach, to step in and put things right.
<[[image:31575001 « L’entraîneur sait trouver les mots. »]]
Catharina may not play in the centre, but she is at the heart of the game. This slender winger makes a name for herself with her leaps. Her role in the team? Centralising passes, creating openings in the opposition defence, extending the game and scoring goals. All of which is usually done from the side, at a rather unfavourable angle. That said, "It's often the wingers who get the most beautiful goals," explains Catharina with a big smile.
Stefan's intervention paid off in the second half. His team were much more aggressive with the defence than in the first half. SC Meilen/Stäfa's opponents suffered defeat after defeat. At the end of the 60 minutes, the score was indisputable. Now the Red Dragons of Uster await our team in the semi-finals.
Want to find out more about Victoria, Simone, Ines and Catharina? Then follow them and their TV Unterstrass team on our Instagram account @galaxus_sport.
Want to know more about me? Then follow me here.
Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
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