SHV President Pascal Jenny is dreaming of a European Championship medal in 2028 after Switzerland's impressive World Championship performances, but emphasizes that there is still a lot of work for the association to do before then.
Only the boldest optimist would have thought it possible for the Swiss handball team to finish the World Championships in 11th place. This confirms to Pascal Jenny that it was the right decision to give Andy Schmid a contract as national coach until 2028, even though the 41-year-old had no previous coaching experience. "There were a few critical voices in the handball community," says Jenny in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. However, Andy and the staff have developed very well.
Ambition paired with a relaxed attitude
What characterizes Schmid for him? "I would say it's three things. One is his ambition, that he absolutely wants to be successful. That pushes him. The second is that he still manages to convey the necessary relaxed attitude. He radiates an enormous sense of calm, which is transferred to the players. Thirdly, he is not stuck in his opinion of a player or a system."
A good example of the third point is Dimitrij Küttel, who initially played no role in Schmid's considerations. However, he changed his mind, whereupon he implemented the defined tasks almost perfectly. In the decisive game against Poland (30:28) to advance to the main round, Küttel scored all five of his shots. This underlines Schmid's ability to get the best out of a player. He knows exactly who can do what and how he can optimally integrate their strengths into the concept.
This was necessary in view of the absence of director Manuel Zehnder, the top scorer in the Bundesliga last season, due to injury. Jenny was hugely impressed by how the team reacted to this. "You could see an improvement from game to game. The fact that so many players contributed to such a good result is something you don't get used to in Swiss handball. It really was a team performance, the team has become more unpredictable and more variable. Zehnder's injury, as unfortunate as it is, showed the players that they can do without a dependency. That will be a big advantage in the future, especially since the defense and the goalkeeper (Nikola Portner) are among the absolute best in the world."
Penalty should be used
Jenny compares the good performances at the World Cup to a penalty, and the good chance should now be used. "We not only have the goal of regularly qualifying for major tournaments for men and women, we also want to generate more funds and bring the clubs closer together in competitive sport," says Jenny. It is now up to the association to roll up its sleeves and make the most of the penalty.
As with the women, an academy is also planned for the men at the state-of-the-art OYM competence center in Cham. From summer 2026, Switzerland's top talents will train together there during the week. "This is only possible if all the clubs in the top league join in," emphasizes Jenny, especially as there are already good academies in Schaffhausen and Bern. "It's always the same: What's good today, we have to develop further tomorrow."
Jenny is a realist and dreams
Andy Schmid said after the tournament that the bar is now higher. However, Jenny doesn't see a problem with the higher expectations. "Our goal is to have a team on the pitch at the 2028 European Championships that inspires. It's not as if we're demanding such performances as standard from the association."
Given the difficult group in the qualifiers for Euro 2026 (the opponents are Germany, Austria and Turkey), it could well be that they would miss out on the finals. "That would be a huge shame and we'd be disappointed, but we wouldn't let it deter us from our path. In the medium term, however, such performances should be the standard."
However, the prospects are promising. With an average age of 24.3 years, the Swiss were the youngest team at the World Championships, yet they were extremely mature. "Such maturity was not to be expected," says Jenny. "When I look ahead, we almost have to say that we want to play for a medal in 2028. Why shouldn't that be the goal if we're developing like this?"
SDA
