"Achieve even more together!" - Interview with Alina Grijseels and Amelie Berger | OneFootball

It is exactly 100 steps up to the Phoenix-West Skywalk. To the pinnacle of handball, it is an even greater ascent. Alina Grijseels has climbed that distance and beyond en route to becoming a German champion. She is the face of the Borussia Dortmund women's handball team. Amelie Berger is one of nine new faces in the Bundesliga squad. Together, they have climbed the old blast furnace in Hörde. To talk about old and new, upheaval and renewal, about a project, prospects and potential yet to be tapped into.

Alina, you've been with Borussia since 2014. How much has the club changed in that time?Alina Grijseels: When I arrived, BVB were playing in the second division. I was 18 at the time, knew the squad and was aware of the promotion ambitions. It was a big opportunity for me. However, it was all nowhere near as professional as it is nowadays. I would put that down to lots of things: the organisation at home games, the training possibilities, the weight training too, the number of cars that are available to the team. It was all on a much smaller scale than it is today. We have been playing in the Champions League for the last two years – that is a different stage entirely. The department has undergone an unbelievable development, and at the same time that development is a long way from complete. On a structural level in particular, we can get even more out of the project.

You yourself call it a project. Would you say that the handball project at BVB carries a different significance across the entire club than it did seven years ago? Grijseels: Yes, that's definitely the case! We benefit a lot from the fact that – to name one name – Dr. Reinhard Rauball promotes and supports us so much. He did that back in 2014, but for some time now he has been in attendance at the hall for every home game if it does not take place at the same time as the football. The perception within the club is different, as it is within the city. I'm sure that by now many people in Dortmund know that there is also a BVB women's handball department that is enjoying great success. Of course, you can't compare that with the attention that football enjoys, but we get greater recognition than we did in 2014.

Would you agree that Borussia Dortmund has transformed from a football club into a multi-discipline club over the past decade, in terms of external presentation and perception as well? Grijseels: We handballers have taken a step up and become the second sport in the pecking order. That's nice, and we have earned that through our achievements. But table tennis is also played at a high level, as is football for the blind and – more recently – women's football. It is a good and important thing that BVB itself does not always focus only on football, but also brings the other sports to the fore. The club has an incredible charisma. If any club in the region can draw attention to sports other than football, it is Borussia Dortmund.

That seems to be the case more and more. Amelie, you joined us this summer from Bietigheim. Why does a handball player move to Borussia Dortmund? Amelie Berger: Over the past few years, I have followed BVB's progress in handball. Even when I took my first step into competitive sport, I was watching Dortmund, so I'm glad that it has now worked out and I can wear the black and yellow jersey myself. What convinced me most was that we are a young team and that we can play on the international stage. The start of the season has been very positive. Dortmund is the right place for my development.

And – be honest – now that you've transferred to a reigning German champion for the second time, you probably want to get your hands on the trophy too?  Berger: To be honest, the most important thing now is that I make progress with the team. I don't have to win titles right away; that will hopefully come by itself at some point. But of course it wouldn't annoy me if it happened right away.

With eight departures and nine arrivals, one may speak of a upheaval in the team. Alina, regarding the departures, what actually weighs more heavily: the sporting aspect or the harmony in the team?  Grijseels: I don't really want to say much about the past two seasons. Only this: they were special because we didn't expect to dominate like that at the beginning. Something came together on a sporting level that was extraordinary. And, yes, we lost players from the squad who were important from a sporting point of view. I don't want to deny that at all. But that is also part of competitive sport. That happens independently of the players and occurs in every sport. As a result, we have become two years younger on average and have a lot of potential. This path fits the philosophy of Borussia Dortmund, which is no different in football. We have added young, talented players who can develop – yet we have also been immediately successful this season. So one does not preclude the other. It's exciting to work with the new team and to offset the quality – which can still improve – with team spirit and commitment.

Hand on heart, Amelie, did you believe you would start the season so well?Berger: If you look at the performances and results in spite of the injury list, it's a surprise. Our goal was to get two points from the first three Champions League games, and we got five. That exceeded our own expectations. But the Champions League is a bonus; the Bundesliga is important.

You mentioned the injuries: when there are a lot of injuries in addition to a big upheaval, how long can a team compensate for both?  Berger: We've dealt with it well. You could see the spirit in this team. Everyone throws themselves at the next ball for each other. Everybody fights for all they're worth and is prepared to play in other positions too; Mia Zschocke, for example, played as a pivot in pre-season. There is a great willingness to achieve our common goal – winning – time and time again. However, it will be important to have a bigger squad available again as soon as possible. Otherwise, the strain of permanently playing two games a week will be too high.Grijseels: I see it the same way. It will be difficult to get through several English weeks in a row with 10 players, two of whom are goalkeepers. After the win against Brest Bretagne, you could sense how important it was to have a week with only one cup game afterwards. We were very close to the limit. The risk of injury increases for those who have to play all the time. I have generally been impressed by how we have coped with this difficult and demanding time so far; the entire team, from the physio and doctor, to the athletics coach, assistants and head coach.

You alluded to the team spirit: how does that come about, given that in summer there were the same number of new and existing players? How does team spirit develop? Berger: In addition, six players were absent for a long time because of the Olympic Games, four of whom were already with us. Only two or three old players were there; the rest were new. So nobody knew anybody...

Does one still throw the good old ball of yarn, like they did in the eighties?Berger (laughs): No, but it happened quickly. You can't force it; it has to happen and be a good fit. And I have the feeling that it's a good fit for us.

Change of subject. Andreas Heiermann said years ago that Alina Grijseels would one day be the face of BVB handball, the Marco Reus of handball players. How does it feel to be the Marco Reus of handball? Grijseels: Of course, it makes me proud to be seen like that. Being compared to Marco is not the worst thing either. Maybe it's no longer common to play for a club for seven years. But everything has been right. If you come here at 18, are promoted and have time to develop in this direction with the club, then there are few reasons to change anything. Without the team and without the development of the club, however, I wouldn't have developed the way I have. That's why I'm relatively humble about it. I generally don't like it when a player is singled out.

But for being reliable, very grounded, very humble: you're very happy with that, right?Grijseels: Yes, very happy.

While we're on the subject of these improper comparisons: how many sleepless nights were you given by the fact that in 2020, when corona arrived, the men's team from Kiel were declared German champions but not the women's team from Dortmund?  Grijseels: The situation was unusual; for us, for all of society, for everyone. I remember very clearly standing at training and being told for the first time: The game in Göppingen is cancelled because of corona. At that moment, nobody took it seriously. We thought: okay, then we'll play again in a fortnight. Then the season was cancelled. The fact we were not named champions was bitter. We were disappointed and also angry. But I'm not a fan of holding that against someone forever.

The decision was not comprehensible, though. Grijseels: The decision could be discussed endlessly and there are arguments for both sides. Personally, I thought it was unfortunate to make the distinction between men and women. If both had not become champions, you would still have felt hard done by, but it would have been a different situation. We knew we had a huge opportunity that we didn't expect at that time. Nobody could have foreseen that we would be able to do it all over again the following season. In retrospect, it only served to push us even more. We turned our frustration into motivation relatively quickly. After all, we didn't become champions on the grounds that we were still due to play Bietigheim, and Bietigheim could have overtaken us in that game. That gave us the incentive to win even more clearly.

Amelie, how did you see the situation in Bietigheim? At what point in the following season did you realise: we won't catch this BVB team this season...? Berger: We had a change with a new coach in the summer of 2020. We also wanted to become German champions at all costs. But in the first game against Dortmund we saw: okay, they are more up for this than we can ever be this year. It was amazing the aura they gave off when they arrived. That was impressive.

Aura sounds exciting. What form did this aura take? Berger: After a few years in the Bundesliga, you get to know the teams and their players, and you greet one or two of them. But they came into the hall so united as a team that we could not even approach them that day. There was no opportunity for a joke or anything. They knew exactly what they wanted and played towards that for 60 minutes.

Back to the here and now: what can you still achieve this season?Berger: Our goal is to advance one round in the Champions League. It makes a huge difference to have close games at a high level, to compete with the best and to perform there. You can't simulate that in training. Competing at such a challenging level carries you forward. In the Bundesliga, we have to win and withstand the pressure. For a young player with the coach's trust, that's an ideal combination. However, we are the only ones who have had this battle on two fronts since the start of the season. Thüringen and Metzingen only started internationally at the beginning of October, Bietigheim even later. They have their first English weeks in November. So we are under a much greater strain. If the injury plight continues, we will definitely be low on energy at some point.

Grijseels: When you're the German champions, it should be clear that you're not satisfied with a place in mid-table. We have to and we want to compete at the top. But for that to happen, many components have to fit together. Last season, we were lucky that we didn't have any major injuries and were able to play almost the entire season with our complete squad. This season, we had a lot of injuries very early on – the hope being that that would be the end of it. However, we have a lot of internationals who will be playing in the World Cup in December and probably not in unimportant roles in their teams. We will try to win every game in the Bundesliga and carry that over into in the Champions League.

What part do spectators – who have finally been allowed back since the home game against Oldenburg – play in the success, especially when things get tight?Berger: I'm impressed by the BVB fans' chants. When I used to play on the away side in Dortmund, it really annoyed me. The whole city is behind you and I thought: how can that be? Now I get goosebumps when I hear You'll Never Walk Alone. Previously, that had only been the case when I heard the German national anthem. It's really cool to see the what and the who behind this. However, I hope that our performances will draw in one or two more people in the future.

You mentioned it: the sensational victory against Brest Bretagne at the end of September merited a few more spectators.Grijseels: Firstly, I think many people are still cautious because of the corona pandemic – indoors is different from outdoors. And secondly, we also have to woo people, push more, develop a feeling of excitement at being in the hall and watching sport. We players can "only" perform and play attractive handball that people enjoy watching. But all of us together cannot expect people to come back automatically. Even footballers have had this experience. The footballers played almost at the same time as the Brest match. We always notice that because we have a lot of football fans, of course. Playing at the same time is always bad for us.

Do you have a concrete idea as to how the club could approach this?Grijseels: The footballer-handballer connection could be leveraged even more. There is actually no-one in Dortmund who is not a BVB fan. This city lives and breathes Borussia; flags hang everywhere. You don't stand out at all in the supermarket if you go shopping in BVB gear after training; the other customers look the same. We can go to schools and encourage children, who automatically bring their parents. We have to push things like that more again.

Amelie, aside from the high level of identification with the colours black and yellow, what is different in Dortmund than elsewhere?Bergers: First of all, it is exactly this identification that stands out: when we played in Montenegro, someone shouted to me at half-time: I drove 20 hours to get here – and it's worth it. Keep playing like that and win the thing. That's cool. And then there are the songs, some of which were written especially for BVB and create a special atmosphere. Not every club has that; at others, specially composed club songs make you smile. With BVB behind us, we can make things happen.

The overarching aim being that the popularity remains but the recognition grows even more...Grijseels: I would go along with that. And so that no false impression is created: I'm a huge football fan, I go to the stadium regularly and I think football is an awesome sport. I myself have all the decoders you need nowadays to watch all the games. So I myself am one of the consumers promoting the exceptional position of football. But: if out of one and a half hours of Sportstudio, one hour and 20 minutes of football is shown and then 10 minutes remain for all the other sports combined, that can't be right. To put it in perspective: When we are on the road with the national team, it is celebrated when we are mentioned in the Sportstudio – and I think to myself: Hey, we're playing in a World Cup and representing our country.

Amelie Berger (22) Born in Tübingen on 22 July 1999, she played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen from 2015 to 2019 (Bundesliga debut in November 2016) and for SG BBM Bietigheim from 2019 to 2021. Won the cup in 2021. A senior international since September 2018.

Alina Grijseels (25) Born in Wesel on 12 April 1996, she joined BVB from third-tier TuS Lintfort in November 2014. Promoted to the Bundesliga in 2014, reached the cup final ("Final4") in 2016, German champion in 2021. Was a World Cup runner-up at U18 level in 2014. Made her debut for the senior national team in March 2018, has been captain since June 2021.

Author: Nils Hotze Photos: Mareen Meyer