Due dates run in before the Olympics. Harald Reinkind (31) gets a very demanding job as Norway’s only world-class left-handed full-back.
Published: 09/05/2024 13:15
Since the handball boys’ breakthrough eight years ago, the battle for the right back has been the tightest. This is not the case before the Olympics in Paris.
Magnus Abelvik Rød, Kent Robin Tønnesen and Stig Tore Moen Nilsen have said no. Internationally experienced players such as Eivind Tangen and Christoffer Rambo are injured. Harald Reinkind is aware that his performance can be absolutely decisive for Norway’s Olympic performance.
– Yes, yes. Absolutely. That’s nice enough. But it will be tough to play matches every other day against top teams. I don’t think we should assume that I will play 60 minutes throughout. We have to be two on the field, says Reinkind to VG ahead of Thursday’s Olympic warm-up against Croatia in Jordal Amfi.
The Kiel player has for 10 years lived with sky-high demands both as a national team player and as a club player in Germany. In the Olympic year 2021, he played a total of 84 counting matches.
Reinkind calls the Paris Olympics “a dream”. But one of the highlights of his career does not come without a cost.
– We will be a 14-man squad that must distribute energy and playing time as best we can, he believes.
During the press conference in Oslo, Reinkind has to handle a private phone call from Germany. He became a father of three in November. Family life in northern Germany is combined with games in the Champions League and Bundesliga. In addition, the EC came in January and the Olympic qualifier with Norway in March.
– I’m starting to feel the drive. You are getting old and frail, he says with a smile.
Check VG’s guide to Olympic handball!
– It depends on the total load. It’s nothing urgent. But I know that I have played for many years in Germany and am no longer the youngest. It was easier to catch up when I was 22, he describes after last week great drama in the Champions League. great drama in the Champions League.Reinkind and Kiel overturned a 39-30 away loss for Montepellier with a 31-21 home win in the quarter-finals.
Harald Reinkind gets a total of three weeks off between the end of the season on 9 June and the opening of the Olympics on 26 July.
– I have to rest a bit, but I can’t let myself down completely either. So it will be a matter of finding a good balance. It is important to disconnect. The body must land and the “aches” must be taken care of. So we have to find a smart race towards the Olympics.
The EC in Germany was not happy for Reinkind:
Jonas Wille is in the thinking box ahead of the Olympic selection. The national team manager has also received an Olympic suspension from the injured Gøran Johannessen. Norway plays three games in four days in Oslo now.
Wille has brought in two left-handed full-backs in addition to Reinkind and Gabriel Setterblom (26). Magnus Søndenå (32) gets his first international matches in six years, while Benjamin Hallgren (28) makes his debut.
Wille acknowledges that the pressure on Harald Reinkind will be great anyway.
– Now we have different types inside. Søndenå and Hallgren are “hybrid types hybrid typesPlayers who can play the role of both right back and right winger.» which may be particularly relevant in the run-up to the Olympics. There is an advantage with players who can cover several positions. We will test that now. We have a number of question marks on the table, says the national team manager.
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