"This is a player who, if you take care of him, can be one of the best in the world."

Germany's goalkeeper Andreas Wolff has plenty of experience, featuring in teams like THW Kiel and Łomża Industria Kielce with stalwarts of the game. Yet Wolff did not shy away from praising the new star of German handball, Juri Knorr, when he was asked to give his opinion.

Sure, the critics might say that a player cannot say anything bad about a teammate. And that is entirely true. However, Knorr earned plaudits, delivering a vintage season in the German Bundesliga, culminating with some exquisite performances at the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship.

Take, for instance, the match against Algeria, Germany's last in the preliminary round at Poland/Sweden 2023. Coach Alfreð Gislason decided to rest his starters and Knorr only entered the court for four minutes and nine seconds.

It was still enough to score four goals – three penalties converted – and dish three assists to his teammates. Mindboggling numbers for one of the in-form players at this event and the engine of a German side that is looking increasingly like a good bet to earn a quarter-finals berth after a disappointing 12th-place finish at Egypt 2021.

"Those are nice words, of course, but I still have to back them up with good performances. They mean nothing without me delivering when I am on the court. But, yes, I am feeling good," said Knorr after Germany's 37:21 win against Algeria, the third in a row for the European side at Poland/Sweden 2023.

In a handball-mad country, Knorr's career path was somewhat unconventional. With only one player from the squad at Poland/Sweden 2023 featuring at club level outside Germany, Wolff at Industria Kielce, Knorr moved to Spanish giants Barcelona in 2018, playing for the second team and even making his senior debut in the ASOBAL, the Spanish league.

The son of a former handball player, Thomas Knorr, who represented Germany at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, the 22-year-old centre back came back to his native country only one year after the move to Barcelona, signing for GWD Minden.

But the move to Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the summer of 2022 really unlocked his potential, with Knorr starting to flourish and becoming the main weapon in attack for his new club.

This season, he is the third-best scorer in the German Bundesliga with 117 goals, only ten less than Danish left wing Casper Ulrich Mortensen, while also dishing out 66 assists, the fourth-highest number in the competition.

Therefore, it is no surprise that Knorr has taken the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship by storm, becoming the driving force for Germany. He is both the top scorer of the side with 16 goals and the best assists provider with 20 assists, ranking second in the top of the total goals plus assists behind another young stalwart, Denmark's Mathias Gidsel.

"Sure, I can feel a bit of pressure, but that is normal, because everybody wants us to win matches. What happened at my club only gave me the confidence to play better, confidence that can be used here, at the World Championship," adds Knorr.

"I am happy to be here, I could not join the team last year at the European Championship, which was disappointing, and I just want to accomplish something with this side to get good results."

Since 2007, when Germany won the trophy at the IHF Men's World Championship on home soil, the European powerhouse has qualified only once for the semi-finals, in 2019 when they were co-hosts with Denmark, yet missed out on a medal after finishing fourth.

Good results usually translate to a medal for Germany, as the expectations are always high. This team wants to get back among the top sides in the world and then challenge for the trophy again in 2027, when they will also be the hosts of the IHF Men's World Championship.

But there are four more years until then, so Knorr and the rest of the Germany team are focusing on the present.

"Personally, I want to be even better and go further. I am very motivated to do it. The next steps for me are to learn more, to gain more experience and let's see what is ahead of us," says Knorr.

"For the team, though, we just want to have fun. We want to keep pushing. We are in good shape right now. The first objective is to go to the quarter-finals, and then we will see."

That sounds just about right, as Germany sealed wins against Qatar (31:27) and Serbia (34:33), which enabled them to start the main round with four points. The maths are quite simple, and the team will virtually progress with two more wins in the main round when they face Argentina, the Netherlands and Norway.

One thing is sure, though. If Knorr plays the way he has until now, they are in with a chance. And Germany might have just found a centre back, a true playmaker, who is earmarked to lead them for at least the next decade.

Photos: Sascha Klahn/ IHF