The person behind the facade

There he is now sitting on his golden throne. Behind him are the celebrating flocks of fans, himself in the foreground, presented like a king, not with the imperial orb, but the ball in hand. Bob Hanning is unmistakably depicted with one of his favorite sweaters, which is adorned with a fox with a crown. Modesty and restraint – these are not necessarily virtues for which the Füchse managing director and outgoing Vice President of the German Handball Federation (DHB) is known. And so it is hardly surprising how the 53-year-old is shown on the cover of his new, first book.

The title “Hanning. Power. Handball. ”, In which the native of Essen is introduced not only as a maker and thus also a shaper of the local handball sport, but also puts the name Hanning on a level with power and handball. One without the other, that doesn’t work.

In a way, that’s true. Because it is not only because of his dazzling outfits that Bob Hanning has become one of the most famous people in German handball. After eight years on the board of the DHB, Hanning can refer to a far-reaching structural reform, a professionalization of the association as well as its expanded marketing and the sustainable improvement of youth work. But now he takes his hat and does not run again in today’s election of the presidium offices in the association.

“It is always good to stop at moments when you can still decide for yourself. The timing seems to be the right one for all sides. I gave the DHB what I could. Now it’s the turn of others, ”says Hanning, explaining his decision. One may hardly think it possible, but Hanning, the provocateur before the Lord, who can polarize – and usually also wants to – like no other, wants to withdraw from the limelight.

The story of the maker and the person

But not without telling his view of the past few years. And not just that of the functionary, but also of the person behind the facade. Loosely based on Gregor Gysis’ talkshow “Do you misunderstand me correctly”, he describes his path in collaboration with his co-author Christoph Stukenbrock, partly factually, partly with personal episodes. From his very own perspective, of course, and not without a swipe or two.

For example, the rift with his former figure of light, the world champion player and trainer Heiner Brand, is discussed, as is the dispute with the former president of the DHB Bernhard Bauer. In the same way, tips against the ex-national players Christian Schwarzer and Daniel Stephan, with whom he has been in public verbal duels for years, find their place. “Of course you write a book out of a personal ego. I cannot absolve myself of that. But I just wanted to tell my story after being silent for eight years, ”says Hanning.

Some of the people addressed in the book would probably have completely different points of view to offer, but it is Hanning’s narrative, and what is to be credited with him despite and partly because of his subjectivity is that he is not only powerful, but in some places equally as impotent represents.

Personal disappointments such as the dilemma surrounding the less successful national coach Christian Prokop are discussed. Hanning admits that he had overcome frustration from overeating, which led to the 1.68-meter-tall man being tall and growing to a body weight of 105 kilograms. It’s about his time as a coach at HSV Hamburg, which ended in a legendary “player revolt” and brought out Hanning’s most famous picture when he disguised himself as Napoleon as part of a marketing coup and attracted a lot of ridicule. “That wouldn’t happen again today. But at the time it was a successful action. Everyone spoke about HSV, ”Hanning looks back.

Such anecdotes crumble the front that Hanning has built so carefully over the years. He loses the face of the magnet and lightning rod that is associated with calculation and obsession with power. Here Hanning is more than the arguing that everything supposedly ricochets off. Hanning doesn’t like to tear down the wall that completely either. He repeatedly emphasizes that the critics can no longer meet him. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Youth work is indispensable for Hanning

The fact is, and his book shows in many places, that Hans Robert Hanning, who got his nickname from his family with reference to Bob Dylan, has always gone his own way. Sometimes narrow-minded and obstinate, in other places perhaps also a little condescendingly, he has always pursued his goals without allowing himself to be diverted from his path. “The end may not justify the means, but if something is important to me, then I get creative and then I want to get it through,” says Hanning.

And handball is particularly important to him. Ever since he discovered his fascination for the ball as a somewhat talentless goalkeeper in his hometown of Essen, everything has literally revolved around the sport, which today would hardly be imaginable in its current form in Germany without him.

Not least because Hanning has always placed great value on one thing: youth work. “I could do without everything in my life, except for my youth teams,” says Hanning, who successfully launched his concept of a youth-based Bundesliga team in Berlin sixteen years ago with the Füchsen. The club has long since established itself in the Bundesliga and has developed into one of the top clubs in the league. There is no trace of the former second division leisure team – also thanks to Hanning and his tireless efforts.

“I don’t know anyone in our sport who works harder. If the inflationary addition of ‘around the clock’ applies to someone, then it applies to Bob ”, says Füchse sports director Stefan Kretzschmar. “I experience Bob as passionate, but at the same time coolly calculating, if need be, tough but not vicious. I think sometimes he lacks a sense of what words and decisions can do to someone else. “

Sometimes, and Hanning has to agree with his partner, he is so fixated on his goal that he forgets that his robustness is not for everyone, that his direct manner can and often does hurt.

A dynamo for the sport

So some people will certainly not be sad when Hanning’s term of office ends on Sunday. Because when the new Vice President is enthroned at the 33rd Ordinary Bundestag of the German Handball Federation, Hanning will not run again, Jörg Föste has already been determined as his successor. When “the shrill bird”, known for its colorful sweaters and little conformity, is a little less to be seen on the big handball stage.

But with all the criticism, one shouldn’t forget what Hanning has done for German handball. “At all times, Bob Hanning was and is a dynamo for our sport, also or especially because he polarizes,” said the President of the German Handball Bundesliga (HBL) Uwe Schwenker recently, not without reason.

One stain that will remain on his brightly colored vest, however, is the sporting success of the German national team, which they wanted to re-establish in the long run. This is where Hanning started when he joined the fragile management team in 2013. After missing the qualification for the Olympics and European championships as well as participating in the world championship, the success of the association should also be manifested to the outside world simply because of a wildcard.

But after quick successes under the national coach Dagur Sigurdson installed by Hanning, with the 2016 European Championships and the bronze medal at the Olympics in Rio, the DHB selection could not continue its course, Hanning had the fiasco on Christian Prokop, who was also introduced by him take on his cap and recently made a modest appearance at the World Cup and the Olympics. At this point lies the greatest pain that Hanning sees in his departure from Verbund. He would have loved to say goodbye with a title – for German handball, but also for himself and his work.

There is still work waiting for Hanning

But Bob Hanning wouldn’t be Bob Hanning if he devoted himself to moping up. His gaze goes ahead. His Füchse Füchse should finally find their way into the Champions League and are currently on the right track with 16 cross-season victories in a row before the game against HC Erlangen (Sunday, 4 p.m.).

No less ambitious is his vision for the club’s youth teams, which, in addition to numerous championship titles, have a number of national players in their ranks. Hanning is giving you and yourself the U23 World Cup in two years in Germany as a present. In addition, there is his new job as a coach at VfL Potsdam, which he wants to lead into the second division this season.

And then there is his house on the lake. In Wandlitz, where Stefan Kretzschmar has also set up his domicile, Hanning wants to build his retreat and thus make a long-awaited dream come true. “I want to build something for myself there. A house with a jetty from which I can jump into the water on a nice day and just be myself, ”says Hanning.

But handball is always part of his ego, and there is no doubt about that. We can therefore continue to assume that Hanning will speak up on important issues, continue to express his opinion without mincing words and further offending. His book – personal as it may be in some places – will not make him the hero of those who have cursed him over the years. One thing should be left to Bob Hanning, however, he does everything for his beloved handball sport. Not many can say that about themselves.