Xenia Smits: “We have learned from last season”

When Bietigheim crowned their perfect season with more than 50 wins in a row by winning the EHF Finals in Viborg 2022, Xenia Smits was awarded MVP of the tournament. Their opponents, Viborg HK, were led then by Jakob Vestergaard – now the head coach at Bietigheim after replacing Markus Gaugisch this summer.

Steered by the Dane, the four-time German champions have had the best ever start by any German team in the group phase of the EHF Champions League Women. They broke their own record from the previous season, when they were also unbeaten after five matches and had nine points on their account. And they were the only team which beat both eventual finalists Vipers Kristiansand and FTC.

But then, everything went wrong.

“I hope we have learned from last season, we gained more experience. We know how important every point and even every goal is, if you want to proceed from the group phase,” says Smits, who just played her 100th international match for Germany in the EHF EURO 2024 qualifier against Ukraine.

Because after the brilliant start last autumn, the roller coaster ride went downhill. Bietigheim took only one point from the next nine matches. Even a 47:25 win in the last group match was not enough to make it to the play-offs, as due to the goal difference Krim were ahead of them, equal in points. This is what Smits means by “every goal counts”.

“We are on an incredible positive run right now, and we hope that this season we can continue,” says Smits before the MOTW of round 6 against Odense Håndbold (Sunday 29 October, 16:00 CET).

With this match, last season’s memories resurface once more. The 24:31 loss in Odense was Bietigheim’s first defeat – and the turning point of their Champions League season in 2022/23.

“We are enjoying the moment and to see that we are on top, but as long as we are not sure of being in the next round, we have won nothing,” points out the 29-year-old team captain. “Having 10 points on our account currently is the result of hard work, and we have to continue exactly in this line. We are not scared of Odense as opponents despite the two defeats last year, as we are stronger than last year.”

One advantage of Bietigheim is that new coach Jakob Vestergaard knows Odense very well, as he had coached clubs in the Danish league for a long time.

“In any match we are perfectly prepared for everything by Jakob, so I am sure that against a Danish team the preparation will be the same or even better. I am sure we can adapt very well to Odense’s style of playing,” Smits adds.

And if Bietigheim continue like in the first matches, the dream of becoming the first German team at the EHF FINAL4 could come true this time. Smits is Bietigheim’s only player who has participated in the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest – in 2019, with her former club Metz Handball. At the age of 21, the Belgium-born left back moved to France and played there for five years, becoming the leading player she is now.

“Any step in my career was important for my development. I always had a close look on which club, which team and which coach can boost my level and development. And especially in Metz I could gain a lot of international experience,” she says.

In 2020, she arrived in Bietigheim. Since then Smits has become German champion twice, German cup winner three times and as the icing on the cake won the European League.

“Since my arrival in Bietigheim I definitely play a bigger role also in the national team. When I was a kid I dreamed of having one international match in my life, now I have played 100 times for Germany, incredible,” she says.

In 2014, Smits exchanged their Belgian passport for a German one. In the same year, after playing the U20 World Championship, she became a women’s national team player. “Still, every international match – with the club or the national team – is something special for me,” Smits says.

One important reason for the current success in the EHF Champions League Women is that the new coach and the new arrivals fit perfectly and that their integration went quickly and smoothly.

“It is impressive to see how the new ones and the old ones play together, the club did a great job in selecting our new arrivals and our new coach,” Smits thinks.

Only Smits’ role has changed significantly in the last years: Until shoulder surgery in 2020, she was more or less a shooter, now her major focus is on defence.

“I still can shoot, but my style of throwing has changed due to my shoulder. So I am sure I can help my teams much more standing strong in defence.”

That defence will be tested in the Match of the Week, with Odense also having had a solid start to the season with three wins so far, including both home games. The tone for the rest of Bietigheim’s season could well be set in Denmark on Sunday.