Dominik Klein: the brass band and the enthusiasm speak for Nantes

The 2007 world champion with Germany and three times EHF Champions League winner (2007, 2010, 2012) with THW Kiel has played his last two seasons for HBC Nantes – and ended his career on the biggest possible high, playing at the EHF Champions League final in 2018 with HBC, his seventh participation in an EHF Champions League final. Though he lost it against Montpellier, “this was really one of the most emotional moments in my career”. 

Six years later, Nantes are again aiming for a participation in a final tournament, this time the EHF Finals in Hamburg on 25/26 May. In 2013 and 2016, Nantes made it to the final of the former EHF Cup, and now the chances are quite good to proceed again after the draw in Berlin.

“The first leg was simply outstanding, if you are a neutral handball fan. The game went back and forth. On Berlin’s side, Dejan Milosavljev and Mathias Gidsel were extraordinary, but Nantes remained calm in the crucial moments and finally counted on some incredible hammer goals of Julien Bos,” analyses Klein.

As a former HBC player, he knows that this very special atmosphere is the main advantage for Nantes: “I still get goosebumps when I think about this band, the trumpets, these songs, the music, the choreography of the ultras, the crazy announcer. I still have the sound of this brass band in my ears, this fanfare, when Nantes scores. I played ten years in Kiel and I know what their fans – the famous white wall - can create to push your team, but in Nantes it is partly even more. An indescribable excitement and enthusiasm – and always fair, with respect for the opponent. But for sure, those fans will put an enormous pressure on Berlin.”

Klein arrived in 2016 in Nantes. “It was the year when you could feel that something big was about to be built there. But nobody could guess that 20 months later we were part of the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne. My first season at Nantes was the first ever EHF Champions League season for the club, I remember the very first EHF Champions League match, when the number of fans rose extremely fast. Simply, it was two brilliant years.”

Today, the team roster is completely different compared to Klein’s stint, but he is still in contact sometimes with one player: former team captain Rock Feliho. Besides, Klein constantly meets with the club’s president Gael Pelletier on several occasions for EHF events. 

After Klein had finished his active career, he remained part of the handball business: his major job is head of marketing of the Bavarian regional handball federation, besides, he is an expert for the German public TV ARD for national team and club matches. As a resident of Munich, he was an ambassador for his hometown for the 2019 IHF World Championship and the EHF EURO – together with his wife Isabell, a former German national team player, who had played at Nantes Atlantique, when he was a HBC player. Currently, Klein is training hard to be fit for the farewell match of his former Kiel teammate, Niclas Ekberg, after the end of this season.

Since he played for Nantes, even the club’s colour violet became his favourite colour. “Though it was only two years, this club imprinted my life, I still have a very close relationship with HBC,” Klein looks back. And, looking ahead, he is sure that this “fairground atmosphere” on Tuesday will be the crucial factor for HBC: “The home advantage is huge in this case.” And maybe the memories: two years ago, Nantes had already eliminated Berlin in the Last 16 of the EHF European League. 

And, of course, another German-French duel is in Klein’s spotlight this week: the second leg of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League quarter-final between his former club THW Kiel and Montpellier HB. The French record champions had shocked the German record champions with a 39:30 home win last week. “If it would have been seven goals, I would say Kiel have a chance, but nine goals is a huge hurdle, despite the white wall standing behind the team.”

Photos © Axel Heimken, Jean Le Boulanger, Kenny Beele