There are 15 seconds left to play when Lions coach Iouri Chevtsov orders Patrick Groetzki onto the field - clear mission: if Mariusz Jurasik converts the penalty, he should stop the pass. Groetzki did as he was told and blocked the HSV throw: followed by a red card for the HBL debutant. “The others came to me after the game and celebrated me, but I was sad. This is not how you imagine a first Bundesliga game,” says Groetzki today.  

499 HBL matches later, the now 34-year-old was the celebrated hero again. Groetzki was the anniversary player in the 31:29 win at Bergischer HC last Saturday. “When I was a youth player, it was my dream to play one Bundesliga game once in my life, now there are 500, no one could have expected that,” says the right wing: “Even though I don’t usually care much about numbers, this number of 500 makes me feel extremely proud, especially when you look at the list of those who are above me. There aren't many court players left.”  

The first five places in the all-time HBL list are occupied by goalkeepers Carsten Lichtlein (712), Johannes Bitter, Jan Holpert, Silvio Heinevetter and Henning Fritz. The court player with the most league appearances is Volker Zerbe with 593. Groetzki can do that. The Pforzheimer, who now lives in Heidelberg, can break the next magical mark in the next few matches: the 1500th Bundesliga goal is imminent, the national player is currently on 1492, perhaps the mark will fall this week, as the Lions have two home games ahead against Balingen (Thursday) and TVB Stuttgart.  

“I had one goal: I wanted to assert myself in the Bundesliga. I think I achieved that – and it initially happened much faster than I thought,” says Groetzki, looking back. In 2008 he was runner-up in the U20 EURO and MVP of the tournament, and a year later he became U21 world champion. That time, he had already played a few games with the Lions. “The exciting thing is that my development ran parallel to the development of the club. I came as a young boy and that's when things really started. At the beginning it was a bit chaotic and over time you had a lot of different teammates, but then both I and the entire team benefited from the experience and everything stabilized."  

Groetzki is the only Löwen player to be involved in all the titles that the club won - starting with the EHF Cup in 2013, through the two German championships in 2016 and 2017, the cup trophies in 2018 and 2023, and the three German Super Cup titles. “Every trophy has its own story. The EHF Cup was the first ever title for the club, which was of course something special. Then, we only won the first championship on the very last matchday, so the party was rather spontaneous, but that was a real relief after the previous season when we were two goals short of the title. The first cup win was also liberating from all the attempts we had at the Final4 tournament in Hamburg. But the best celebration came after the second championship. We win the title early and at home, we had a lot of time to enjoy it.”  

Groetzki received the 2023 cup winners’ trophy on the winners' podium in Cologne after the memorable final thriller against Magdeburg, but the experienced wing was unable to enter the court before due to an injury. “With one exception, I have been spared major injuries throughout my career”, says Groetzki. Almost always - with the exception of three years in Paris - left wing Uwe Gensheimer played at Groetzki's side, and at times they even lived in the same house: “We just get along brilliantly on and off the court. He is a real constant and we have had many experiences together over many years.”  

Groetzki also gained experience from defeats: “Something like that triggers the further development process – and defeats are simply part of sport,” but: “I think that in my time with the Lions I have and had significantly more ups than downs.” His contract runs until 2026 - so it's quite possible that Groetzki will even break the 600 HBL game mark. “I feel absolutely physically fit, if I continue to play at the current level and am not seriously injured, these 600 games are quite realistic.” In 2026 Groetzki will be 37 years old – and as other wings show, that is not an age to stop: “ But at the moment I can't imagine being on the field when I'm 40. But we’ll see that year after year.”  

With a cup trophy, 500 HBL games mark and 1500 HBL goals mark ahead, that are not all of Groetzki's records for 2023 which have been listed: In January he drew level with Christian Schwarzer being the German player with the most World Cup appearances (51). In total, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist has 169 international appearances and 405 international goals. And with Silvio Heinevetter he shares seven World Cup appearances - more than any other German player. “The year is going well for me personally,” says the Lions captain.  

It was perhaps a coincidence that he never left Baden, but what Groetzki appreciates about the overall constellation is the proximity to the family. His parents still live in Pforzheim, “have a great relationship with their three grandchildren” and are always available, even if there is a need at short notice.” 

Photo: Krause