It is a peculiar in-between realm in the otherwise so densely populated West, this Oberbergische, full of winding country roads, old factories and glittering reservoirs.

It is said that those who grew up here do not necessarily express their emotions on the outside.

On Saturday evening, however, an unleashed, noisy pack crowded in front of Gummersbach's Schwalbe Arena, which opens onto Heiner-Brand-Platz for a reason.

She even intoned some tunes from the New German celebration song and could hardly get enough of the beer showers that the responsible persons of a handball club were showered with by their players.

The few security forces grinned unashamedly instead of effectively protecting the victims.

Get out of invisibility

When it comes to VfL, the famous "handball village" for 52,000 inhabitants sometimes pushes boundaries.

After all, it was now time to celebrate the end of a protracted dry season.

Three years ago, the successors of the former German series champion and ten-time European Cup winner were relegated to the second handball league for the first time.

Now they are emerging from the stage of (supra-regional) invisibility because they can no longer take first place after the 34th of 38 games.

That is by far the most important conclusion after the relatively easy home win (32:21) against Eulen Ludwigshafen, with which the team coached by former world handball player Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson lived up to their exceptional position.

Unfazed by setbacks

Not only for permanent guest Heiner Brand, the once so successful champion player and national coach, the ambitious group around young national player Julian Köster and loan professional Ole Pregler was clearly the best team in the lower house.

She took first place in the table on the fourth day of the game and was only loaned out to HSG Nordhorn-Lingen once, at the beginning of March, due to two games in hand.

Above all, however, she always came back all the more convincing after surprising setbacks, while competitors such as Hüttenberg or Hagen noticeably weakened.

Last but not least, this has to do with the clear structures that Sigurdsson and managing director Christoph Schindler specified throughout the season.

The longtime VfL professional Schindler was not envied when he took over the business of the financially troubled traditional club five years ago.

All the more, however, he is considered the decisive architect of success these days.

His serious leadership, which was not created out of pure nostalgia, convinced many a "hidden champion" among the local companies to invest in a new radiance of the former global brand.

team should be strengthened

Meanwhile, Sigurdsson made the team's game more aggressive on the defensive and more variable going forward, faster.

After a short, somewhat nervous start, his students soon put their firm will into the decisive game against Ludwigshafen and were already leading by five goals at the break.

However, Sigurdsson and Schindler know very well that it won't be that easy next season when teams from Magdeburg and Berlin, Flensburg and Kiel arrive. With the backcourt players Dominik Mappes (Hüttenberg) and Tom Jansen (Großwallstadt) they have plus left wingers Tilen Kodrin (Celje) has already signed three new players who should make the team more suitable for the first division.

And that should not have been the end of all transfers if the supporters play along.

"Everyone should go there"

As the evening progressed, Schindler, the long-term planner, wanted to take a sip of enthusiasm to enjoy the moment.

Strengthening his white shirt from bottled beer, the 38-year-old promised fans to leave ticket prices at the previous level.

"This is the hottest arena in the world," he blurted out, "everyone should go there!"

This found the expected response from the audience, in which it felt like every second person wore the T-shirt for the historic moment.

It read "back home" and "great for the future" in blue and white.

After all, people in the Oberberg region can really let themselves go, if they are only given the opportunity to do so.

Just like at the party on Saturday, which was extended to the slate-roofed old town.