DENMARK
Denmark had to wait 44 long years to reach the final of a World Championship, and in Malmö in 2011 it was time: at the end however, the team led by coach Ulrik Wilbek succumbed to the French national team after extra-time.
In view of this result, the Danes are counted among the favourites in Serbia who could possibly win a medal, if not the title. By far the most successful nation of 2011 with five final appearances in senior and younger age category competitions will it be possible for the team to repeat its success of 2008 (in the final against Croatia in Lillehammer) by winning the European Championship title at the EHF EURO?
Centring around superstar Mikkel Hansen as well as the 22-year-old goalkeeper Niklas Landin (promoted to the first team at the 2011 World Championship and the successor of Kasper Hvidt), Wilbek has a young and hungry, but nevertheless coordinated team.
On the wings, Hans Lindbergh and Anders Eggert provide the speed and the goals, in addition to this, the defence stands strong. At the last edition of the EHF EURO in Austria, the Danes started their campaign with great ambition, but missed the semi-final and eventually ranked fifth.
In the EHF EURO qualification for Serbia, Denmark suffered only one defeat at the hands of Russia but ended up at the top of their group based on a better goal difference regardless of Maximov’s team earning the same amount of points.
GETTING TO SERBIA
With five victories and one defeat in Group 7 of the qualification, the national team of Denmark return to the EHF EURO for the seventh consecutive event.
KEY PLAYERS
Hans Lindberg
Since his first professional contract (with Viborg), Hans Lindberg fans have called him ‘His Majesty’; it is his speed, the spectacular goals and combined with the elegance of his performances that has earned him this title. In 2007 Lindberg signed with HSV Hamburg and since then has been among the top five goal scorers of the ‘Bundesliga’. This is not only due to his successful counterattacks, but also his strong nerve on the seven-metre line. In season 2009/10, Lindberg scored 257 times of which 135 were penalties. Lindberg has appeared over 120 times for his national team and won the 2008 EHF EURO and the silver medal at the 2011 World Championship.
Mikkel Hansen
At the age of 24, Hansen is among the strongest players in the world – proven at the 2011 World Championship when he was named as top scorer of the All-Star Team after leading Denmark to the silver medal. Hansen has enormous throwing power: just look back to the winning goal against Russia at the 2008 Olympic Games when Hansen scored from a distance of 13 metres. In 2008, he signed with FC Barcelona and was part of the delegation that faced THW Kiel at the 2010 VELUX EHF FINAL4. Hansen returned to Denmark at the end the end of that season and has since signed to AG Kobenhavn.
THE COACH - Ulrik Wilbek
First the women, then the men – so reads the story of success for this 53-year-old. Ulrik Wilbek took over the Danish women’s junior national team and in 1991 took on the role as the women’s national coach. Wilbek also became the ‘father’ of the Danish women’s wonder, which culminated among other things in three consecutive Olympic victories. Like Claude Onesta and Vladimir Maximov, the man from Viborg has won all important gold medals: Olympic Gold (1996), World Championship Gold (1995,1997) and European Gold (1996). In 1998, Wilbek passed the reigns to Jan Pytlick as he faced new challenges by taking the position of Coach at Viborg HK, who he led to the EHF Women’s Champions League Final in 2001. Later he became the Coach of the Viborg men’s team. Just as he was about to say goodbye to the handball world to take up a position in politics, Wilbek answered the call of the Danish Handball Federation. In 2005, he became trainer of the men’s national team and since then is the person responsible for all their successes. In 2008 Denmark celebrated a European Championship title, after this he had to be satisfied with winning the bronze medal three times (EHF EURO 2004, EHF EURO 2006 and World Championship 2007). Finally the World Championship silver medal came in 2011.
DENMARK IN ACTION
| Date | Time | Game |
|---|---|---|
| 15.01. | 20:15 | DEN vs SVK |
| 17.01. | 20:15 | SRB vs DEN |
| 19.01. | 18:15 | POL vs DEN |
PAST PERFORMANCE EHF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
| 1994 | Portugal | 4th place |
| 1996 | Spain | 12th place |
| 2000 | Croatia | 10th place |
| 2002 | Sweden | Bronze |
| 2004 | Slovenia | Bronze |
| 2006 | Switzerland | Bronze |
| 2008 | Norway | Gold |
| 2010 | Austria | 5th place |
FURTHER INFORMATION
Danish Handball Federation Website: www.dhf.dk
