– He is what Zlatan is in Sweden and Haaland is in Norway. That’s what news’s expert commentator Håvard Tvedten says about the Danes’ star player Mikkel Hansen. He had just played Germany off the field in front of 27,000 spectators in the Olympic men’s handball final. – It is perhaps the best national team we have ever seen. They prove it in this final. It is not everyday that a team leads an Olympic final with 10 goals after just over 20 minutes. – We wanted to play the match of our lives. It has to be said, we did that today, says Danish national team coach Niolai Jacobsen to Danish DR. In the second half, they only increased their lead. In the end, the Danes won with 13 goals and the numbers 39–26. It is the biggest victory of all time in an Olympic final. The previous men’s record was set in 1988 when the Soviet Union won by 7 goals. The Norwegian women’s victory on Saturday was the biggest ever victory in an Olympic final, regardless of gender. That record was allowed to stand for less than a day. – They have played terrifically throughout the tournament, says Tvedten about the Danes. He was not particularly impressed by the Germans. – They brought very little today. I don’t know if they were tired, nervous or what, but the Danes outclassed them. CHEER: Mikkel Hansen (th) or the rest of the teammates can celebrate a well-deserved Olympic gold. Photo: Bernadett Szabo / Reuters The legend with the headband Despite the gold, it was the two Danish national team stars Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin’s last match for Denmark. – That was what we had all dreamed of. I think that Mikkel and I end with the perfect full stop, says Niklas Landin to the Danish DR. – But is still something that feels strange. Let’s just be honest. Because we will never again see an international match with Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin on the pitch, writes the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. Mikkel Hansen scored two goals in the final, both from the 7-metre mark. He has been among the world’s very best handball players for a number of years, and now Mikkel Hansen has once again been an important piece in Denmark’s path to the Olympic final in Lille. Now he can end his national team career with 1,379 goals for Denmark. – He is one of the biggest sports profiles they have in Denmark. He has been for many years. He has performed at a fantastically high level since he made his debut and broke through as an 18-19-year-old, says news expert Tvedten. The headband is still in place as always, and the hair is perhaps even a little longer than before. But after his fifth Olympics, the 37-year-old is calling it quits. – He has enormous handball intelligence, and sees everything that happens on the court. Always a move ahead, describes Norway’s Kristian Bjørnsen, who has played two years with Hansen in Aalborg. EMOTIONAL: A relieved Mikkel Hansen after the one-goal victory against Sweden in the quarter-finals. Photo: AP – Never shut up Sebastian Barthold also plays there. And although the nearly two-metre-tall Danish full-back may seem a little mysterious, Barthold can tell the opposite. – He never shuts up. He talks all the time in the dressing room. He is a type who usually creates a good atmosphere, and then it can sometimes spill over. Mostly, there is always a good chat with Mikkel. – What do you mean by bitch over? – You can get tired of hearing him talk then too, hehe. If he hears this, I’ll probably get a slap back – because I’m not quiet in the dressing room either. He gets to talk, then we have quite a few meetings in between where I get the passport signed. That’s fine enough, replies Norway’s left with a laugh. LOUD: Sebastian Barthold has been a teammate of Mikkel Hansen in Aalborg. Photo: NTB news therefore asks Hansen how it really is with this conversation. – Is it coming from him?! Denmark’s number 24 bursts into laughter. – He also talks a lot. We are together all the time, on trips and training and then we talk a little “fun” here and there. It’s fun when we do it, confirms Hansen. Barthold says that there is a high degree of cunning in the dressing room and that even if it can “go a little hard for him”, it is well-intentioned. – Mikkel is super professional. Everything he does is done with extreme seriousness. I have had the pleasure of playing with him for two years and have seen everything he puts into it, how much he demands of those around him – and especially of himself, he says. With “mental challenges”, Hansen broke through on the Danish national team as early as 2007 and has been named the world’s best handball player in 2011, 2015 and 2018. During the Olympics, he has impressed the most from the penalty spot, but it was certainly not a given that he was going to participate in the games in Paris. HAIR FINE: Mikkel Hansen is known for his long hair, and with a headband that matches the suit. Photo: AP In March 2022, he underwent a knee operation, which after a week led to a blood clot in his lungs. This kept him on the sidelines for several months. He recovered, and helped secure World Cup gold for Denmark in January 2023, but shortly afterwards he was called off sick due to major stress reactions. “A hard mental period”, he called it himself in a press release. But in 2024, Hansen has been back in full force again. In April, he announced that he would retire after the Olympics. – What is it like to be in your last Olympics, asks news? – That’s good. It’s nice to be part of this group. We have talented people off and on the field, he answers quite briefly. Denmark’s coach is not surprised that Hansen came back, although he did not feel sure that he would be good enough for a very strong Danish Olympic squad. – He is a fantastic player to have, who has an incredible amount to give – especially to the young ones. They help him a lot. He has so much experience that he can come in and solve specific tasks for us, says Nikolaj Jacobsen. Published 11.08.2024, at 14.55 Updated 11.08.2024, at 15.51
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Norwegian national team player with Mikkel Hansen in the Olympic farewell – Olympic Paris 2024
