Final

Denmark – Spain 24:22 (13:17)

Denmark is the winner of the IV Men’s Youth World Championship. In a dramatic final the Danish youngsters beat Spain 24:22 (13:17).

 

The first half was played with an applied brake. Both teams acted nervously, in fact strong in defence, but with a lot of mistakes in offence. Also both goalkeepers were not in there best shape at that time. Only during the last ten minutes of the first half, the Spanish “Handball-Toreros” danced more and more throughout the Danish defence-wall and took a 17:13 lead after the first 30 minutes.

 

At the beginning of the second half the Danish dynamite lit. The Scandinavians caught up to 17:17 tie after 40 minutes and also Spain fought and could increase again to a 19:17 and 20:18 advantage. But nevertheless, the powerful handball “made in Denmark” dominated and the North Europeans caught up for a second time. Spain got under pressure and the dramatic highlight still followed one minute before the end of this final game: Nicolai Sommer scored a 23:22 penalty for Denmark, the Spanish attack was defeated and the last goal for Denmark, scored by left back Theis Baagoe, was only a bonus. The Danish cheered their victory hilariously.

 

It was the second gold medal for a Danish team; the Scandinavians also won in 2007 the II Youth World Championship in Bahrain. Gold was also the next great success for the Danish handball: Within the year 2011, the Danish men’s teams had competed in total three times at World Championships - and all three teams had reached the final. No other nation has ever achieved such an amazing result. In Mar del Plata, the literal translation of the name of the city means “Silver Sea”, the Scandinavians reached the gold medal, the best color of a medal. The men’s senior- and junior team had won Silver at the previous World Championships in 2011.

 

For the talents from Spain this silver medal was the first medal ever in the history of Men’s Youth World Championships. Sweden won Bronze with a 28:24-victory against France.

 

Even before the beginning of the final match, Marisa Vargas, member of the district government of Buenos Aires, thanked the organiser for their hard work. “The tournament was a highlight for Mar del Plata and the entire district”, Vargas said. About 45.000 spectators visited the 64 matches in the last 10 days.



All Star Team:


BEST LEFT  WING: Hugo DESCAT (FRA)

BEST RIGHT WING: Mario SOSTARCIC (SLO)

BEST PIVOT: Ignacio Plaza JIMENEZ (ESP)

BEST LEFT BACK: Theis BAAGOE (DEN)

BEST CENTER BACK: Aitor ARINO (ESP)

BEST RIGHT BACK: Martin LARSEN (DEN)

BEST GOALKEEPER: Nikola PORTNER (SUI)

MVP: Jim GOTTFRIDSSSON (SWE)

BEST SCORER: Jim GOTTFRIDSSSON (SWE) 58 GOALS

MOST PROMISING PLAYER: Nicolai PEDERSEN (DEN)

 

 

Final Standings:

 

1 DEN (DENMARK)

2 ESP (SPAIN)

3 SWE (SWEDEN)

4 FRA (FRANCE)

5 EGY (EGYPT)

6 SUI (SWITZERLAND)

7 GER (GERMANY)

8 CRO (CROATIA)

9 SLO (SLOVENIA)

10 ARG (ARGENTINA)

11 KOR (KOREA)

12 BRA (BRAZIL)

13 RUS (RUSSIA)

14 SRB (SERBIA)

15 QAT (QATAR)

16 CHI (CHILE)

17 BRN (BAHRAIN)

18 TUN (TUNISIA)

19 GAB (GABON)

20 NZL (NEW ZEALAND)