It was the end of a great era in April 2014: After almost ten years as coach of the national team Ulrik Wilbek retired and has since then been sports director of the Danish Handball Federation “only”. With him, the Danish team left the sorrow behind and rose to one of the best teams of the world. European Champion in 2008 and 2012, vice World Champion in 2011 and 2013 and vice European Champion in 2014 – except for the 2012 Olympics Denmark has reached all finals of major events. But they also had to live with a stain: At the 2013 World Championship in Spain the host country outclassed them in the final; in 2014, as host of the ECh, it happened a second time – favourite Denmark was defeated by France and thus won “only” the silver medal. In July the Icelander Gudmundur Gudmundsson, so far coach of the German club Rhein Neckar Löwen, will take over the Danish team. And he will initiate a change: The experienced player Michael Knudsen announced his retirement from the national team, and others, e.g. Thomas Mogensen, might follow. But Gudmundsson can draw on unlimited resources as there are many first class talents in Denmark, as proved by numerous medals gained at Youth and Junior Championships at international and European level. The leader of the current team is Mikkel Hansen, World Handball Player of 2011, who has in the meantime attained cult status in his home country. Next to him young goalkeeper Niklas Landin is a pillar, who has successfully succeeded legendary Kasper Hvidt. Denmark’s strength is their fast play, mostly shown by the wing players Hans Lindberg, Lasse Svan and 2013 WCh top scorer Anders Eggert. After two lost WCh finals in a row the Danish team wants to attack again in Doha: “First we have to take a look at the team, but it is our goal, of course, to go for gold in Qatar,” Eggert emphasizes. 

Coach: Gudmundur Gudmundsson (as of July 2014)