Translate to English EM column “Hin und Herning”, Day 10: Wasteful Danes

Herning. Good day… Danes have too much of everything. National coach Alfred Gislason once said: If the Danes were allowed to compete with two teams, both would reach the semi-finals. But Danes – with the exception of world handball player Mathias Gidsel – are only human. Lukas Jørgensen from Flensburg is only human. He tore his cruciate ligament. At the European Championships. Emil Bergholt is only human. He will be Jørgensen’s successor in Flensburg. Bergholt’s partner Astrid is heavily pregnant. The deadline was January 19th.

When labor begins, Bergholt will leave. Then two circle runners left. That’s why coach Nikolaj Jacobsen wanted to nominate a pivot. In Kiel they once called him the Magic Mouse. But Jacobsen can’t do magic. He’s not a mouse either. He needs a runner. To be on the safe side (because he still has two). There were two to choose from in the Danes’ 35-man squad. The Danes have enough of everything. But Frederik Ladefoged is injured in his thigh. That’s why Jacobsen nominated Andreas Magaard from Hamburg.

Magaard has never played an international match

The Hamburger traveled to Herning. Magaard is 27 years old and has never played an international match for the senior national team. It will stay that way for the time being. Because after his arrival, the doctors from HSV and the Danish association Dansk Håndbold decided that it would be better to send Magaard back home. “We were fully aware that we were taking a risk when we included Andreas in the squad, as there was a risk that he would not be able to play. But we could only get this clarity after the deadline for inclusion in the squad had passed,” said Dansk-Håndbold sports director Morten Henriksen.

Magaard left again. To Hamburg. With knee problems. Nikolaj Jacobsen has called up an injured player. The Danes wasted a change. The Danes still have two more changes left in the main round. The Danes had not yet exhausted the quota of 20 players for the European Championships. The Danes have too much of everything, and it is not uncommon for them to have much less. Greetings from Herning!

KN