København last played internationally in the 2019/20 season, in the group phase of the EHF Cup. The Danish side aim to return to the group phase of Europe’s second-tier club competition this season – but will have to get past Málaga in two duels, with the first scheduled for Saturday 11 November at 18:00 CET in Spain, and the return one week later in Denmark.
One of the new arrivals at København this season is Swedish goalkeeper Martina Thörn, who brings four seasons of EHF Champions League experience with her, including the past two seasons with Odense Håndbold.
“I don’t know much about Málaga, other than that I have heard that they are a really good team with good players. I haven’t seen them play yet because we are taking it one game at a time,” says Thörn, who also played in the EHF Champions League with Ikast Handbold and Norwegian side Glassverket in the past and has useful experience with the Swedish national team.
“We are really looking forward to getting into the final qualification games for the EHF European League. It is a different type of match than playing in the national league,” Thörn adds.
Málaga, who won the EHF European Cup in 2021 and reached the final again the following year, comfortably defeated Larvik HK twice in the previous qualification round – 35:31 in Norway, 33:27 in Spain.
“I absolutely do not think it will be a walkover, really not,” Thörn says. “Our ambition is of course to win and advance to the group phase, but I think that Málaga will be a difficult opponent for us. We must be ready to adapt because it is probably a different type of handball game that we will encounter than what we encounter on a daily basis.”
København are having a rough start to the 2023/24 season. In the Danish league, they are ranked only 10th after 10 rounds, having lost three of their last four matches and already six in total.
Thörn hopes shifting the focus to the upcoming EHF European League matches might help the team.
“Having to change focus from the Danish league to the EHF European League is a little different,” the goalkeeper says. “I know how much fun it is to play in Europe. After many years, I am still excited and a little nervous to play these games and meet new teams that you don’t meet on a daily basis, so it will be fun.”
The 32-year-old Thörn left Västerås in her native Sweden in 2015 and has played abroad ever since – first for Glassverket in Norway, since 2016 for Midtjylland, Randers, Aarhus, and Odense in Denmark, before joining København in the summer of 2023.
“I switched to this club to be able to contribute with what I have in terms of experience, among other things. So, I really hope I can help,” Thörn says.
“Fortunately, there are more of us who have a few years behind them and who have played internationally. It is also special to be one of those who stand with that experience. It is fun to be involved and to have to help the slightly younger players. I hope to be able to contribute to that.”
So far, we have been good at playing attacking handball, we have many different skills there and have been sharp. To be successful, I think we need to find a good level in defence, where we may have swung a little too much. But our different types of attack, I think, can contribute to us being able to win matches – also against Málaga.
