Denmark triumph at Men’s U19 World Championships

Coach Hansen: “This year is a good year for Danish handball”

Denmark – Spain 24:22 (13:17)

Denmark won the IV Men’s Youth World Championships in Argentina beating Spain 24:22 (13:17) and thus continuing a fantastic summer for the Danish national teams.

So far in 2011 four Danish male teams have competed respectively three times at World Championships and once at the unofficial Olympic Games for youth and on each ocassion all four teams have reached the final.

Back in January the Danish Men’s team forced France into extra time at the World Championship Final in Sweden and just six months later the male Danish U17 national team brought home the gold medals from EYOC, the unofficial Olympics of youth held in Trabzon, Turkey.  This result was followed by the Danish U21 national team making the World Championship Final in Thessaloniki, where they lost to Germany.

In the U19 World Championship Final in Argentina, Spain took a 17:13 lead into the second half, but after the break the Danish youngsters moved up the gears to bring the scores level.  With just one minute of the match remaining Nicolai Sommer scored a penalty for Denmark to make it 23:22 to his side with his strike quickly followed by a bonus goal for the Danes scored by left back Theis Baagoe.

The Spanish will be unhappy to lose the final in such tight circumstances, but the silver medal gained in Argentina represents their first ever medal at a Men’s Youth World Championships.

Following the game, Danish Coach Claus Hansen said:

“We never give up and as in the semi-final against France we came back in the second half. Our goalkeeper was very strong and our defence also played very well. This was our secret. But I have to congratulate the Spanish team. It was a hard game and Spain are a team full of talent.

“We must remain realistic. All the top teams of the world play nearly on the same level, but I would say that this year has been a good year for Danish handball and is a result of the good job of thousands of enthusiastic friends of our sport in my country, working as coaches, teachers, referees and at the federation.”

The IV Men’s Youth World Championships in Argentina marked a strong performance by Europe with the top three sides – Denmark, Spain and Sweden – the All Star Team and Top Scorer all coming from the continent.

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 CENTRE 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)

Visit the Official Website or watch clips on the Official Youtube Channel of the Men’s U19 World Championship.

Sources: Danish Handball Federation, IHF.info