With top signing Hansen, Aalborg are hungry for more

His new club hopes that Hansen’s skills and experience will help them make the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2023 in Cologne. But in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League group phase, Aalborg will face three participants from the EHF FINAL4 Men 2022 – Barça, Lomza Industria Kielce and THW Kiel – in group B.

• after reaching the EHF FINAL4 Men in 2021, Aalborg lost to Telekom Veszprém in the quarter-finals last season
• Aalborg were runners-up in the Danish league 2021/22, after GOG defeated them in the final 
• this was the first time since 2018 that Aalborg did win the Danish league
• this will be Aalborg’s eighth participation in the Champions League; their best performance came in 2021, when they lost in the final to Barça 
• the club signed Danish superstar Mikkel Hansen for this season and have already announced the arrival of Niklas Landin for 2023

Most important question: Can Mikkel Hansen guide Aalborg to Cologne?

2,000 fans signed up in only two days to be part of the official presentation of Mikkel Hansen at Aalborg on Monday 22 August. The increase in season tickets sold demonstrates the impact everybody expects from Denmark’s best handball player of all time.

Mikkel Hansen has proved his leadership role at club level and with Denmark’s national team, but there are some question marks after the left back missed several months with an embolism in the spring.

Therefore, he could not help Paris Saint-Germain qualify for Cologne, which was a huge setback, as he wanted to say farewell by standing on the winners’ podium of the EHF Champions League for the first time in his career.

Hansen now takes his dream goal of winning the Champions League with him to Aalborg – but they are not the surprise team anymore, and all opponents are aware of the Danish side's strength.

Under the spotlight: Aron Palmarsson and Mikkel Hansen

How will the world-class duo cooperate in this team? The Icelander and the Dane are supposed to be the masterminds for Aalborg in attack. Palmarsson and Hansen have played in top clubs before and had top stars like Nikola Karabatic or Sander Sagosen by their side – and both are used to withstanding the heat in the spotlight.

It is the first time that these two MVPs of several competitions will play for the same club. Defences will focus on Palmarsson and Hansen, but both are strong in one-against-one situations, strong shooters and will create more space for players such as Lukas Sandell or Felix Claar. The Swedish pair should profit from this new combination.

How they rate themselves

Having been extremely successful in recent years, Aalborg have set their goals high again for this season.

"Being in the final and winning the group phase in previous seasons, we have really shown that we belong at the top of European handball. The goal is to continue to perform at a high level, even with the rising attention we have experienced in the last couple of years. It is a tough group this season, but we want to go back to Cologne," said manager Jan Larsen.

It is Aalborg’s long-term aim to participate regularly in Europe’s top-flight competition. "Playing in the Champions League is a really important part of our vision. Our goal for the club is to be one of the best in the world. It is the biggest handball scene for us to be on, and the international aspect and attention is incomparable,” added Larsen.

Team captain Rene Antonsen shares the club’s high expectations. He said: “My biggest motivation is going back to Cologne. We tried it in 2021 without spectators and did not make it past Veszprém in the quarter finals last season. We are really hungry for more. It would be a dream come true to be able to share that huge experience with our fans, and we will do everything we can to be back in Cologne in the upcoming season.”

What the numbers say

In terms of points earned, Aalborg enjoyed their best Champions League season in 2021/22, though they failed to qualify for the EHF FINAL4 Men.

From the middle of November 2021, Stefan Madsen’s team won their last seven group matches – their longest winning streak in the EHF Champions League. Thanks to this winning run, Aalborg won group A and skipped the play-offs.

But their first defeat in 2022, when they lost 36:29 at Veszprém in the first leg of the quarter-finals, was crucial.

Did you know?

Aalborg’s squad list only contains Nordic players. Only players from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland are in their squad.

Newcomers and departures

Newcomers: Andreas Flodman (KIF Kolding), Mads Hoxer (Mors-Thy Håndbold), Christian Termansen (Youth team), Mikkel Hansen (Paris Saint-Germain HB).

Departures: Nikolaj Læsø (FC Porto), Jonas Samuelsson (IF Skövde), Valdemar Hermansen (HC Midtjylland)

Past achievements

EHF Champions League
Participations (including 2022/23 season): 8
Final (1): 2020/21
Quarter-final (1): 2021/22
Last 16 (2): 2013/14, 2019/20*
Group Phase (3): 2010/11, 2014/15, 2017/18

Other
EHF Cup: Quarter-final 2003/04, Group Phase 2015/16
Challenge Cup: Round 4 2002/03
Danish league: 6 titles (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019-21)
Danish Cup: 2 titles (2019, 2022)
*The Last 16 in 2019/20 was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic