He had left out the characteristic headband. With a long middle part and three-day beard, Mikkel Hansen was of course still recognized when he stood on the podium in Aalborg on Wednesday afternoon to announce to the handball world that he would end his career in the summer. That was no longer a surprise. Even before the European Championships in January, he had revealed to the Danish media that it might be his last European Championship. He had previously told the newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” that he would put handball aside if he lost the fun of the game.
It’s not that far yet, said the 36-year-old, but he would rather stop a little too early than a little too late: “I’m still 100 percent focused. But I have reached a point in life where other things are making themselves known to me. This includes the fact that my children are growing up and I want to see where my professional career takes me.”
“One of the greatest Danish athletes of all time”
Mikkel Hansen had already announced to his club Aalborg Haandbold a few weeks ago that he would not be fulfilling his contract, which runs until June 30, 2025. A groin injury is currently preventing him from playing. Danish national coach Nikolaj Jacobsen called Wednesday “a sad day for handball” and spoke of Hansen as the best Danish handball player ever: “He is one of the greatest Danish athletes of all time.”
With Hansen as director, his string-pulled passes, his hits from the backcourt and from the seven-meter point, the Danish handball glory began at the 2011 World Cup – the Danes came second and Mikkel Hansen was voted World Handball Player of the Year.
Two more such personal titles followed and many with the national team: European champion, world champion, Olympic champion. The quiet Dane always had the aura of a superstar. He led the team with few words and thoughtful actions. In the European Championship final in Cologne at the end of January, the Danes lost to the French, and it was also the swansong for the decade of two great characters – Mikkel Hansen and Nikola Karabatic.
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At the height of his career, Hansen earned his money in France at Paris Saint-Germain. In the last of these ten years there was a long-term absence due to a blood clot in the lungs. Hansen had to take blood thinners. He returned to Denmark in the summer of 2022; he signed with the top club in Aalborg. There he was not able to take on the leadership role that was intended for him. Hansen sat out the first half of the year after the 2023 World Cup in Poland and Sweden with stress symptoms. That’s when the guesswork about his return began, which then took place relatively unspectacularly for the 2023/24 season.
Mikkel Hansen rarely played the really big games in the Aalborg jersey. At the European Championships, however, he reigned supreme once again in a tried-and-tested way, allowing the much younger Simon Pytlick and Mathias Gidsel to perform in the secondary positions, and was a good distributor of the ball, calmer of the game and an accurate shooter on penalty throws. Mikkel Hansen traditionally leaves the defensive work to others.
Mikkel Hansen said on Wednesday in Aalborg that he would like to end his career after the Paris Olympics. But it’s not that easy in a country like Denmark, where there are 15 professionals for the three backcourt positions. “I can’t say now whether he will be there,” said Nikolaj Jacobsen, “he’s injured right now, and if he comes back well, we’ll see what happens next.” There are no inherited farms in Danish handball. Mikkel Hansen will be fine with that. Either way, he has found a good time to stop playing sports.
