"You have to experience a tournament"

It has been an eventful few months for Lasse Møller. He put in strong performances for the SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the first half of the season, then had to fight his way back from injury and played in his first European Championship for Denmark. In recent weeks, the SG has once again been the focus of attention for the backcourt ace. KONTER spoke to him.

Lasse, you've already experienced two title parties with the SG. What was different with the Danish national team after the European Championship success?
LasseMøller: It wasn't really any different. Both the SG and the Danish national team celebrate extensively. Now it was a little more official in Copenhagen at the town hall for a short time, but otherwise it was just the same as with the SG. One difference that hardly carries any emotional weight: the run-up to the European Championship was a bit more compressed, whereas winning the EHF European League is the result of a long journey and the work of an entire season.

How long did you celebrate your victory in the European Championship?
LasseMøller: Until three or four o'clock in the morning - two days in a row. The first evening we were in Herning. Then we drove to Copenhagen, where the party continued in the town hall and on the balcony. After that, I slept for a few hours and then drove to Flensburg to see my family.

You played in the first few games of the 2023 World Cup, then you got injured. Now you've been there all the time. What was it like for you to have a game every two days?
LasseMøller: It's a tough rhythm for the players, who almost always have to play a lot. For me, it was more of a difficult balance. I always knew that I wouldn't start and would sit on the bench a lot. But I also always had to be ready to be at 100 percent if the worst came to the worst. I also had to stay in rhythm for the period from February onwards.

What does a player actually do during the day between matches?
LasseMøller: In my case, my wife was with her family in Holstebro during the tournament with our young daughter. They came to the hotel between the match days so that we could see each other more often. I was one of the players who played less and therefore had to train more often. There wasn't much else going on, but the days and the whole time went by so quickly. I shared a room with Niclas Kirkeløkke. We got on really well. We played table tennis and board games. And the other handball games were always on in one room. You always followed what the others were doing, but the focus was always on your own games.

It was your first time playing in front of 15,000 spectators in Herning. Was it as fantastic as you imagined?
LasseMøller: That's not quite true, because there has already been one international match in the Golden League. But a European Championship is something else, of course. And it's also different to play with a club team in front of such a big crowd than for Denmark in Denmark. When all the spectators are red and white, you feel like you're representing the whole country and everyone is behind you.

Many of your teammates have had more playing time than you. How did you see your role in the Danish national team?
LasseMøller: The first role as a handball player is to play handball. You always have to be ready to play. And when you're not playing, you have to take care of the good atmosphere in the team and support the players who play a lot.

You scored your first goal at a European Championship in the preliminary round match against Romania. A few moments later, Lukas Jørgensen was seriously injured. What were your thoughts in that situation?
LasseMøller: In a situation like that, you don't think, you're just shocked. You could see from the way Lukas was lying that something worse had happened. We spoke to each other afterwards. Now I wish him a good comeback. I'm sure he'll make it.

You had a fracture in your throwing hand in October. Were you worried that you would miss the European Championships? You had to cancel a training course.
LasseMøller: The injury happened right before the course, I spoke to our national coach Nikolaj Jacobsen straight away. However, I didn't think too much about what I might miss. The focus was on making sure the fracture healed well. I was then able to play the last Bundesliga games in December. I was ready for the European Championships - and Nikolaj Jacobsen picked me.

Spieler der SG im Interview — Lasse Møller fought his way back from injury in the fall.

You are now in your sixth season at SG. What has changed the most in the team and the club since then?
LasseMøller: I joined SG during the coronavirus pandemic. That was a very strange time in general. Almost everything is different now. Otherwise, I don't see the big differences. Flensburg is still Flensburg. I see the biggest changes in my private life. I came to Flensburg on my own and now I live here with a family. Our daughter is now nine months old. I enjoy every day with her. When she can walk soon, she will be impossible to control.

A good week after the European Championships, a number of gold and silver medal winners competed in Gummersbach and were soundly defeated. How can something like that be explained?
LasseMøller: We also talked about this within the team. There are many things, but no excuses. There are always bad games, but first and foremost we have to play the way the SG should. We have to take that to heart, tactics can only take second place. A European Championship takes a lot of energy, but that's why we have to stand together all the more.

You have won the EHF European League twice recently. What's wrong with winning a third?
LasseMøller: (smiles) Nothing really. A European title means a lot to us as a team and to the city as a whole. However, the last two titles no longer mean anything to us. This is a completely new task. We have to put in a lot of work to win the EHF European League again.

Spieler der SG auf dem Feld — The focus is now on the SG.

Created by ki