"Flensburg is a family place"

Kent Robin Tønnesen has a wealth of experience and can look back on an impressive European tour. The 34-year-old has played in Norway, Sweden, Hungary, France and four years in the Bundesliga. He has been one of the two left-backs at the SG Flensburg-Handewitt since the summer.

Kent Robin, you call me by two first names, right? Or what do your teammates call you?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: That's very different. Kent Robin is official. In the team they call me Kent or Kenny. In Norway, the two first names together often become Kentr.

So Kent, how were the first few weeks in your new surroundings? Have you settled in well in Flensburg?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: We like it very much. I haven't been to Flensburg that often because we live in Handewitt. Our daughter goes to a Danish school there. We often walk the route together. The Danish school is right next to the Wikinghalle, where I once played for the SG in preparation. The language was a change for me. I hardly spoke any German for eight years.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: I usually do something with my wife and our daughter. If there's still time, I like to play golf. I've been to the course in Glücksburg twice so far, which is beautifully situated by the sea. One time, the whole team was there with many sponsors. I had to hold back a bit because of a muscle injury. The other time I played with Emil, Lukas and Aksel. It was a Danish-Norwegian combination, and it was especially nice to speak Norwegian with Aksel. Golf is a nice balance to handball. I enjoy playing a round with friends. But I would have to play more to improve my handicap of 28.

Regardless of the result, what was it like to in-run the "Hölle Nord" for the first time at the beginning of September?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: It was a great experience to play for Flensburg in Flensburg. After the final whistle, I was disappointed that I didn't get two points against Stuttgart - but the "Hölle Nord" experience was cool. There is a lot of support from the crowd. There are even a lot of fans from away.

How many times have you played against the SG in "Hölle Nord" before? And which match do you remember most fondly?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: I can't really say exactly, there are quite a few. I remember a thrilling game with the Foxes. It ended in a draw. I even won once with Veszprém by four or five goals in Flensburg. That was in the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League in 2019. It wasn't quite enough with Pick Szeged two years later.

You weren't even born in Norway, but in Sweden. How did that come about?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: My father is Swedish and my mother is Norwegian. I was born in Partille near Gothenburg, but we quickly moved to Norway. I grew up in Lilleström, a town near Oslo.

Do you also speak perfect Swedish?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: Yes, I would say so. I lived in Gothenburg for a year as a professional. I've heard Swedish all my life because my father always speaks Swedish to me. I always answer him in Norwegian, by the way.

And how did you get into handball?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: It was because of my two older brothers, who both played handball. I was in the arena from an early age and started when I was six. My brothers were my role models and I wanted to be better than them. They were both taller than me, right-handed and pivots. They made it into the first Norwegian league. Our home club, Fjellhammer, had a very good youth program. I eventually moved to Haslum, a bigger club near Oslo, for three years.

Your CV shows IK Sävehof as your first station outside Norway. You probably didn't see Sweden as a foreign station at all?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: I was 21 years old, and away from home for the first time. That was the biggest change, not the language. Gothenburg is a beautiful city, it was an important step in terms of sport, and I made good friends there who I'm still in contact with.

Wetzlar was certainly a whole new chapter in 2013...
Kent Robin Tønnesen: I had been in Wetzlar for less than two weeks when the rumor came up that Ivano Balic would be joining us. He actually came. I really learned handball with this brilliant playmaker. Coach Kai Wandschneider put a lot of trust in me. Things went less well with the German language. There were ten or eleven foreign players there, so we spoke a lot of English with each other. It therefore took me a while to learn German. After a year, I decided to learn German systematically.

Füchse Berlin was certainly a completely different experience?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: It's a city with a lot of life. My wife and I were alone at first, our daughter was only born at the end of our time in Berlin. We lived in Prenzlauer Berg - not far from Füchse Town and the Max Schmeling Arena. The Füchse are a top team, there was a completely different pressure than in Wetzlar.

Kent Robin Tønnesen mit Sporttasche steht vor dem Mannschaftsbus der SG

Kent Robin Tønnesen steht vor einer blauen Graffitiwand

How did it come about that you moved to Hungary in 2017?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: Veszprém wanted me. I was particularly interested in the EHF Champions League. It was Veszprém's big goal to win it. I thought about what life would be like in Hungary. I was pleasantly surprised. It's very nice at Lake Balaton - especially for a family. We didn't quite win the EHF Champions League, we played Skopje in the final in 2019. But we won several titles in Hungary.

Some say the atmosphere in Veszprém is particularly hot...
Kent Robin Tønnesen: It's a witch's cauldron. Especially when things are going well, it's loud. It's different when things aren't going so well. It's more familiar in Flensburg. After our not-so-good start, many fans came to our training two days before the game in Minden. They told us: We believe in you! That does something to us players.

What was it like when you moved from Veszprém to Szeged? Both clubs have a huge rivalry.
Kent Robin Tønnesen: (laughs) Luckily for me, the move was during the coronavirus period. There were hardly any spectators allowed in the arenas.

In 2023, I went from the Hungarian province to Paris. That must have been a huge change again...
Kent Robin Tønnesen: It's quite an experience to live in this city. But when you're there with your family, you don't see that much. I also traveled a lot with PSG. There were two games every week. PSG is a really well-organized club where you feel you're in good hands as a handball player. I played with some handball greats, including Nikola Karabatic.

You have played 148 international matches for Norway. Will there be more to come?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: Let's see, I hope so. I love playing for my country. Physically, I feel fit enough. I'm trying to perform well and recommend myself for further appearances. Which would be very interesting, because the preliminary round of the upcoming European Championship will take place in Norway.

What will happen from summer 2026? Have you already thought about ending your career?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: That's still a few years away. I feel physically fit and I still enjoy handball. I'm driven by the motivation to win titles.

Can you imagine staying involved in handball in a different capacity after your career?
Kent Robin Tønnesen: I think I'll do something else then, but I don't have a plan for after my career yet.

Kent Robin Tønnesen in einer Pressekonferenz

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