Nikola Karabatic is still playing, Denmark has the most star power, Germany only has one and a half world-class players. These superstars will be important at the 2024 European Handball Championships.
Whoever is the measure of all things in goal got Sweden’s goalkeeper Andreas Palicka Hearing from his own son at the end of January 2022 – in front of rolling television cameras. Palicka had just returned to Gothenburg as the newly crowned European handball champion when a reporter interviewed him and his son Aston. “Dad is the best goalkeeper in the world”said Aston, but immediately corrected himself. “No, second best. Niklas Landin is even better.”
Landin number one: The best goalkeepers of the European Handball Championships 2024
The 35-year-old will also be leading in 2024 Landin no way around. The Danish keeper from Aalborg Håndbold, who played for Rhein-Neckar Löwen and THW Kiel in the Bundesliga from 2012 to 2023, is returning to Germany for the 2024 European Handball Championships and wants his second European championship title after 2012.
The biggest stars of the 2024 European Handball Championship: Mathias Gidsel (l.) and Niklas Landin.
The Spaniard is also among the best between the posts Gonzalo Perez de Vargaswho will move to THW Kiel in the summer of 2025 – and Germany’s hero of the 2016 European Championship: Andreas Wolff. The 32-year-old was named to the All Star team at the World Cup in January 2023 and thus the best goalkeeper of the tournament. After his slipped disc in his cervical spine, Wolff only made his comeback in November – how good the Industria Kielce goalkeeper will be will have a significant impact on the success of the young DHB team.
Handball European Championship 2024: Gidsel the high flyer in the backcourt
Among the many great backcourt players in the handball world, another Dane stands out: Mathias Gidsel, most valuable player of the 2023 World Cup, the 2021 Olympic tournament and currently probably the best player in the Bundesliga. The 24-year-old left-hander from Füchse Berlin is particularly impressive with the flexibility with which he overcomes the opposing defense.
The Norwegian also belongs to the group of powerful jumpers and throwers in the backcourt Sander Sagosen (Kolstad IL), the Spanish left-hander Alex Duyshebaev (Kielce) and France Dika meme (FC Barcelona).
The masterminds in the middle
They are the pacesetters. Know what is best for your team in which game situation – the playmakers in the central backcourt position. At the European Championship triumph that Sweden had two years ago Jim Gottfridsson from SG Flensburg-Handewitt a huge share.
MVP of the last European Championship: Sweden’s Jim Gottfridsson.
As strong as the 31-year-old appears, the right-hander sets the scene for his teammates delicately – often with a ground pass or no-look pass. At the 2022 European Championships he was voted the best player of the tournament, as was the case at the 2018 European Championships.
Juri Knorr is Germany’s biggest star
The Dutchman, who is only 1.73 m tall, impresses with his enormous agility and creativity Luc Steins (Paris St Germain). The best playmakers cannot be missed: the Frenchman Kentin Mahe (formerly HSV Hamburg and Flensburg-Handewitt, current Veszprém) and the currently best German handball player: Yuri Knorr (Rhine-Neckar Lions). The 23-year-old is the only world-class player in the young DHB team and will have to take on a lot of responsibility.
Karabatic, Hansen and Co.: The veteran stars of the 2024 European Handball Championship
The transition from the playmakers to the oldies is fluid. The 36 year old Dane Mikkel Hansen (Aalborg), three-time world champion and world handball player, and the Croatian, who is one year younger Domagoj Duvnjak from THW Kiel are at home in the central backcourt position. The question is: How big will your input be at this European Championship (still)?
Still in demand: France’s veteran star Nikola Karabatic
And then there is someone who will probably make some viewers exclaim in astonishment: “What, he’s still playing?” Voila, Nikola Karabatic! The former Kieler, who works for the “Equipe Tricolore” and at Paris St. Germain is mostly used in the left backfield, but also in the central position. Karabatics dream: Participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris – at the end of his career.