The result of his last competitive game in the “Hell North” was irrelevant, the emotions outweighed. After 14 years at SG Flensburg-Handewitt, Lasse Svan is ending his impressive career – and was enthusiastically celebrated on Wednesday evening.
When Lasse Svan grabs the microphone, his voice breaks. Not because the SG lost 21:24 (7:9) against Bergisch HC. But because the many praises from the club management, the recorded video scenes of his impressive career and the standing ovations of the fans leave him with nothing but a trace.
“When I made the decision a few months ago to end my career, I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to say something now,” he admits. “I thought there was enough time to think about something. But the last few days have been hell.” In every quiet moment his thoughts would have circled: What will happen? How is it? And above all: What was?
For two decades, the Dane held the bones in professional handball. He made 652 appearances for SG, scoring almost 2,500 goals and winning every title there is to win. Now, at 38, it’s over. In August, Svan is inducted into the Flensburg “Hall of Fame” at the farewell game.
Last hit in “Hell North”
On Wednesday in his last home game, “Hell North” raged even before the throw-in. He has been the captain of the Schleswig-Holstein team since the summer of 2019 and is the first to arrive. And even after that, the fans enthusiastically cheer every good action of the veteran. “Once Flensburg, always Flensburg,” chanted the supporters, and on the east stand family and friends wore white jerseys with the golden lettering – “Svan”.
When the right winger hits the ball in the second half, the mood is at boiling point. Then he even allows himself to be persuaded to throw a penalty, his first in years – and rejects it. Doesn’t matter. The party goes on. Even when he comes back through the tunnel after the game, his two children by the hand, teammates Hampus Wanne and Marius Steinhauser, who are also being said goodbye, in tow.
Painful memories of the first SG goal
Svan reports that he is emotionally turbulent, but not as nervous as he was 14 years ago when he first played for SG – in a game against Balingen. He can remember that well: “For my first goal, I came across the backcourt and got hit in the chest. It was painful – but the ball was in the goal.” He quickly became a regular player and contributed to the Flensburg team being among the national and European top again from 2012.
The SG won the Champions League, the German Championship twice, the DHB Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. All important titles Svan won at least once. “I always wanted to improve,” the left-hander once said. “Even at the age of 30 or 32, I wasn’t satisfied with the level I had reached, but still saw potential.” Now the priorities have shifted. “I want to organize my days myself,” he says.
Always high stakes: Lasse Svan.
Svan: “Fantastic, outstanding, great pride”
Svan had already celebrated his departure from the national team a few weeks ago. With Denmark he was world champion twice and European champion and Olympic champion once each. On Maundy Thursday he played his last of 246 international matches in Copenhagen. The clear victory over Poland was followed by the official award. A special moment: “Fantastic, outstanding, great pride – I have to use all these words to describe this moment,” Svan enthuses today. “When I finally got home, I didn’t have anything sorry. It was the right time to stop.”
One more game until retirement
After the last Bundesliga game on Sunday at Füchsen Berlin, it’s finally over. Then the 38-year-old primarily wants to go on vacation with family and friends. From August a new phase of life begins in Kolding, where the family already lives. Svan would like to work as a mental coach, he completed his training years ago: “I didn’t learn that much about handball there, but all the more about how I behave on and off the pitch.”
The most important lesson: how to overcome a low. “Every competitive athlete experiences such a low at some point. Shortening it can make the difference between reaching the highest level or only being second-class.” Svan, in turn, does not know them. He played at the highest level for 20 years.
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Schleswig-Holstein Magazine | 09.06.2022 | 19:30 o’clock
