Kasper Hvidt: My ambitions are still high

The countdown clock to the 2014 EHF European Championship continues to tick down - as of October 2013 there were a mere 100 days to go.

While the participating teams and its star players start getting in shape for the final tournament, we use the opportunity to look back at the stars from yesterday.

The players that stood and occasionally still stand for success at the previous EHF EURO events. Part 7 of the 'Where are they now?'-series looks at Danish goalkeeper Kasper Hvidt.

For a lot of Danish fans, one of their handball life's greatest moments came in the early evening hours on Sunday, 26 January 2008 in Norwegian Lillehammer, when Denmark´s goalkeeper and team captain, Kasper Hvidt, lifted the EHF EURO 2008 trophy over his head as the visible proof that Denmark had become European champions for the first time.

The following day, when the team was celebrated by 30,000 people in the Copenhagen's city hall and received by the Danish crown prince Frederik, is also still fresh in the memory of many a Dane.

One of the most outstanding Danish heroes of those days was the aforementioned Kasper Hvidt who was rewarded for his efforts in the tournament by being awarded the event's best goalkeeper.

Born in Copenhagen, where he started his career in the local club BK Ydun, Hvidt was at the peak of his career at that time, also at club level, representing  top club FC Barcelona.

These days, at the age of 37, he is still considered to be among the best goalkeepers in the world, although it has been almost four years, since he chose to bid farewell to the national team.

However, he still plays for VELUX EHF Champions League participants KIF Kolding Kobenhavn - but let us go back to those, especially from a Danish point of view, days in January 2008.

eurohandball.com: What do you remember best from those days in 2008?
Kasper Hvidt: There are many things, but what I remember best is probably Lars Christiansen´s penalty goal in the semi-final against Germany (26:25 for Denmark) just seconds before the end. We had won so many bronze medals in the years before, so it was fantastic to see Lars score with that penalty and get us to the final.

Of course, I also remember the final very well (24:20 against Croatia) After a poor start (Denmark trailed 0:4 at the beginning) we had the match under control most of the way, and obviously it was a great moment and a big honour for me to lift the trophy after the win.

eurohandball.com: It was the first time Denmark reached the top after having won the bronze at the three previous EUROS as well as at the World Championship the year before. What do you see as the explanation why it was exactly in Norway 2008 that your team peaked?
Kasper Hvidt: I think there were several reasons, but the most important factor was that we got our defence working so well. Of course, it also meant a lot that Lars Christiansen scored on 23 out of 24 penalties, I believe it was, and that Lasse Boesen played a fantastic tournament in he attack, but first and last, our defensive performance won it for us.

eurohandball.com: What did it mean to you personally to be awarded best goalkeeper?
Kasper Hvidt: Of course, I saw it as an appreciation of a good and stable performance in the tournament. I do not want to emphasise my own performance, but we played nine hours of handball in that tournament, and I probably played about eight hours and 53 minutes out of that time, so it was a satisfaction to be able to perform so consistently throughout the tournament.

eurohandball.com: Just two years later, following the EHF EURO 2010, you said goodbye to the national team for good. Have you ever missed the national team since?
Kasper Hvidt: No, never. It was not a rash decision I made at that time, but a decision I had considered very well in advance. I had my debut in the national team in 1996, and as you just said, I ended my international career in 2010, so I would think that 14 years should be enough.

At that time I had just become father of a daughter, and that had given me different priorities in my life.

eurohandball.com: Today you guard the goal for KIF Kolding Kobenhavn, a team you have played a major part in building youself. What makes a top goalkeeper who should still be able to get a job in a European top club, work so hard for a new team, as you did for KIF Kolding Kobenhavn in August last year?
Kasper Hvidt: I have always had a dream of creating a European top team in Copenhagen. With AG Kobenhavn we succeeded in proving that the handball enthusiasm is huge in Copenhagen.

We proved that best with the 36,000 spectators in Parken for the Danish championship final against Bjerringbro-Silkeborg in our first year and with 22,000 in the same venue for the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona the following year.

With KIF Kolding Kobenhavn we seem to have created a team with the necessary financial basis, and a team who can enter the top eight in Europe over time.

I believe there should be sufficient financial potential in Denmark to carry a team that can reach the FINALl4 over time, and by being present in Copenhagen as well as in Kolding/Jutland I believe we have created a platform for future success.

eurohandball.com: Has the project lived up to your expectations so far?
Kasper Hvidt: Based on the 14 months we have been in business, I would say that it has. Obviously we would like to have won the Danish championship last season, but the first ten months with this project were extremely hectic, and we have to admit that we had more or less run out of resources when we reached the finals.

However, it was crucial that we reached our intermediate aim of qualifying for the Champions League, and when I look at our latest Champions League match, against Kiel which we lost 29:26, but where we were close to winning, I think we showed that we belong there, and that we are not far from top eight in Europe already.

However, there is no point in just being among the best in one season, and then be out the following year. Therefore, it is so important that we have continuity in our project.

eurohandball.com: Will KIF København be the last stop in your career?
Kasper Hvidt: Yes, definitely. This is the place where I am going to end my career.

eurohandball.com: And how far away is the end of your career?
Kasper Hvidt: I will go on for at least another couple years.

Where are they now? - Part 6 - Siarhei Rutenka, top scorer at the EHF EURO 2006

Where are they now? - Part 5: Olafur Stefansson, MVP at the EHF EURO 2002

Where are they now? - Part 4: Jackson Richardson, MVP at the EHF EURO 2000

Where are they now? - Part 3: Daniel Stephan, MVP at the EHF EURO 1998

Where are they now - Part 2: Talant Dujshebaev, MVP at the EHF EURO 1996

Where are they now? - Part 1: Magnus Andersson, MVP at the EHF EURO 1994