Jacobsen will become new Löwen coach

The current coach is leaving to Denmark, the new one will arrive from Denmark. German VELUX EHF Champions League participants Rhein Neckar Löwen continue with Scandinavians on the bench.

After Swedish Ola Lindgren was replaced by Icelandic Gudmundur Gudmundsson in September 2010 the Danish Nikolaj Jacobsen will take the job the next season, when Gudmundsson will become new Danish men’s national team coach.

Löwen announced their new coach this week. Jacobsen signed a contract valid from 2014 to 2016. After he had led Danish side Aaalborg Handball to their domestic championship in May, currently Jacobsen is fighting for the Last 16 in the VELUX EHF Champions League – having a good base with six points from the first five matches.

German handball expert

Jacobsen, who was an assistant coach at Danish sides Viborg and Bjerringbro-Silkeborg before, knows German handball quite well.

In 1997 the former left wing transferred from Denmark to German side Bayer Dormagen, one year later he joined THW Kiel, becoming German champion three times and winning the German Cup and the EHF Cup twice each. After six years, 212 matches and 1344 goals he left Kiel.

Jacobsen was Danish national team player with 148 international caps and played three EHF EURO events and world championships each. "When I was a player I transferred to Germany to compete with the best of the world, now I want to prove my abilities as a coach in the bundesliga," Jacobsen said during a press conference when being presented by Löwen.

"I had been waiting for an offer of a top team, with which we can play for national and international titles. Now I got this chance by Rhein Neckar Löwen,“ Jacobsen explained his decision to leave Aalborg after this season.

Old ties renewed

And Jacobsen knows someone behind the scenes at Löwen quite well. Manager Thorsten Storm, who was part of the THW management, when he played at Kiel.  "We give a young and ambitious coach a great chance to continue the successful work of Gudmundur Gudmundsson," Storm was happy to announce the transfer.

"Nicolaj is very communicative, who also knows our players Andy Schmid and Niklas Landin from his work in Denmark. He proved his abilities when becoming Danish champion with a young team in the previous season,“ Storm added.

Icelandic Gudmundsson will become a successor of legendary Ulrik Wilbek from June 2014 on.