Eggert expects Danish invasion in Flensburg

It is the closest of all possible duels in this VELUX EHF Champions League season: The distance between Flensburg and Kolding is just 90 kilometres, even three kilometres less than from Flensburg to Kiel. So it is a real derby, when the defending champions will host the Danish champions on Sunday evening.

Usually SG Flensburg-Handewitt have a high number of fans from Denmark among their regular spectators, even their main sponsor is a Danish company – as Flensburg is located within spitting distance from the Danish border.

So every duel with a Danish side is something special for the team of head coach Ljubomir Vranjes. Last season Flensburg hosted Aalborg in the group phase and more than 1,000 fans crossed the border to support their team in Germany.

“On Sunday we will have much more Danes in the Flens-Arena than against Aalborg,” says Flensburg’s Danish left wing Anders Eggert. He expects a kind of invasion from his home country: “I believe that approximately 50 per cent of all spectators will be Danish, maybe even more.”

And Eggert, one of five Danish SG players, does not have the hope that those will support their country-fellows wearing the SG shirt: “Definitely not. They will come to cheer for KIF.”

Nothing worked

Eggert’s team is out to avenge a heavy opening round defeat in this crucial match.

“Usually I like to be part of making history, but in this case I could have forborne from doing so,” says Eggert. Never before had a defending EHF Champions League champion started their next season with a bigger defeat than Flensburg’s 21:35 in Kolding.

“I don’t know what had happened in the end of the match. We tried to give all, but finally nothing, really nothing, worked as it should. It was a pity as so many of our fans had accompanied us in our first match as defending champions,”

And this opening defeat could have already been the end of Flensburg’s dream to finish among the best two teams in this group, as SG additionally lost both encounters with Barcelona and is ranked four points below KIF.

“It was out first objective to fight for the group victory, then we hoped for the second position, but now it looks like we finish third, even if we beat KIF and they lose at Barcelona,” Eggert says.

Third place is a must

Despite those two defeats against the Catalans, he took positive things from those top duels: “In both games we were on the same level in both first halves and even led by one goal at Palau Blaugrana.

“We stood strong until that moment when Barcelona could profit from the higher number of options and alternatives from the bench and we lost. And like the 21:35 in Kolding, the final result of 27:36 does not reflect the run-down of the match, as were not nine goals weaker than Barcelona.”

Before the rematch against their neighbours from Denmark, Flensburg suffered from some injury problems, with Swedish Jim Gottfridsson undergoing surgery and is out for several month and Dane Kasper Kisum leaving the club to return to his home country.

But despite this situation a “win is a must” for Eggert: “We need to ensure the third position.” Wisla Plock are only one point below after their draw at Kolding.

“We definitely need to finish on the third position to have a chance to proceed from the Last 16,” is Eggert’s calculation prior to the match with another funny situation.

By looking upon the current Danish national squad, Flensburg leads Kolding in players currently donning the Danish jersey. Eggert and Lasse Svan make it two for Flensburg compared to KIF’s one and only Bo Spellerberg.