15.10.2013, 06:01
A moment with ... Torsten Laen

INTERVIEW: The Danish line player speaks in depth about important steps in his career, the priceless lesson in Spain, how he became a captain in Berlin and what the most emotional victory was for him so far.

A moment with ... Torsten Laen

It is difficult to put into words the time I spent chatting with Torsten. He is without a doubt a top class player and also a gentleman. He is modest to a fault, but in our interview with him he gives us a behind the scenes description of his time at such major clubs as Ciudad Real, Füchse Berlin and KIF Kolding Kobenhavn.

He is honest also. His natural way to describe moments is funny and poignant in equal measure. He takes us on his own personal odyssey through European handball in a vivid and descriptive way.

“Something happened inside, when I was 26/27”

He explains how it was not the lure of money or of winning major trophies, which led him away from the safety and security of Gudme, but rather of proving himself at the highest level. His two years in Ciudad Real, were, in his own words, to “fill the hole” until Aguinagalde would join the club. He talks of the Spanish culture, of CR being the Real Madrid of handball and what it was like to live in the goldfish bowl of a town where handballers were kings.

“If you don’t say yes now, you will never have another chance”

His friends encouraged him to move from Denmark, even though he was worried that the other players wouldn’t even know his name. “I had no idea that Talant knew me,” he says and goes on to explain that a bit of luck helped him enormously to prove himself with a team of superstars. “I knew all of them, he admits. I just hoped they knew my name.”

His drive to prove himself helped earn two EHF Champions League medals; “In Spain it was survival”, he admits, but he also learned something more about the reality of team sports.“

“You only achieve something good if the team relationship works”

He admits that Talant surprised him, with his dedication and man-management, but the greatest lesson he brought with him to Berlin was the team spirit.

“I have no idea who you are, but my coach wants you”

These were the words of Bob Hanning to Torsten while trying to lure him to Berlin. His first months there, he realised that he needed to help build a culture of winning and also a higher level of intensity in training.

“I shouted more than Dagur, the first few months I was there,” he fondly reminisces, but the team spirit he helped formulate, along with the “Rock n Roll" Heinevetter, led to one of his team’s greatest moments against Leon and helped during the season when so many players knew very early that their contracts would not be renewed.

“It was the right decision, the circle is complete”

His decision to return to Denmark to rejoin so many of the youth WCh team of ’99 was absolutely the correct one.

“Every capital city needs handball,” he says, and though they are still in the shadow of AG Copenhagen, he believes that this project can and is working.

“It has to survive,” he reiterates and you know that with a guy like Laen in the mix, it surely will.

Because he has had to survive! He is a big believer that mentality is huge in sport and that team culture brings out the best in players. “It’s not just about 7v7 on 20x40,” he explains. He knows it’s something more.

If you have met Torsten, it’s easy to see why he is chosen as captain of teams. He exudes a class that is hard to quantify. His honesty is refreshing and his modesty is real.

“Who is Torsten Laen without handball?”

He poses this question to himself and you know he is a deep thinker on the game and also on what the next thirty years or more will bring if handball is not part of his life. His “no-holds barred” interview is worth a listen. Find a quiet spot, sit back and relax.

Listen to the entire interview with Torsten here.

TEXT: Tom O Brannagain, ehfTV commentator