09.02.2017, 02:55
Kurtovic and Sagosen earn January’s Player of the Month award

NEWS REPORT: After team gold and silver for Norway at the Women’s EHF EURO and the Men’s World Championship respectively, Norway’s best also reap individual awards as Amanda Kurtovic and Sander Sagosen are awarded EHF Players of the Month

Kurtovic and Sagosen earn January’s Player of the Month award

For the first time in the history of the EHF Player of the Month, the award goes to two players from the same nation.

A panel of experts summoned by the European Handball Federation named Norwegians Sander Sagosen and Amanda Kurtovic as the best European players in January.

25-year-old Larvik player Amanda Kurtovic has been awarded for her impressive performances she produced on club level.

In her team’s 26:26 draw against CSM Bucuresti in the Women’s EHF Champions League on 27 January she became the match’s top scorer with seven goals. Back in November, she scored even ten and 11 goals respectively when her team faced first IK Sävehof and then RK Krim Mercator.

Furthermore, she netted no less than 19 times in the domestic league in Norway when Larvik beat Oppsal 39:22 on 22 January.

At Larvik she benefits from playing on the left back position, unlike in the national team where she mainly is deployed on the left wing.

And Kurtovic has not lost anything of the momentum that kept her going in January, starting February’s matches in the Women’s EHF Champions League with nine goals she scored in Larvik’s 24:22 win against FC Midtjylland on 4 February.

Sagosen credits Norway

Joining Kurtovic on the Player of the Month podium is fellow Norwegian Sander Sagosen.

The 21-year-old playmaker and left back was one of the key players in Norway’s silver run at the Men’s World Championship 2017 in France.

Sagosen currently plays for Aalborg Handball in the Danish league but will join PSG Handball from next season onwards – and the World Championship proved what a brilliant transfer that very well might become for the Paris club.

“Being awarded Player of the Month in Europe is a great honour for me,” says Sagosen who was also nominated for the World Championship’s All-star Team as best left back.

“Things have gone very well for the Norwegian team and for myself lately, and I see this award as the result of my national team’s progress and great work recently.”

Sagosen suffered from the flu right after the lost final against France, but is ready for the second half of the season now.

“It took me a week to get over it, but now I’m fit and well again and ready for some more action,” he says.

TEXT: Peter Bruun / ts