Experienced Henrik Møllgaard was among Nikolaj Jacobsen selected as the national coach on Monday afternoon presented his european championship squad at a press conference.
It came, of course, not exactly as a big surprise to neither Møllgaard or the attending journalists, as the experienced player’s participation in the session was announced a few weeks in advance.
Why has forsvarsspecialisten also had plenty of time to think over his expectations for the tournament, where the team gets ‘home’ in Malmö, sweden, until a possible finaleweekend.
And perhaps that is the explanation as to why the dane was so crystal clear in its announcement.
“We don’t discuss whether we have a national team that can win in Sweden – of course we have it.”
“When we’ve just won the WORLD cup, so we are not happy to be six or four. So take one of place to win,” says Henrik Møllgaard.
But Møllgaard at the same time stresses that it becomes difficult for the defending WORLD cup and the OLYMPICS-guldvindere.
For a rare once, lodtrækningsheldet failed the danes, believe Møllgaard, who can look forward to an initial pool with Iceland, Hungary and Russia.
‘ It is a terrible mess. The order in it is, to put it mildly vexed. I am sorry that we must meet Iceland in the first match. I am very well aware of how much of the video and the time, Gudmundur (Gudmundsson, the former Danish national coach and current icelandic national coach, ed.) put in the battle. He comes with a or else, we are not prepared. It can be plenty hard.”
How sure are you that you are far from the pot?
“I don’t know whether I am particularly sure. I think the, we are better than the other team. But I have also lost to Hungary several times, and we know it will be difficult against Iceland, and there is no, they would rather beat than us. And so I think that Russia is a quite excellent team,” he says, and continues
“But you get me not to say that it will not be a disappointment if we do not go on. It will be a big disappointment,” says Møllgaard.
After the initial round of waiting – if it goes ahead – probably other guldkandidater as France, Norway and Sweden, and hence are hard-nosed battle on semifinalebilletterne.
Henrik Møllgaard find comfort in that Denmark play both the preliminary round and mellemrunde in Malmö and thus avoiding a rejsedag along the way – just like Malmö is expected to be painted in red and white colours of the Danish fans.
And it amazes Aalborg-player, to the Swedish and Norwegian hosts, is not more thought of, what is for the benefit of their own national team, which will travel between Gothenburg and Trondheim.
“The only thing that is cool is that we will be in Malmö, when we hopefully go on to mellemrunden. Neither Sweden or Norway can be quite happy that it is there, we must play against each other,” he says, and adds:
“As I see it, so have they clocked in it. Who has the outright dummet themselves. But it is still hard, I have to say. There are some really, really good team that will be disappointed, before we get to the semi-final,” says.
EM settled in Norway, Sweden and Austria 10.-26. January.
