Hagman's game: “I spent a lot of time just to enjoy with the ball”

Hagman's record in a European cup season is 99 goals scored in the EHF Cup 2016/17 for Nykøbing Falster. Hagmans has habitually ranked among the top scorers of national team competitions in particular. In 2021, on the path to becoming the top scorer of the World Championship — her sole such crown at a major tournament — she netted 19 goals in a single game twice. 

“I like to score. I like to run. I like to shoot,” says Hagman simply, examining why she is such a dangerous shooter.

“From the beginning, when I was young, I was spending a lot of hours in the hall playing, you know. I played in a small club in Stockholm, but every weekend you spend a lot of hours in the hall, like from morning to evening, and you went on the court every time it was half-time in some games. There I was playing a lot and enjoying. I didn't sit. We didn't have iPhones in that period, so I think I spent a lot of time just to enjoy with the ball, and I think maybe this could help and it gave me something.

“So, it's also, of course, a combination of everything. But for sure, I think all these hours in the hall when I was young gave me something.”

She scores plenty of goals and has a wide shooting repertoire. As of February 2026, her career count for Sweden stands at 1,001 goals in 258 games. Does Hagman have a penchant for a particular kind of shot? The right wing says she does not, but that her go to in matches has been evolving — and it’s always special to score a goal that makes a difference in an important moment. 

“The more I'm getting older, I'm shooting harder now, I think, than before. I was a little bit more tricky with my shooting, I think, some years ago. But no, I think it's more about what kind of game, the atmosphere in the hall — these kind of things,” says Hagman. 

Now into her 14th European cup season and third in the EHF Champions League, and with eight clubs in five countries on her international club competitions CV, Hagman has plenty of experience on the top level. Having mastered how to be a dangerous scorer and played with the influence of so many different places, she finds the main evolution in her game occurs at the defensive end.

“You can always practice on some new things from the corner. Even if I maybe not all the time use it during the game, on training I'm trying to do some new kind of shooting or this kind of things,” says Hagman. 

“The defence part, it's a little bit different from team to team, where you play. In some teams maybe you have a different philosophy how you want to play defence, so there is also a part you need maybe to practice and to be in the system and do the correct things. 

“It's maybe not exactly the way if you're a back player — there you have a little bit more things, I think, to put in the playing style.” 

Playing systems and specifics differ from team to team, and the game itself has also been changing. Most notable is the speed at which matches are played — mainly in terms of transitions from one end to the other. But as a wing who likes to run and has scored her fair share of fast breaks, Hagman has always been coming down the court fast, so how does the 34-year-old see the evolution of handball as impacting the wing position?

“Maybe it depends how you are as a wing player, but if you are this kind of wing player who runs a lot, I think it just fits you good, the way you are playing handball today. I think the biggest difference is for the line player and the back line. Before, when I started to play for the national team, for example, there it was more like heavy shooter, big line player, big defence player in the middle. Now, it's much more small players, faster players — everything goes much, much faster, I will say,” she says.

In positional play, where the wing mainly does their job from the corner, reading the game is crucial — and part of that is knowing the backs and how they might move or deliver a pass. Hagman says getting to know the back court and the individual preferences that feature there is crucial. 

“It's very important. It's a lot about timing in the handball and to find these small cooperations. I think all the good teams is playing, of course, this basic combination, but you need to put some small things inside to trick a little bit the defence,” says Hagman, who has had the task of getting to know a new team this season, as she joined Györ. 

“It's a lot about communication. Here, we are very good to find agreements; to decide what we have to do. And I think, when the basic is there, it's easier to put like, this small cooperation. But like I said, it's a lot about training, of course. A lot of hours together, but also to communicate and to talk about what's your favourite thing or what fits you, to find this good balance between each other.” 

Coming to Györ and how Hagman finds the main adaptation in her game with different teams and as she continually develops is at the defensive end, how does she see that side with the Hungarian team? 

“Here in Györ, we have a much bigger role as number one and six in defence. We work quite offensive in our kind of defence, and it also makes you as a wing player in defence to make more decisions,” explains Hagman. 

“It's very nice that everyone is very involved, and I think why we play so good is because all the players in defence are very good to find this cooperation and to kill the attack. So, I think it's very nice to play defence and to find a good way to stop them.” 

In terms of other adaptations at Györ, Hagman says the main difference has been the high level of training due to the star-studded nature of the squad — every minute of training is at 110 per cent with no exceptions.  

“Everyone knows it's a very high-quality team, Györ. We have only top players on all the positions. So, I will for sure say that the environment and the training, everyday life — it's on a very good high level and I think it's a very good climate to be in. You really need to push every training and do your best, otherwise you will have a very bad feeling of the training.”  

Looking to who inspired her growing up, Hagman says the most influential players were not the stars of the game, but the top athletes at her local club — those were the ones she saw regularly. However, there was one standout she saw only through the TV screen, and that person was not a wing. 

“It was a little bit different when I grew up. We didn't have these social media and this kind of thing you have now, but I remember I liked Ljubomir Vranjes when I was young,” she says, referring to the former star centre back turned coach. “I had, you know, some small idols in the club I played in, but they were maybe not any big superstars in the handball world.” 

Photos © Roland Peka / Győri Audi ETO KC; Cedosa380; kolektiff images/Anze Malovrh/Axel Heimken/Jozo Cabraja