Saugstrup's game: “A 21:20 win can also be a good game”

At a certain point, you have to take an important decision: which sport to continue? For young Magnus Saugstrup it was a decision between football, handball and badminton. Like his parents and his siblings he opted for handball.

“It was fun, I had a certain talent and I spent so many hours in the arena every weekend,” Saugstrup, who was born in Aalborg, looks back on his early days. When he was six years old, he joined the local club Nøvling IF “this classic little club with teams for boys and girls in all age groups”.

After he changed school and two hours of handball per week were added to the timetable, his love for the sport turned into the will to go all the way. At the age of 15, Saugstrup moved to the youth system of top side Aalborg Håndbold.

But until then, he was a centre back, “not the best”, as he admits today. When his youth team lacked a line player, he changed position.

Being a former playmaker who turned into a line player, his idols were from those two positions: Michael Knudsen and Igor Vori alongside Ivano Balic and Mikkel Hansen.

“Mainly it was Michael Knudsen. At this time, he was the best Danish line player. Michael was a true fighter. Also, how Igor Vori played in the 5-1 defence was really impressive for me,” Saugstrup says, adding: “But of course, everybody in Denmark also loved Mikkel.”

Saugstrup does not want to compare his style of playing to Knudsen or Vori, as times are different and mainly the speed of playing increased enormously. “I always tried to find my own style,” he adds.

Today, Saugstrup’s style combines goals following genius passes from his back court players such as Mathias Gidsel or Rasmus Lauge in the national team or Gisli Kristjansson at SC Magdeburg, with a rock-solid defence with a huge anticipation for opponents’ attacks.

“It is not easy to say whether the training of attack or defence is more demanding for a line player. It always depends on the physical condition: if you have a smaller line player, he is faster and more movable, or if you have a tall athletic line player, who counts more on his body and his power. If your job is to open the space for the back court players or play more in two-against-two actions. Tall and heavy is not that bad, but it is difficult to cope with today’s high-speed handball,” says Saugstrup.

But how does Saugstrup cope with this extremely fast-paced match plan of Denmark and Magdeburg?

“The speed made it really harder for many line players, but I like it, because of those easy goals, you can score. You cannot constantly play in position attack, when you want to be successful. Within a short time, you can score a 4:0 run, which then decides a match. In the end, you have to decide which style you prefer and which style fits the best for your teams.”

In general, Saugstrup prefers defending to attacking.

“You can help your team that much with a great defence, but mostly those players are mentioned who score 10 goals and not those who avoided 10 goals. As long as we win, a final result of 21:20 can also be a good game, only with less goals, as this proves the strengths and importance of the defence.

“And defence definitely wins matches, even though for Denmark at the latest World Championship, it looked like we had a focus on attack.  Maybe some fans might say a 21:20 was a boring match, but for me it is a perfect one. Defence is so much fun, when you have this anticipation, but currently there are so many great attacking players that the defence specialist are underrated,” he asserts.

Having extraordinary attackers like Mathias Gidsel or Simon Pytlick in his team, Saugstrup does not mind that they shine brighter. “I can only say good things about them, they deserve to be in the spotlight. The things they do are simply extraordinary.”

Saugstrup says defence is a team effort.

“It is always about cooperation. Cooperation in the middle block, cooperation with the goalkeeper. You always need to know where your goalkeeper prefers to get the shots. You always have to give him a positive feeling that everything works well in this cooperation.”

On club level, Saugstrup has only played for two senior teams, Aalborg, until the EHF FINAL4 2021, and from then on at SC Magdeburg, where he is now contracted until 2029. In 2023, he was a core part of Magdeburg’s EHF Champions League triumph.

But who is his favourite defensive team mate at club and national team level?

“There are so many, like Oscar Bergendahl or Christian O’Sullivan at Magdeburg, Simon Hald or Lukas Jørgensen in the Danish team. But one definitely stands out: Henrik Møllgaard. I learnt so much from him at Aalborg, and when we play together, one knows exactly what the other is doing. We share the same idea of playing in defence. With him, it fits perfectly,” Saugstrup says.

Magnus Saugstrup is not only an exceptional line player, but also the team captain of the Danish team, and one of the leaders at SC Magdeburg.

“Taking responsibility is part of my character. I always want to have my say, to contribute in many ways on and off the court. I like to steer others, so I like this role of a leading figure — mainly when you have great coaches such as Nikolaj Jacobsen or Bennet Wiegert, who engage players to contribute and have exactly this philosophy.”

Saugstrup says he cannot name his favourite trophy, but concludes: “Winning the Olympic Games last summer was incredible. Being part of the Olympics is already great, but winning the gold medal is the greatest, mainly due to the circumstances that Mikkel Hansen and Niklas Landin said farewell to the national team. This was a touching moment for us and for the whole of Danish handball.”

Photos © HBC Nantes, Kolektiff Images, Eroll Popova