Michael Apelgren: “Pressure is always there”

While all teams dream of the podium, the hosts are almost always under a special spotlight, and it's no different for one of the co-hosts — Sweden. Since the first Men's EHF EURO in 1994, Sweden have led the medal table with five golds, one silver and one bronze, and after returning home with a gold and bronze from the last two EHF EUROs, they will aim for the top on home court as well.

However, they will have additional pressure after they missed out on reaching the quarter-finals of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship and ranked only 14th, but their head coach Michael Apelgren believes his team will show their full strength in front of their home fans.

In this interview, Apelgren talks about the Men's EHF EURO on home soil, while he prepares to lead the team as head coach at the European championship for the first time.

eurohandball.com: You are ready to lead Sweden as head coach at the EHF EURO for the first time, after being part of the 2024 bronze quest as an assistant, as well as in previous World Championship runs. What are your expectations for a championship played at home?

Michael Apelgren: It's mostly just to enjoy the feeling of being at home with a lot of Swedish supporters. It will be a lot of joy for everyone. Lately, it has been great. Every time we play at home, it's always full arenas and an amazing atmosphere. So, I imagine that it will be even better now, when there is a European championship.

eurohandball.com: Is there additional pressure on you as co-hosts, especially after missing the quarter-finals at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship in January and finishing 14th?

Michael Apelgren: Yes, we can feel it a bit more. Of course, when you talk about national teams, there's always pressure, because there is nothing in between — it's either fantastic or awful. So this is how it is when you compete in this kind of tournament and compared to club handball. So pressure is always there. But, of course, we feel that pressure also because of the last championship, which was not successful. We can say that we had a lot of injuries, which we did, but it doesn't matter. When people are going to judge us, if it's not good enough, we will hear it.

eurohandball.com: Everyone sees Sweden as medal contenders, especially if you finally have a full squad with no injuries. What do you consider the team's biggest strength, and who are the key players in your system?

Michael Apelgren: It's those guys who were not here the last time [at the World Championship]. We had four players who played the Champions League final, who were not playing at the championship, and maybe the biggest name is Felix Claar. I would say that he is a key player for us. But, also, the players who were not playing the last time: Max Darj and Oscar Bergendahl, who are there in the middle of the defence, who played for Magdeburg and Berlin week in and week out. We hope that can make a big difference for us. So, for me, those are the key players. So our strength comes down a bit to this — we want to be an aggressive team in defence, who is running a lot in the counter attacks.

eurohandball.com: What will be the biggest challenge for getting Sweden back to the top, that everyone expects at a home EHF EURO?

Michael Apelgren: To have a full squad. It's about having all players back and with that, I think, we will be dangerous. Of course, we have a tough group in Malmö and we have to survive that first. If we do, then we can be a tough team for all. So that's my take, that will be important.

eurohandball.com: How do you see your group E in Malmö with the Netherlands, Georgia and Croatia?

Michael Apelgren: There are only two teams that go through. Our first match is against the Netherlands, and those first games are always tricky. And they [the Netherlands] have a great squad, but maybe not as many top players as other nations. So it's worse to play against them right at the start, rather than in the fifth match, I'd say. Then we have Croatia, who finished second at the World Championship and they will have a lot of supporters for the game against us, for sure. It's always a lot of Balkan supporters in Sweden. And also Georgia. So this, for sure, is a tough group.

eurohandball.com: Who is the greatest player to have ever played an EHF EURO?

Michael Apelgren: Ever? Then I should pick a Swedish one — Stefan Lövgren. Sweden has a great history with European Championships when you look back. EURO has been our tournament, so let's hope history continues to play in our favour.

Photos © Sasa Pahic Szabo/kolektiff (main), BILDBYRÅN & Jan Langhaug (in-text)