HANDBALL PLAYERS from Denmark

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Handball Players of all time. This list of famous Danish Handball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Handball Players.

1. Mikkel Hansen (1987 - )

With an HPI of 50.07, Mikkel Hansen is the most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Mikkel Hansen (born 22 October 1987) is a Danish professional handball player for Aalborg Håndbold and the Danish national team.Widely regarded as one of the greatest handball players of all time, Hansen has won the IHF World Player of the Year a record-tying three times.

2. Niklas Landin Jacobsen (1988 - )

With an HPI of 42.38, Niklas Landin Jacobsen is the 2nd most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Niklas Landin Jacobsen (born 19 December 1988) is a Danish handballer for Aalborg Håndbold and the Denmark national team.He has previously played for Rhein-Neckar Löwen. He is European Champion with the Danish national team, after winning the 2012 Championship in Serbia, defeating the host nation in the final, 21–19. Niklas Landin is the captain of the Denmark national team.In 2011 and 2013, he won silver medal at the World Men's Handball Championship. In 2016, he was part of the Danish team that won Olympic gold. With the Danish national team, he won the 2019 World Men's Handball Championship. He is the older brother of fellow THW Kiel player and Danish international Magnus Landin Jacobsen. Landin Jacobsen was named the IHF World Player of the Year for 2019 and for 2021. He was the first player to be named two consecutive times. In 2021, he won the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship, posting a save rate of 30%.

3. Anja Andersen (1969 - )

With an HPI of 39.34, Anja Andersen is the 3rd most famous Danish Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Anja Jul Andersen (born 15 February 1969 in Odense, Denmark) is a former Danish team handball player and current coach. She is an Olympic champion, World champion and two times European champion. In 1997, she was named IHF World Player of the Year. She is widely regarded as one of the best female handball players of all time.

4. Lars Christiansen (1972 - )

With an HPI of 37.80, Lars Christiansen is the 4th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Lars Roslyng Christiansen (born April 18, 1972) is a former Danish team handball player. He is European Champion, winning the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship and 2012 European Men's Handball Championship with the Danish national handball team. He was top scorer at the 2008 championship together with Nikola Karabatic and Ivano Balić, and was also voted into the 2008 All-star team. Christiansen has played 338 games for the Danish national team, and scored 1503 goals. He is currently the player with most games and most goals for the Danish national team. He played for the German club SG Flensburg-Handewitt, and was part of the team when the club won the German championship in 2004, and won the EHF Cup in 1997. In his 14 years with SG Flensburg-Handewitt he scored 3996 times, 1623 of these was scored from the 7 meter penalty spot. Lars Christiansen's cousin Jan Paulsen has played together with Lars Christiansen for the Danish national handball team - as playmaker. He has been married to former handballer, Christina Roslyng, who played at the Danish national handball team. Together, they have two sons, Frederik and August. They split up in 2009, however, as of 2012, they are back together. In 2018, he participated in the Danish version of Dancing with the Stars, Vild med dans, with the partner Sofie Kruuse.

5. Henrik Toft Hansen (1986 - )

With an HPI of 37.13, Henrik Toft Hansen is the 5th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Henrik Toft Hansen (born 18 December 1986) is a Danish professional handball player for Mors-Thy Håndbold and the Danish national team.He is the younger brother of René Toft Hansen. He has three younger siblings: Allan Toft Hansen (da) of Mors-Thy Håndbold, Majbritt Toft Hansen of Viborg HK and Jeanette Toft Hansen. All five siblings play on the pivot position.He is married to former Swedish national team player Ulrika Toft Hansen (formerly Ulrika Ågren), with whom he has two children.

6. Lasse Svan Hansen (1983 - )

With an HPI of 36.61, Lasse Svan Hansen is the 6th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Lasse Svan Hansen (born 31 August 1983) is a Danish retired handballer, who last played for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Danish national team.He won the Danish championship with GOG.He became European Champion with the Danish national team, after winning the 2012 Championship in Serbia, defeating the host nation in the final, 21–19. In 2011, he also won silver medal at the World Championships in Sweden. In 2021, he became the top appearance maker for SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

7. Hans Lindberg (1981 - )

With an HPI of 35.81, Hans Lindberg is the 7th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Hans Óttar Lindberg Tómasson (born 1 August 1981) is a Danish handball player of Icelandic descent for Füchse Berlin and the Danish national team.He won the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship and the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship with the Danish national team. He currently plays for Füchse Berlin.He is of Icelandic descent as both of Lindberg's parents, Tómas Erling Lindberg and Sigrún Sigurðardóttir, are Icelandic. His parents played handball in Iceland with Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar. He had Icelandic citizenship until he was 18. His paternal grandparents immigrated to Iceland from Suduroy on the Faroe Islands in the mid-1940s.He is sometimes referred to as the Icelander on the Danish national team in Icelandic media. He understands Icelandic in conversation but is unable or refuses to speak Icelandic when speaking to media.

8. René Toft Hansen (1984 - )

With an HPI of 34.50, René Toft Hansen is the 8th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

René Toft Hansen (born 1 November 1984) is a Danish professional handballer for Bjerringbro-Silkeborg Håndbold and the Denmark national team. His brother Henrik also plays handball for Denmark national team.

9. Mads Mensah Larsen (1991 - )

With an HPI of 33.05, Mads Mensah Larsen is the 9th most famous Danish Handball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Mads Mensah Larsen (born 12 August 1991) is a Danish handball player for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Denmark national team.He previously played for the clubs AG København, Nordsjælland Håndbold and Aalborg Håndbold.He studied Humanistic informatics at Aalborg University. He has a Danish mother and a Ghanaian father.

10. Lene Rantala (1968 - )

With an HPI of 32.30, Lene Rantala is the 10th most famous Danish Handball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Lene Rantala (born 10 August 1968 in Copenhagen) is a former Danish handball player, two times Olympic champion and a World champion. Rantala is currently assistant coach for Vipers Kristiansand in the Norwegian REMA 1000-ligaen. She debuted on the Danish national team on 14 February 1991, and has since played 226 matches for Denmark. She has won numerous medals with the team, notably including two Olympic gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.