Anja Andersen
Encyclopedia
Anja Andersen is a former female handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

 player and currently coach.

Career

Anja Andersen is known for both her skills as an offensive player, her strong temper and courage to make dramatic scenes and daring tricks during a match. She was an important part of the renaissance in Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 handball during the 1990s. Her strong temper and impressive skills afforded everybody an opinion and after the first gold medal at the European championship in 1994 the national team affectionately earned the nickname "the iron ladies" and status of national sports heroes.

Although the national handball team of the 1990s had many profiles it is undisputed that Anja Andersen was the most prolific and controversial. Although nobody questioned her skills, her temper, causing numerous expulsions from high profile matches, was an issue of some debate. At the 1996 Olympics the coach, Ulrik Wilbek
Ulrik Wilbek
Ulrik Wilbek is a Danish team handball coach. He has been head coach for the Danish men's national handball team from 2005...

, briefly banned her from the team due to disputes of playing style and behavior on the floor. She has played 133 matches for the Danish national handball team for women and has scored 726 goals.

It was also Anja Andersen who introduced handball to true showmanship. Greatly influenced by basketball and notably the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...

 she invented a playing style aimed at the audience rather than the opposing team. After her retirement as an active player she organized a "dream team" of the best female handball players in 2000 and 2001 which played a selected Danish team. The "dream team" matches was a success but they stopped when Anja Andersen could no longer play actively herself.

Because of a heart defect, Andersen stopped her player career in 1999.

Coaching

Anja Andersen immediately started coaching the Danish Women's Handball League
Danish Women's Handball League
The Danish Women's Handball League is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. Since January 2009, the league is officially called GuldBageren Ligaen for sponsorship...

 club Slagelse
Slagelse Dream Team
The Slagelse Dream Team is a hand ball team from the town of Slagelse, Denmark. It is sometimes referred to as "Slagelse DT", and is the professional first team for the hand ball club Slagelse Forenede Håndboldklubber...

. She first helped the team reach the top league and later on win the Champions League three times, in 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2006/07. In 2006 she also coached the national team of Serbia
Serbia women's national handball team
The Serbia women's national handball team is the national team of Serbia. It is governed by the Serbian Handball Federation and takes part in international team handball competitions.-Results:*2006 European Championship: 14th...

.

In 2008, she left Slagelse for FCK Håndbold. In 2010, she left FCK Håndbold because the club dissolved and decided to take a break until to coach a new team.

In February 2011, Anja Andersen became the new coach of the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n giants Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea
CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea
CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea is a Romanian women's handball club from Râmnicu Vâlcea, that plays in the Liga Naţională and in the EHF Women's Champions League....

. The Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

n club hired her in the attempt of winning the Champions League.

In March 2011, after just one month of coaching she was fired because of poor results, losing two matches from a total of four on the bench of Oltchim
CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea
CS Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea is a Romanian women's handball club from Râmnicu Vâlcea, that plays in the Liga Naţională and in the EHF Women's Champions League....

 in the Main Groups of Champions League.

Achievements

During her active career as a handball player she won numerous tournaments:
  • 1987 World Junior Championship silver medalist
  • 1992 Norwegian League champion with Bækkelaget
  • 1993 World Women's Handball Championship
    1993 World Women's Handball Championship
    -Final standings:Source:...

     silver medalist
  • 1994 European Women's Handball Championship
    1994 European Women's Handball Championship
    -Final ranking:...

     gold medalist
  • 1995 World Women's Handball Championship
    1995 World Women's Handball Championship
    The 1995 World Women's Handball Championship took place in Austria and Hungary from 1995.-Final standings:Source:...

     bronze medalist
  • 1996 Summer Olympics
    1996 Summer Olympics
    The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

     gold medalist
  • 1996 European Women's Handball Championship
    1996 European Women's Handball Championship
    -Final ranking:...

     gold medalist
  • 1997 World Women's Handball Championship
    1997 World Women's Handball Championship
    -Final standings:Source:...

     gold medalist
  • 1997 IHF World Player of the Year
    IHF World Player of the Year
    -Men:-Women:-External links:* *...

     player (As of 2011 she is still the only Danish handball player male or female, to win this title)


Her career as a coach has also yielded results:
  • 2003, 2005 and 2007 winner of the Danish Women's Handball League
    Danish Women's Handball League
    The Danish Women's Handball League is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. Since January 2009, the league is officially called GuldBageren Ligaen for sponsorship...

     with Slagelse
    Slagelse
    Slagelse, a town in east Denmark, is in Slagelse municipality on the island of Zealand. It is about 100 km southwest of Copenhagen. The population is 31,979 ....

  • 2004, 2005, 2007 winner of EHF Women's Champions League with same Slagelse
    Slagelse
    Slagelse, a town in east Denmark, is in Slagelse municipality on the island of Zealand. It is about 100 km southwest of Copenhagen. The population is 31,979 ....


External links

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