For HK Malmö's top scorer Nikola Roganovic, it will be something very special to run in front of around 11,500 spectators in Malmö Arena in tonight's opener against the Netherlands.
I'm really looking forward to it, and having friends and family in the stands makes it even more fun, says the 19-year-old from Lund.
“A pride”
Together with HK Malmö teammate Felix Montebovi and Kristianstad's Axel Månsson, both 20, Roganovic will make his championship debut.
Team captain Andreas Palicka is heading into his 14th career championship, the third of which is on home soil.
It's an incredible feeling, says the 39-year-old about playing in Sweden.
He doesn't feel any extra pressure from playing at home.
"It's just some kind of euphoria. I feel a sense of pride and an honor to do it," says the veteran goalkeeper.
Roganovic doesn't see it as anything burdensome either.
I think it's only positive that we have the Swedish audience behind us. We know that the audience gives us incredible support when we play.
The one who could spoil the blue-yellow premiere party is Swedish handball legend Staffan Olsson, who was national team captain for Sweden alongside Ola Lindgren for eight years. Since the fall of 2022, he has been in charge of the Dutch national team.
"It's clear that this is extra special for me when it's on Sweden's home turf, but I feel like I have it well under control," says the 61-year-old.
“Fantastic experience”
He knows what it feels like to win a championship in Sweden as a player - in 2002, Olsson was part of the team that won European Championship gold in Globen.
I will never forget that. It's a fantastic experience, says Olsson, who was also there when they won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Globen in 1993.
If they advance to the intermediate round, further play awaits in Malmö Arena, but Blågult will not be able to celebrate a possible gold on Swedish soil. The semi-finals and medal matches in the European Championship, which is also co-hosted by Norway, will be decided in Herning, Denmark.
The men's handball results at home championships:
World Cup 1954: Gold.
World Cup 1967: Gold.
World Championship 1993: Bronze.
European Championship 2002: Gold.
World Cup 2011: Fourth.
Euro 2020: Seventh (co-hosted with Norway and Austria).
World Cup 2023: Fourth (co-hosted with Poland).
Footnote: The European Championship was first held in 1994.
