Andersson adapting to new role

It would be no surprise if Kim Andersson often thinks back to 27 May 2012.

That Sunday, over two years ago, was the last big occasion in the 32-year-old right back’s club career.

It was a day in which he top scored with seven goals for THW Kiel, who defeated BM Atletico Madrid 26:21, in the final game of the VELUX EHF FINAL4.

Since then, quite a lot has happened in Andersson’s career, but unfortunately most of it has been off the handball court rather than on it.

In the summer of 2012, he was planning on a transfer to AG København. However, the Danish top club ceased to exist and instead the Swedish international ended up in KIF Kolding København.

“Kasper Hvidt called me and told me that they had some crazy project going on there,” he explained.

For most of the first season things went really well for Andersson, who soon became one of the biggest stars in the Danish league.

Then the trouble began.

In a training camp with the Swedish national team in April 2013 he injured his left shoulder, his shooting arm, and the following year became one long struggle to regain fitness.

He tried to come back on several occasions, but without being able to shoot. Several kinds of treatments were tried until he finally had surgery in November 2013.

Andersson then spent the rest of the 2013/14 season training and hoping to be back at full strength for the start of this season.

Move to defence and counter attacks

And back he is, but still lacking his former shooting ability. Therefore, he is almost entirely used in the defence and a bit in the counter attacks at Kolding København.

“He has spent his injury break training so much with weights that his upper body has become incredibly strong, and this has made him an even better defender than he was before,” said Joachim Boldsen, whose position in the Kolding København defence has been more or less inherited by Andersson, while Boldsen is now working as a commentator for the Danish TV station TV3 Sport after retirement.

However, Andersson is being missed in the attack by the Danish champions, who are facing attacking problems just like the team did last season, and Kim Andersson’s once so dreaded left arm would be a great asset.

“I will probably never be able to shoot in the same way as I once did,” he admitted recently, but even an understrength shot can probably do the trick for KIF Kolding København in their VELUX EHF Champions League opener at home against ruling champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt on 28 September.

That match is being played almost exactly a year after Kim Andersson scored his last Champions League goal. That was on 29 September 2013, against none other than THW Kiel in the Sparkassen Arena of Kiel.

Modest expectations

According to Kim Mikkelsen, sports journalist by the local newspaper JyskeVestkysten, who follows KIF Kolding København closely, one should not believe in wonders from Kim Andersson when it comes to his shooting power, anymore.

“Kim Andersson is extremely valuable for the team as a defender, not least after Joachim Boldsen has retired. He is also valuable to the counter attack to a certain degree, but he is not the one who sends the ball into the net from ten meters anymore and you should probably not expect this to ever happen again,” Mikkelsen told ehfCL.com.

There have been rumours about a new operation, but that is not likely to happen.

“A new operation would mean that he would be out for the entire season and might mean the end to his career,” KIF Kolding København’s head coach Aron Kristiansson said.

“He still tries to train his shoulder to be able to shoot again, but it probably never be the same as it once was. Of course, Kim Andersson is still an extremely good handball player, but the question is if he can live with a new role where he cannot shoot like he used to,” added Mikkelsen.

For now, however, KIF will make the most of the situation and benefit from Andersson’s strength and experience in defence.