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On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain Handball travel to Denmark to take on Aalborg in their EHF Champions League Matchday 10 clash. Find out all you need to know about Les Rouge et Bleu's upcoming opponents.

A BIT OF HISTORY...

Like Les Rouge et Bleu, Aalborg Handbold is a club whose history has been written over the last decade. First bought out in 2000 by the Aalborg Boldspilklub sports club, which is best known for its football section, the Danes entered a new era in 2011. On the back of its first Danish league title in the 2009-2010 season, the club decided to separate from Aalborg Boldspilklub and become completely independent, adopting its current name.

Since then, the club has gone from strength to strength, culminating in a second Danish league title in 2013, thanks to a two-legged victory over Kolding IF. The Danes also grew on the continental stage, qualifying for the last eight of the EHF Champions League for the first time. However, Aalborg came up against Barcelona twice in a row and were no match for the Spanish side in either 2014 or 2015, when they suffered their heaviest defeat in their history (11-31). As the team's popularity grew, so did the club's fortunes, with three Danish league titles in a row between 2019 and 2021. The latter season was the best in the Danish team's history.

A play-off winner after finishing second in the regular season, it was on the European stage that Aalborg really came into their own. After finishing fourth in their group, the Danes once again qualified for the last 16, a stage they had never managed to get beyond until then. Against Porto, Aalborg lost the first leg in Portugal (32-29), before making up the deficit in the return leg (27-24), thus qualifying thanks to away goals. The Danes went on to reach their first Final4 by overcoming Flensburg. After beating Les Rouge et Bleu in the semis (35-33), Stefan Madsen's men went on to meet Barcelona in the final. However, it was once again a bridge too far for the Danes and the Catalans prevailed (36-23).

Aalborg may still be a formidable outfit, but their rivals GOG seem to have gained the upper hand over the last two seasons. Two-time defending champions, the Gudme-based club caused Aalborg plenty of problems last season...

A BITTER-TASTING 2022/2023 SEASON

Aalborg may have enjoyed a fine 2022-2023 season, but it was probably one of regret in the end. The Danes added a trophy to their cabinet thanks to their Super Cup success over GOG (31-36), a team that would nonetheless turn their season into a veritable nightmare. After a perfect record against their biggest rivals in the regular season, with two wins in as many meetings, these successes were soon to prove almost anecdotal for Aalborg. In principle, this positive record could have given them a decisive advantage. While the regular season title is an honorary one, it does give them home advantage in the play-offs.

Level on points after 26 league matches, Aalborg were declared regular season champions thanks to their two wins over GOG. Having qualified for the final after a three-set victory over Fredericia, Stefan Madsen's men were unable to capitalise on their home advantage, losing in three sets to their biggest rivals.

It was a real heartbreaker for Stefan Madsen and his men, who had already seen GOG eliminate them in the quarter-finals of the Santander Cup, but above all in the last 16 of the Champions League. After finishing fifth in their EHF Champions League group behind Barcelona, Kielce, Nantes and Kiel, Aalborg and GOG met again in the Round of 16 for an all-Danish encounter. Although things got off to a good start with a narrow 30-28 win in the first leg, Aalborg lost heavily in Gudme (32-24) and crashed out of the EHF Champions League.

A WORLD-CLASS REARGUARD

Aalborg's good form this season is no accident. Stefan Madsen can rely on a talented group of players, such as Niklas Landin. The Danish goalkeeper, voted best player in the world in 2019 and 2021, has lost none of his superb form and has established himself as one of the club's major assets. With the second-best defensive record in the EHF Champions League this season (239 goals), Aalborg boast a near-impregnable back line.

Mads Hoxer Hangaard, who has twice been named in the Best 7 this season, is now an indispensable member of the Danish squad. At just 23 years of age, the young right-back already has 43 goals to his name this season, and forms the perfect pairing with his counterpart on the left, a certain Mikkel Hansen. The former Parisian (2012-2022) is one of the top scorers (47 goals) and assist providers (30) in the EHF Champions League this season, and is sure to be one of the main threats for Les Rouge et Bleu on Thursday evening.

2023/2024: THE YEAR OF THE COMEBACK?

Unfortunately, the 2023-2024 season began as it ended for the Danes: with a defeat against GOG, this time in the Super Cup (34-32). However, Stéphane Madsen's men got their revenge a few weeks later in the league, with a 23-33 victory away to their biggest rival. It was a match they dominated from start to finish, just like their season as a whole. With 14 wins and a draw, Aalborg are still unbeaten in the league heading into the winter break, and are already six points clear of second-placed Fredericia. Having qualified for the quarter-finals of the Santander Cup, the Danish national cup, Aalborg have also made an ideal start to the season on the European stage.

Mikkel Hansen and his team-mates made their ambitions clear from the outset with an impressive 31-34 win over Hala Legionow in Kielce, followed by a 38-23 victory over Pelister. The Danes may have suffered a slight setback with a run of three matches without a win against Szeged (34-27), Zagreb (30-30) and Paris (33-30), but they now have a more than positive record with two positive double-headers against Kolstad and Kiel.

Against their Nordic neighbours, Aalborg secured a narrow victory at the Gigantium in Aalborg (27-25) before winning by a large margin thanks to another Niklas Landin recital on the final day (18-29). The result was similar to the 18-27 win over group leaders Kiel. The Danes could even have taken the group lead in the return leg against Kiel, but the Germans managed to close the gap in the dying moments of the match (27-27). After nine rounds, Aalborg are in second place, just one point behind Kiel, and could be dreaming of direct qualification for the EHF Champions League quarter-finals.

ANOTHER SOLD-OUT MATCH FOR PARIS!

On Thursday evening, the capital club will have to contend with a new and probably hostile atmosphere. Les Rouge et Bleu will be playing in front of a capacity crowd at Aalborg's Gigantium, with the Danes recently announcing that the match will be a sell-out in front of 5,000 spectators.

(Credits: J. Azouze/PSG)