Anja Andersen - Career

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 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, 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 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.