Kasper Hjulmand on the Danish spirit, group opponents and Rasmus Højlund – interview
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Article summary
"We need to have courage to play with bigger teams," says Kasper Hjulmand as Denmark prepare to continue their development at UEFA EURO 2024.
Article top media content
Article body
An experienced coach through his time with Lyngby, Nordsjælland and Mainz, Kasper Hjulmand hit the ground running when leading Denmark to the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2020.
That run to the last four captured the imagination of the public and vindicated his decision to stamp the Danish DNA on his side. With the fans likely to travel in numbers to support their side again in Germany, Hjulmand insists they should not play the role of underdogs this time around.
On UEFA EURO 2020 and its impact on the Danish people
In the autumn of 2020 and the spring of 2021 leading up to the European Championship, we played three games and won 2-0, 8-0, and 4-0 respectively. The jerseys were sold out and we had a European Championship played at home for the first time. COVID was just about easing so there were many ingredients in the mix that brought people onboard – for example, what happened to Christian Eriksen, which I think did something to people emotionally. There's no doubt that we felt that we received a great amount of support.
It was the support of the Danish people that made sure we were upstanding. We felt the support even though some areas were tough. It was the people together that made us able to stand up and play as well as we did. That support followed on into the autumn of 2021, which was fantastic, and has been there ever since.
On the principles and values that he has built his team on
Our community model in Denmark has been built to be close to each other. We understand how to put teams together. We understand how to put something before ourselves. We have a competitive advantage [based] on the togetherness we have. Togetherness stands strong.
Trust – Denmark is one of the countries in the world that scores high on trust. We try to drive the team when we are together and we have a great deal of trust and confidence in our staff and players. Then we have courage. We need to have courage to play with bigger teams, play a game where we try to decide as much as possible even though we are playing against very talented people, and courage to execute the things that we want to do.
The last thing is that we want to be ambitious and generous. We really want to pursue things as much as possible in our daily lives, with our habits and in the way we set up things, and at the same time remember where we come from and give back to society. That is the identity. We want to see if we can decide as must as possible in the matches with and without the ball. That is a mindset – instead of always thinking of yourself as an underdog.
On Group C opponents England, Slovenia and Serbia
There are three really strong opponents that we have to face. Slovenia is a very evenly-matched opponent. We met them twice, played one draw and won one match at home 1-0. They are a strong team. I am very impressed with their clear structure, creative set pieces, they are well coached and have good players. They have world-class players at the front and back of the field.
As for England, since I started looking into the English strategy, they have come forward with Gareth [Southgate]. With the quality and talent England possess, they will win something in the next couple of years. They will be a tough nut to crack, but we have played some good matches against England in recent years. We were in the [UEFA] Nations League with them in 2020 and won one match and drew one.
Then there is Serbia, who are a really tricky team and who also have great talent, especially on the offensive side. A team that is capable of beating anyone when they are on a roll. So they are also very evenly-matched opponents.
On striker Rasmus Højlund
I played with Rasmus's father and have known and seen Rasmus since he was very young. I've watched many of his matches as a youth player and know where he comes from. His great quality is his personality. He is one of those young players who looks around every single day and thinks: "What can I learn? How can I improve?" He has such an open mindset that revolves around: "I want to be better." That's what shapes Rasmus. He constantly wants to become better, and he wants to be told that as well.
He wants to be challenged, and thrives on getting better. When he didn't make it to the World Cup, for example, which I thought was just too early, I went down to him in Bergen and showed him some clips regarding running and heading the ball in those situations. And then suddenly, one winter day, I was told that he was training hard. And then I saw, for example, that match against Finland where he scored three goals. He moves incredibly well and it's not by chance that Rasmus takes steps forward because it's his mindset, it's his personality. It's about leveraging the things that are around him for the better. That personality can take him a long way. We're already very pleased with him but there's more to come.
More on Denmark
