When Juri Knorr chose to leave the German Bundesliga and Rhein-Neckar Lowen to sign a three-year deal with Aalborg Handball starting in the summer of 2025, it shocked the handball world because it is rare for a marquee German star in his prime to bypass the Bundesliga for the Danish league.
The 26-year-old Knorr has already established himself as one of handball's biggest names. At the 2023 World Championship, he was Germany’s top scorer with 53 goals, added 52 assists, and earned his first All-Star Team selection as Best Young Player.
At EURO 2024, he scored 50 goals and was named All-Star centre back. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he won silver with Germany, he finished second in assists, 10th on the leading goalscorer list, and was once again included in the All-Star Team.
Top players traditionally move from Danish clubs to wealthy German powerhouses rather than the other way around. Knorr was widely viewed as the face and biggest rising star of German handball, making a jump out of the world's strongest national league unexpected.
Today, after just one season with Aalborg, Knorr is widely regarded as one of the key players in a team that was only inches away from reaching the Champions League final in 2026. But how has the German international handball ace experienced his first season in Denmark?
After just three months, you were almost fluent in Danish, which many people say is a hard language to learn. Was it important for you to learn Danish?
Knorr: "Yes, it was very important for me because I really want to integrate on and off the court. It's really the most important thing when you move abroad to learn the language. I am still not quite where I want to be, as I don't always understand the jokes in the dressing room and it frustrates me a little bit because you want to feel part of the group, but it's getting better; it takes time."
You have been in Denmark for about a year now. Has the stay lived up to your expectations? And what has been the biggest adjustment for you to make?
"I always knew that it was going to be hard. Of course, it's a huge step. In the beginning, you need to get to know the other players. When you come to a club or a team where you're actually the only one who's not able to speak in your own language, then it's tough. And then you're always kind of an outsider. But you need to push through it.
"It's a good feeling afterwards when you feel that you have settled in, also on the court. It's a different system we play here than what I was used to. Of course, my role also changed a bit in comparison to Rhein-Neckar Lowen. It's just a different handball style. We have different tactics where the ball needs to flow a bit faster, and we don't play that much with a pivot."
Many players say, also in different sports, that if they're happy off the court, then they are also better players on the court. Are you happier on the court in Denmark than you were in Germany?
"It's hard to say. I wouldn't say I'm as integrated as I was in Heidelberg (Germany), where I lived before. You need to be open and go outside and talk to people. I try, but of course, it's also hard because of the language barrier, but I have some people that I hang out with outside of handball. There are a lot of ups and downs in sport. Sometimes you are happy, and sometimes you are miserable; it can change just within a few days, and it's the same here as it was in Germany. I have had good times with Aalborg, but I have also gone through tough times."
Obviously, food is a big part of a different culture. How do you like Danish food?
"I very much like the tradition with smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwich with toppings on a single slice of dense, dark rye bread). I am a vegetarian, but I was really surprised by how much meat you eat in Denmark, especially pork. Danish people always say that Germans eat a lot of meat, but I think you eat more meat here.
"The food is part of getting to know a country. A lot of German tourists go on vacation in Denmark, but they don't really know the country. You can only get to know a country by living there, and that is what I wanted to do."
Obviously, you are regarded as one of the key players for Aalborg, and also in the German national team. Is the pressure that you have on your shoulders easier to handle in Denmark than it was in Germany?
"No, I wouldn't say this. I know that this was one of the big topics in the media when I left, but I actually never said this, because I knew when I signed with Aalborg, I would be going to play for a top five club in the world right now. There is less media attention here, but the expectations for me are higher here than in Germany. You need to win every game in the Danish league and in the cup. Of course, the main goal of the club is to win the Champions League, so there is a lot of pressure."
Do you think that the German media and fans feel that the best German player should play in the German Bundesliga?
"At the end of the day, it was my decision, and people can think whatever they want to. The Bundesliga is the best league in the world, and more and more foreign players are keen to go to Germany. The league is really growing in terms of quality. But when I was younger, I looked up to a lot of those guys who didn't play in the Bundesliga, and I wanted to get away myself because I wanted a challenge outside of Germany."
You came so close to reaching the Champions League final at the expense of FC Barcelona at the end of last season. Does that defeat still hurt?
"Yeah, for sure, we were quite close. We were happy and proud that we made it to Cologne (the venue for the Final Four). But of course, if you're there, you want to win, and we were quite close. I still think we didn't play our best game that day, which makes it even more painful. Every season brings a new opportunity, but of course it's a long way to go. But hopefully this club can achieve this one day."
The Handball World Championships, which will take place in your home country at the beginning of next year, must be a big thing for you. Are you looking forward to that?
"Actually, I always try not to think so much into the future because you never know; things can change so fast. I hope I can stay healthy and be part of the team and be good enough. Of course it's just half a year away, but there are still so many games to play. I want to focus on all of them and do my job here, do it as well as possible, and of course, I want to help the national team as well."
Svend Bertil Frandsen has been Senior News Editor for Flashscore News in Denmark since September 2022. He has formerly worked for UEFA and FIFA and is a former tennis pro. He specializes in news around football, tennis, badminton and handball. You can also follow him on LinkedIn.
