He would have needed eleven to pass Korean Kyung Shin Yoon (2905 strikes) - and when Lindberg scored that eleventh goal after exactly 46:31 minutes, the game was even interrupted (with the consent of GWD Minden). Lindberg himself was a bit irritated by the jubliation break: "It's a bit strange, suddenly in the middle of the game. I actually wanted to get going again quickly.”

And after the final whistle, the Lindberg celebrations really got going: surrounded by his family - everyone wore T-shirts with the imprint "G.O.A.T." (Greatest of all times) - the 41-year-old watched the video messages from former colleagues including former Hamburg companions such as Pascal Hens, Domagoj Duvnjak and Blazenko Lackovic. His youth coach Johnny Albertson also had his say. "I was just happy to stand there with my boys and my wife and look back with people I know very well," said Lindberg, visibly touched.

He now has 2,907 goals on his tally, putting him ahead of Yoon (2,905) and former Flensburg player Lars Christiansen (2,874), whom he surpassed in December 2022. In addition to this trio, only Jochen Fraatz and Lindberg's current teammate Robert Weber have so far passed the "magic mark" of 2500 hits in the LIQUI MOLY HBL. And the dethroned Yoon showed himself to be a fair sportsman even before the record was broken: "When the time comes, I will congratulate him from the bottom of my heart. I played with Hans in Hamburg for a year and we always got on well. I'm happy to have someone I like and respect very much as my successor."

After breaking his hand in February and making a quick comeback in April, everyone had been waiting for the day when Lindberg would (finally) break Yoon's record. In the Lindberg household and at Füchse Berlin, the conversation kept coming back always to the same topic. "Of course it annoyed me a bit that I've been getting asked this question for the last six months. I got a lot of trouble from my wife after the last two games. Because I didn't play well and scored too few goals. Now it's finally happened and I'm proud of that." But Lindberg also admits: "It's hard to find words that describe the whole thing."

But others from the club found the right words: “This unbelievable record by Hans Lindberg outshines everything. Nobody will break that anymore. It's a fabulous record, it's a lifetime achievement, it's unbelievable. You can't rate that highly enough," said Sport Director Stefan Kretzschmar. And managing director Bob Hanning even said: "That was one of the greatest moments in the history of Füchse Berlin."

Lindberg's Danish teammate and World Championship MVP Mathias Gidsel also says chapeau to his compatriot: "Hans is not only a role model for every Danish kid, but for all of us in the team. Everyone looks to him when we're under pressure, he's our leader. I hope he plays for many more years and I'm proud to play with him."

After the record was broken, Lindberg can now become the first Bundesliga player to score more than 3,000 goals. Füchse Berlin had extended his contract until 2024, after which the Danes will return to where it all began: to his hometown club Høj Haandbold. Before that - more precisely next weekend - the title hamster Lindberg (triple world champion, Olympic silver medalist, double European champion, winner of the Champions League and the EHF Cup, German champion and German Cup winner) wants to win another trophy for the first time: with Berlin at the final tournament of the European League in Flensburg, where Füchse duel with Montpellier in the semifinal. Many Danish fans will come only because of Lindberg, who has been nicknamed "Hans Majestæt" (His Majesty) in his home country for many years. Not just since Saturday.

Photo: Imago / Gora