News For any serious handball team, a joint training session between the current world champions and the reigning Olympic champions, led by two of the best handball coaches in the world, would be a dream come true This was just one of the highlights of Norway’s trip to Brazil, which began last week and has seen both teams benefit from the other’s expertise The Norwegian women’s handball team arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 2 June and they have been training alongside the Brazilian team ahead of the Challenge of the Champions – a series of two friendly matches between the two teams which will take place this weekend (12 and 14 June) in São Bernardo do Campo, in the state of São Paulo The training session happened at the Army School of Physical Education (EsEFEx) in the Urca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday 9 June, and was led by coaches Morten Soubak, from the Brazilian side, and Thorir Hergeirsson, from Norway, who was voted the best coach in the world in women's handball in 2014 As the only two teams to have already guaranteed places at Rio 2016 in women's handball, both sides were keen to make the most of the opportunity   Goalkeeper, Silje Solberg, gives her teammates in defence a pep talk to during the joint training session in Urca (Photo: Rio 2016) Hergeirsson said, "It is very useful to play against good players Brazil play differently from European teams, and this is a good experience for our players It is also a great opportunity to create friendships, which is an important part of the sport Making contacts, making friends, learning from each other and competing against each other – you learn everything ”Hergeirsson’s team is currently one of the most successful handball teams in the world, having won Olympic gold at the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Games They have also collected six European and two world titles since 1998 "Our hopes are really high and we are happy to know that we already are in the Olympic Games We still have 14 months to go, and we are excited to be able to spend some of that time here in Rio," said goalkeeper Silje Solberg, who helped Norway win the European Championship in 2014 and secure a place at the Rio 2016 Games   Left wing, Camilla Herrem, helped Norway win the World Championship in 2011 and Olympic gold in 2012 (Photo: Rio 2016) Off court, the Norwegian team have been taking time to test out the atmosphere of the Olympic host city ahead of next year’s Games “It is my first time here in Rio, and I love the city – it is really beautiful,” said Solberg on Tuesday (9 June), “We’ve visited the Christ statue and we’re hopefully going to the Sugarloaf tomorrow ” The team were also full of praise for the Brazilian supporters: "We love the Brazilian fans They are so full of joy and this helps all the teams … they dance and have fun, and they don’t boo,” said Herrem Hergeirsson reinforced the importance of the fans, saying, "We love to play to a full house and have a great atmosphere at our matches … It doesn’t matter if they’re cheering for the other team or for us – we take it as if they’re cheering for all of us ”The Norwegians became acquainted with the Brazilian fans at the London Olympics in 2012, when the two teams went head-to-head in the quarter-finals in a hard-won match decided by a slim, two-goal difference in favor of the Europeans, closing at 21 to 19 The atmosphere at Rio 2016’s Future Arena, which is set to host the Olympic handball competitions next year, should be to the Norwegian team's liking: of the entire quota of handball tickets set aside for Brazilian spectators, all of the seats at both the male and female finals were distributed in the first phase of ticket sales, which closed on Tuesday 9 June – a clear indication of the popularity of the sport among Brazilian spectators Besides hopes for a strong crowd and Olympic gold in 2016, Camilla Herrem is also looking to take home a different kind of souvenir from her Brazilian experience: "The music here is very good, but it would be even better if we could dance!” she laughed “Maybe someone could come and teach us I would so love to have some of that Brazilian rhythm!”The second game of the Challenge of Champions will be broadcast by the Brazilian TV channel, Rede Globo, at 10am (BRT) next Sunday 14 June Norwegian athletes having fun at the Christ Statue (Photo: Reproduction from Instagram)     Taking time out to enjoy Rio's beaches (Photo: Reproduction from Instagram)