Wings shine brightly in race for the EHF Excellence Awards

The players which were selected in the final ballot were shortlisted via several criteria. First, the performances in the EHF Champions League Women, where a team of the round was named at the end of each week, with the top three players from each position who have received the most nominations by the end of the quarter-finals making the list.

For the recently ended EHF EURO 2022, the members of the All-Star team were all nominated, while additional players who performed in the EHF European League (one per position), as well as EHF EURO Qualifiers and national team matches (maximum three per position), got themselves on the shortlist.

Players, coaches and selected media as well as fans are eligible to participate with each group’s votes accounting for 25 per cent of the overall result for every position. The vote for the female players will run from 15-25 May. You can vote for your favourite via the “Home of Handball” app.

Right wing

Viktória Gyori-Lukács - HUN / Györi Audi ETO KC

• made the nominees list of the EHF Excellence Awards after an excellent finish to the EHF Champions League group phase, sealing a berth in the Team of the Week in Rounds 13 and 14
• scored 33 goals this season, needing only two more to match her tally from the previous season, where she scored 35 goals for Györ
• was Hungary’s third best scorer at the EHF EURO 2022, where she had 20 goals from 29 shots, for an excellent 69% shooting efficiency

Nathalie Hagman - SWE / Neptunes de Nantes

• Hagman has been one of the most consistent scorers in women’s handball over the last few seasons, proving her mettle again in the EHF European League Women this season, where she was in ninth position in the top goal scorer standings, with 57 goals
• the right wing also shined at the EHF EURO 2022, where she finished in fifth place in the top goal scorer standings, with 43 goals, helping Sweden finish in fifth place in the final standings
• this has been the best-scoring season for Hagman in an European club competition in the last seven years, after her previous top performance was in the EHF Cup with Nykøbing Falster Håndbold in the 2016/17 season

Trine Jensen Østergaard - DEN/ SG BBM Bietigheim

• Jensen Østergaard had a brilliant start to the season for Bietigheim, scoring six goals in an excellent win against Vipers Kristiansand, while being one of the most consistent scorers for the German side
• the Danish right wing finished the season in the premier European competition with 45 goals, after Bietigheim were dramatically eliminated in the last round of the group phase
• she was also Denmark’s second best scorer at the EHF EURO 2022, with 26 goals, in a tournament where the Scandinavian side earned the silver medal

Jana Knedlikova - CZE / Vipers Kristiansand

• made the nominees list for the EHF Excellence Awards after sealing a place in the Team of the Week in the top European club competition in round six of the group phase and the first leg of the quarter-finals
• the Czech right wing is one of the most consistent players in her position in the past years, winning the title five times and still going strong, with her 45-goal performance this season being key for Vipers in crunch moments
• Knedlikova is only five goals shy of her third consecutive 50-goal season in the premium European competition, highlighting her consistency

Angela Malestein - NED / FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• made the Team of the Week five times, a record for a right wing, in the first, fourth and 11th rounds in the group phase, but also in both play-offs legs and the second leg of the quarter-finals, in an excellent display of consistency
• with 83 goals scored in 18 matches this season, Malestein is in 11th place in the top goal scorer standings, needing only two goals to break into the top 10 at the EHF FINAL4
• Malestein also played for the Netherlands at the EHF EURO 2022, where the Dutch side finished sixth, with the right wing scoring 31 goals, enough for 14^th place in the top goal scorer standings

Jovanka Radicevic – MNE / Krim Mercator Ljubljana

• became the all-time top scorer in the EHF Champions League Women, leapfrogging Anita Görbicz’s tally, boosting her total to 1,070 goals
• was selected in the Team of the Week in three different rounds in the group phase, her performances shining in rounds 3, 9 and 10, helping Krim get into the play-offs
• completed her tenure for the Montenegro women’s national team with a bronze medal at the EHF EURO 2022, where she scored 43 goals, being the fifth-best scorer of the competition

Alicia Toublanc - FRA / Brest Bretagne Handball

• earned her ticket for the nominee list of the EHF Excellence Awards via flawless performances in rounds seven and eight of the group phase, where she made the Team of the Week of the EHF Champions League
• scored 46 goals this season, the second-largest number for Brest Bretagne Handball, being one of the most consistent and efficient scorers for the French side
• helped France reach the semi-finals of the EHF EURO 2022 and finish in fourth place, with 11 goals in seven matches, sharing duties with club teammate Pauline Coatanea

Expert's view: This will go down to the wire, with experienced players mingling with young guns in the battle for the first-ever EHF Excellence Awards. If it were about the goals, Jovanka Radicevic would have swept the votes, as she scored the largest number of goals from this lot, but it is also about the role played in the team and the success that team had over the course of the season.

Left wing

Emma Friis – DEN / Ikast Handbold

• had a flawless season for Ikast Handbold, being named the MVP of the EHF Finals Women, where her side sealed the trophy
• finished in 19th place in the top goal scorer standings in the EHF European League Women, but had 44 goals in only eight games
• Friis was Denmark’s top scorer and the seventh best scorer at the EHF EURO 2022, with 40 goals, helping her side seal the silver medal

Jennifer Gutiérrez – ESP / CS Rapid Bucuresti

• Rapid’s Spanish wing made her breakthrough on the nominees‘ list for the EHF Excellence Awards after making the Team of the Week in round 11 of the EHF Champions League Women
• Gutierrez was one of the most consistent performers for Rapid this season, with 41 goals scored for the former Romanian champions, including a nine-goal outing against Team Esbjerg
• she was also one of the top left wings at the EHF EURO 2022, where she had 16 goals in only six matches played for Spain

Elma Halilcevic - DEN / Nykøbing Falster Håndbold

• one of the two Danish wings nominated in this position of the EHF Excellence Awards, Halilcevic was the second best scorer of the EHF European League Women, with 82 goals in 14 matches and a 72.6% shooting efficiency
• the 23-year-old left wing had 11 goals in the EHF Finals Women, helping her side, Nykøbing Falster Håndbold, seal their first-ever berth in the final of a European competition
• Halilcevic also made her debut in a major international tournament at the EHF EURO 2022, scoring two goals, on the way to the silver medal for Denmark

Gréta Márton - HUN / FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria

• had another consistent season for FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria, helping them seal their first-ever EHF FINAL4 berth
• with 40 goals scored throughout the season, Márton had her second-best outing in the EHF Champions League Women, 11 goals shy of her performance in the previous season
• Márton was also Hungary’s second best scorer at the EHF EURO 2022, with 21 goals from 26 shots for an outstanding 81% shooting efficiency

Sunniva Næs Andersen - NOR / Vipers Kristiansand

• became more and more important for Vipers, as the starting left wing, while also making the Team of the Week in the first leg of the quarter-finals, scoring 12 goals in the doubleheader against Rapid Bucuresti
• Næs Andersen is close to her best-ever season in the EHF Champions League Women, scoring 41 goals, with two games still to play, three fewer than in the previous season
• the left wing also made her debut at a major international tournament for Norway, where she helped her team secure the gold medal, scoring 10 goals

Chloe Valentini - FRA / Metz Handball

• was the player nominated for the Team of the Week the most times – six – in rounds three, four, six, seven, nine and 12 of the group phase, with her consistency constantly earning plaudits
• was Metz’s third best scorer of the season and the second best left wing in the EHF Champions League Women, with 69 goals
• Valentini was also an integral part of France’s challenge at EHF EURO 2022, scoring 20 times, as “Les Bleues” finished fourth, after starting the competition with a six-game winning streak

Bo Van Wetering – NED / Odense Håndbold

• earned her place on the nominees list for the EHF Excellence Awards through her remarkable consistency, making the Team of the Week four times, in rounds two, five and 10 of the group phase and in the second leg of the quarter-finals
• no left wing scored more goals in the EHF Champions League Women this season than van Wetering, who scored 75 goals and was Odense’s top scorer in the competition
• van Wetering was also part of the Netherlands’ women’s national team at the EHF EURO, finishing sixth in the competition, with van Wetering scoring 17 goals in seven games

Expert's view: The usual suspects are here, on the list, with medallists at the EHF EURO 2022 and players who excelled in the EHF European League Women being shortlisted for this position. But will an underdog snatch the big prize? This might be the most open category on the ballot, therefore surprises can spring from unexpected places.