All-stars take to the court at the MVM EHF FINAL4Article
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NEWS REPORT: Almost 20,000 fans have been submitted their votes for the top players in eight positions.

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All-stars take to the court at the MVM EHF FINAL4

Europe’s handball fans have made their choice. More than 18,000 people participated in the first online poll for a Women’s EHF Champions League All-star team. And they came up with a selection that will see all winners taking to the court when the MVM EHF FINAL4 throws off in Budapest on 3 and 4 May 2014.

Defending champion Györi Audi ETO KC have three all-stars in their ranks. The Brazilian Eduarda Idalina Amorim was voted best left back (42,4%/7779 votes), Anita Görbicz (40,1/7462) won the poll in the centre back position and Katarina Bulatovic received almost two thirds of all votes. 58,8% (10,796 fans) chose her as the best right back.

Montenegrin champions Buducnost, winners of the EHF Champions League in 2012, can also boast about having three all-stars in their team. Majda Mehmedovic (44,1/8095) became best left wing, German Clara Woltering was voted best goalkeeper (35,65/6546) and the fans chose Suzana Lazovic (44,2/8113) as best defender.

The remaining two all-stars play for Women’s EHF Champions League debutants WHC Vardar SCBT. Their line player Ana Djokic (45/8265) received the most votes for this position. Jovanka Radicevic received the best score overall. 59,3% or 10886 fans voted for her as the best right wing.

The overview

Best left wing:
Majda Mehmedovic (MNE) / Buducnost – 44,1%

Best left back:
Eduarda Idalina Amorim (BRA) / Györi Audi ETO KC – 42,4%

Best line player:
Ana Djokic (MNE) / WHC Vardar SCBT – 45%

Best centre back:
Anita Görbicz (HUN) / Györi Audi ETO KC – 40,1%

Best right back:
Katarina Bulatovic (MNE) / Györi Audi ETO KC – 58,8%

Best right wing:
Jovanka Radicevic (MNE) / WHC Vardar SCBT – 59,3%

Best goalkeeper:
Clara Woltering (GER) / Buducnost – 35,65%

Best defender:
Suzana Lazovic (MNE) / Buducnost – 44,2%

In terms of citizenship, Montenegrins clearly dominate the Women’s EHF Champions League All-star team, accounting for five (Bulatovic, Mehmedovic, Lazovic, Djokic, Radicevic) of the eight players. Brazilian Amorim, Hungarian Görbicz and German Woltering complete the team.

32 players on the shortlist

This is the first time fans have been able to select their choice of Women’s EHF Champions League All-stars take to the court at the MVM EHF FINAL4

16 nations and from clubs were represented in the online poll organised by the European Handball Federation.

Nominations were based on the comprehensive performance of players throughout the season, not just their goal-getting prowess, but also their performance in defence, the number of blocks, assists and reaction to crucial moments during each match.

All-star team profiles:

Majda Mehmedovic (MNE) – Buducnost
Born into a sports family, with a mother who played handball as a goalkeeper, Majda Mehmedović’s sports destiny was already decided. She started handball in Bar at the age of 12 with her brother Musa and immediately loved it. After being signed by Budućnost, she needed just two years to get into the first team and is now irreplaceable for both club and country. In 2012 she was a candidate for the Women’s EHF Champions League young player of the season.

Best left back: Eduarda Amorim (BRA) – Györi Audi ETO KC
Brazilian international arrived in Europe in 2006 first joining Kometal Skopje in FYR Macedonia. She was just five goals shy of 300 goals milestone in the European top flight before this season and she easily surpassed this mark, scoring 50 just before the MVM EHF FINAL4. She is part of the Brazilian national team, became three-time Pan-American champion, participated in two Olympic Games (2008, 2012) and won gold at the 2013 World Championship in Serbia.

Ana Djokic (MNE) – WHC Vardar SCBT
In a successful career she has played for Györ, Podravka, Buducnost and Rostov-Don, gathering not only an accolade of domestic championships and cup titles, but also the Women's EHF Champions League trophy in 2012 and Cup Winners' Cup in 2010. As not only a prolific scorer but also a skillful defender, she contributed to the Olympic silver and EHF EURO gold of Montenegro in 2012 and most recently to Vardar's qualification for the first MVM EHF FINAL4 in Budapest.

Anita Görbicz (HUN) – Györi Audi ETO KC
Despite being among the best players in the world over the last decade, the Györ captain and the current top scorer of the season (73 goals) was waiting to secure one of big prizes at either club or national level for many years until she lifted the most coveted trophy in the 2012/13 season. Before that her only honours were individual titles: 2011/12 CL top scorer and World Handball Player of the Year 2005. She was voted for the best centre back at three WCh in a row (2003-07).

Katarina Bulatovic (MNE) – Györi Audi ETO KC
The Serbia-born left-handed shooter arrived to Györ after a short stint with Oltchim Valcea. She made it to the CL final for the first time in 2007 with Slagelse and repeated the trip in 2012 with Buducnost, when her eight goals helped to decide the second leg against her current team. She was a key player in Montenegro’s biggest achievements, when she was the top scorer at both the London Olympics and EHF EURO in 2012, helping to secure the silver and gold respectively.

Jovanka Radicevic (MNE) – WHC Vardar SCBT
There are just a few players in women's handball who can match Jovanka's passionate way of celebrating goals. In the previous season she won Europe's top two trophies – the EHF EURO with Montenegro and the Women’s EHF Champions League title with Györ. As a player with Budućnost, she has won seven championships and seven cup titles in Montenegro, two Regional League titles and two titles in the Cup Winners’ Cup. She was voted in the All-star team at the EHF EURO in 2012.

Clara Woltering (GER) – Buducnost
This is the third season at Budućnost and second as the captain for the German goalkeeper. She first saw handball at the age of five, when she went to watch her two older sisters. After seeing Clara playing with the ball, the coach of the team told her parents that the youngest Woltering must play handball. Apart from the EHF Champions League title in 2012 she claimed the Challenge Cup in 2005 and with the national team she won the bronze medal at the World Championship in 2007.

Suzana Lazovic (MNE) – Buducnost
Her first choice in sport was judo and maybe this fact also contributed to her current position in the team as a defensive specialist. During her rehabilitation after back surgery, she was considering a change of sport to archery, but decided that handball is her life. She began playing handball at the age of 12, with her current coach in Buducnost Dragan Adzic and it was Adzic who convinced Suzana not to quit handball during her period of uncertainty.


 


 

 


TEXT: EHF / ts
 
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