Three inventive and inspiring leaders
A good centre back has to be a great playmaker. She has to be technically and tactically talented. In this position, being tactically good means being inventive, having a great eye for the game and being able to make the right passes at the right time. And it is certainly no disadvantage if she is also able to be dangerous on her own.
Our three centre backs in this feature possess all of these qualities beyond any doubt.
Nycke Groot, Netherlands
She has reached the age of 30 now, but through her entire career, Cornelia Nycke Groot has been a leader on the court. Her leadership was evident in her first years with top-level Danish club Team Tvis Holstebro and later with nearby rivals FC Midtjylland.
It was certainly these qualities that caught the eye of Györi Audi ETO KC in 2015, when the Hungarian powerhouse signed the elegant Dutch player. Györ have never had any reason to regret this signing, as Groot has been a key player in the team ever since and has played a big part in Györ winning the Women’s EHF Champions League the past two years.
In fact, Groot can play all three positions in the back-court line, which makes her even more valuable to her club team as well as to her national side. But especially in the Dutch national team, she plays almost entirely in centre back.
Playing in the middle, she has had a big share in the Netherlands’ impressive achievements in recent years, starting with the silver medal at the 2015 World Championship in Denmark and continuing with yet another silver medal at the EHF EURO 2016 in Sweden. There is no doubt that Groot will be one the Netherlands greatest assets again at the EHF EURO 2018 in France.
Stine Bredal Oftedal, Norway
It is a pure coincidence that our next centre back also plays in Györ – or is it? The Hungarian club has demonstrated a huge talent for attaching the best players in the world to their team, and the fact that they count two of the best playmakers in the world among their squad may just seem natural.
Oftedal was already a brilliant playmaker before joining Györ from Issy Pari Hand in the summer of 2017, but since then, her value for Norway has increased even further.
Winning titles is no new experience for the 27-year-old Norwegian, though. The gold medal at the 2011 World Championship in Brazil, which she won at the age of 20, was only the first of five so far – two won at World Championships and three at European championships.
At 168 cm, she is not the tallest among back-court players, but lack of height has never really been an issue for Norwegian back players. Oftedal compensates for her missing centimetres through her speed, ability to change pace and eye for the game. She will be crucial for Norway coach Thorir Hergeirsson as they aim to win yet another gold medal in France.
Andrea Lekic, Serbia
Serbia may not rank among the favourites at the upcoming EURO, but that is certainly not due to any lack of talent in centre back Andrea Lekic. After her comeback to the Serbia team last year, Lekic has already proven her value for the team – just as she has been doing for so long with some of the best club teams in the world.
From this season, CSM Bucuresti has been the club to benefit from the 31-year-old playmaker’s outstanding qualities.
Apparently being completely rid of the shoulder problems that were bothering her for several years, Lekic is probably better than ever, and her performances with CSM this autumn give Serbia fans every right to dream rather big ahead of the EHF EURO 2018.
Combining her considerable experience with technical skills, physical strength, a brilliant shot and a never-ending will to win, Lekic is close to being the perfect playmaker. If she clicks with the other experienced players in the Serbia team, they have the potential to do much better than they did at the World Championship in Germany last year, where the Last 16 marked the end of their adventure.
Sweden, Denmark and Poland – Serbia´s opponents in the preliminary round in France – cannot feel safe when Lekic is at large.
TEXT:
Peter Bruun / cg