Elver: “It's difficult not to find a good connection with these girls”

Elver arrived at Odense in 2020, at a point when the now 27-year-old’s career looked set to take off. But a difficult few years were ahead, as she would face three ACL injuries, which delayed her rise to the level she was destined to reach. From a debut for Denmark in 2019 and a few matches played in 2020, Elver returned to the national side in 2023, and has since won medals at every major tournament and cemented her place in the national team. 

2024/25 was Elver’s best year on a club level, as, along with experiencing the EHF FINAL4, she scored a career-high 57 goals in the EHF Champions League and won Odense’s first Danish league title since 2021/22. 

Having arrived in Györ roughly a month ago, Elver spoke to eurohandball.com about the end of the chapter at Odense, settling into life in Hungary and of course playing handball in her new team. 

eurohandball.com: You are now settling into a new team and life in Györ. How are things going? 

Helena Elver: It's going really well. I am so happy to be here. Both the club and all the girls and everyone around the club have been amazing to get me integrated into both the city and all the handball stuff, so in general, I'm really, really happy to be here.

We started pretty smoothly with a little bit of handball exercises and so on, and of course, all the tests with the physical stuff. Then we went to a training camp somewhere here in Hungary. Last week, we were on a little team building — biking some kilometres and just having fun and doing a lot of team building exercises. Now we're finally starting to play real handball and training a lot and it's really tough. It's a good place to be. We're trying to develop as much as possible now.

eurohandball.com: The ending at Odense was pretty much perfect. How do you feel about it?

Helena Elver: I'm really happy that we ended like we did. I was really proud of being a part of Odense and the whole club and everything we stood for. I think we played really well at the end of the season as well. Just in general, I was so happy with my five years in Odense. I think that the club and all the girls made it so special for me and made it feel like a home, even though I'm not from Odense. 

When I look back at my years, in general, I would say I’m just really proud that I came back the way I did and also that I was part of the team that played so well. Getting the perfect finish was incredible.

eurohandball.com: Now you’ve left Denmark and are settling in a new environment, can you identify some key takeaways from your time with Odense? 

Helena Elver: That’s a difficult question. I think I'm still trying to, you know, land in all the stuff here. I think, in general, just after all my injuries, I'm trying to enjoy playing handball and enjoy getting a lot of experience through handball, both in Odense when we played the EHF Champions League and all this experience with the Danish championship and EHF FINAL4, but also now. I think I use a lot of energy on just being here and trying to enjoy as much as possible all the things, in a new handball culture and a new place where there's a lot to learn, but also just enjoying life outside the court and being inspired by the girls here and the club, the culture. Just trying to really enjoy and develop as much as possible.”

eurohandball.com: We all know that Györ is a really special club environment. What were your first impressions on arriving there? 

Helena Elver: First of all, it’s so professional here. I don't think anybody doesn't know that when they go to Györ, but it's impressive how professional everybody is here. And then, of course, I think it's a step up with really good players. 

We train at a really high level already. I think that's nice for me to develop some new things, but also really inspiring to try to get some new teammates and see how they train also, because we have a lot of cultures here, so I think that has been pretty nice actually — to try something new. And for me, personally, it’s also been nice to try a new everyday life — to be in another place, another country, another culture, and to find my way in the last month here.

eurohandball.com: When we did your “Handball Through My Eyes” story, you spoke about how your favourite thing is when you can lead the whole team to a good dynamic and bring out all the individual strengths. How is that part of the game developing for you as you start with new teammates? 

Helena Elver: It's difficult not to find a good connection with these girls here, who are so inspiring and so good in everything they do. Of course, I have to just learn everything. We played some of the same things in Odense, but I have to learn a lot of new systems and a lot of new ways, signs, and new ways to do stuff. It has not been seamless so far, but I would say that we’re developing every day and I am really looking forward to also developing my own game together with these girls.

I've played with Dione [Housheer] and I play with Kristina [Jørgensen] on the national team. I played with Dione in Odense before, but of course we have to find the dynamic and we have to find each other again. I really like to talk a lot about handball and situations where we can develop, where we can get better, so I think that, of course, it will take time, but I also feel like we're good at speaking about tactics and talking about when we have to do stuff for each other — which situation is good for each individual. In that way, I think I tried to make it as best as possible, but of course it will take some time to get into everything and get to know everybody’s individual skills, and try to make them as good as possible.

eurohandball.com: You’ve experienced the EHF FINAL4 and played for the trophy. Joining the club that won it last season, your motivation must be on fire right now. What can you say about that? 

Helena Elver: I'm really motivated for this season and, of course, I want to do a great job here in Györ and help the team as much as possible. I think I didn't want anybody else but my team, Odense, last season to win the EHF FINAL4, but I hope that I can win it with Györ this time and I will work hard for it the whole season, together with the rest of the team and the club. I think my motivation is as high as it can be.

Photos © Peka Roland (Györ pictures), kolektiff (Odense pictures)