Malestein and Abbingh: Chasing milestones together

With five players participating in their first-ever European championship, others have taken over different roles than they used to. However, the core of the team remained the same — and Angela Malestein and Lois Abbingh are a crucial part of it.

These long-time teammates and friends have seen it all, from making progress and medal-winning matches, to rebuilding phases of the team. Between 2015 and 2019, they reached the semifinals of all major tournaments (EHF EURO, Olympic Games and world championships), and won gold, silver and bronze at the IHF Women's World Handball Championship, as well as European silver and bronze.

At the Women's EHF EURO 2024 they are flying high but aware they still have many more tough games to play.

“I think it’s really important that we won four times in a row. I think this really gives a good feeling in the group and a lot of confidence. With a not so experienced team I think that it's necessary to have a lot of confidence and just to be in this winning mood,” shares Abbingh.

Right wing Malestein adds: “But also, on the other side, we are really down to earth, we are going game for game. And I think that’s also very important.”

Ahead of their fifth EHF EURO 2024 game, against Norway, left back Abbingh has played 223 international matches for the Netherlands and scored 911 goals. Her friend Malestein is on 226 matches with 710 goals.

While their focus remains on the team, both Abbingh and Malestein recently celebrated another personal milestone. During their match against Slovenia, in the first match of the main round, both players surpassed 100 EHF EURO goals — a feat that took them by surprise.

“We knew Lois was near her 100th goal, so I gave the seven-metre penalty to her so she could score it. That’s why we changed because I wanted to push her to that milestone,” Malestein explains.

”And we didn’t know Angela is also near,” Abbingh adds with a laugh.

Malestein continues while also laughing: “Yes, but we still changed — so it was good for both of us in the end. It's good that we are not selfish. So now, we are really catching the same caps and same goals. Okay, I have 200 goals less in total, but OK. She was top scorer at almost every tournament and that's not fair, I'm a wing. But it’s always nice to push your teammates to certain goals.”

“It was really funny, because normally we don't know these kinds of things. But then we heard from other journalists that were not from the Netherlands, that this was going to happen, that I would score my 100th goal. So then I was like, oh, that's nice to know. And we started to joke about it,” says Abbingh who netted four against Slovenia, including the penalty Malestein gave away.

Their bond started when they were 12 years old and endured through the younger age categories, winning silver at the W19 European Championship in 2011 before unlocking great achievements with the national team. But it extends far beyond handball. Their energy and positivism also shape the team as they try to pass on what they know to the new generation.

“I think it’s also a little bit our culture. We don’t have this big hierarchy. Everybody is actually equal. And we try to really have fun also outside of just handball,” explains Malestein.

“Also I think, Angela and I, we are coming from the group where we won a lot of medals. It  was always about the team, and never about the individuals. It doesn't matter when you go on the court if you score zero or eight goals or whatever, everyone is equally important. We know that we succeeded in that way. So we really try to pass that on to the next generations,” adds Abbingh.

As the Netherlands prepares to face Norway in the second match of the main round in Vienna, the anticipation grows. The two unbeaten teams of group II will bring new excitement to the Wiener Stadthalle. For Malestein and Abbingh, Norway are well-known rivals, as the two, alongside Laura van der Heijden, are the only three players in the team that played the Women's EHF EURO 2016 final against the Scandinavian team.

“Norway have a very good, good handball country. There are always new talents and new top players coming after their amazing players. For example, after Katrine (Lunde), came Silje (Solberg-Østhassel, after Stine (Oftedal), there's Henny (Reistad), and many others. And I think we didn't have that luxury in the Netherlands.

“We had two really good generations and then we had some little gap. Now, we have new ones coming, but I think Norway are still better. However, I think what we showed at this tournament, the fighting spirit, is something special and we can play totally free, without pressure against them. So, the pressure is on them — so come for us. And we will try to make a nice game,” says Malestein.

For Abbingh, even getting a point would be success, but they are not giving up no matter what the statistics say — they will fight and give their best.

“It would be really nice if we can at least get a point. But, I agree with Angela, that I feel like they are at least one step ahead of us if you compare them to the squad and everything. But on the other hand is also a handball, and you know that if it's 60 minutes and if you fight and if you have a good day, that everything can happen,” she says.

Although fans would like to see the Netherlands chase a long-awaited European gold medal, the one that is still missing, Malestein and Abbingh are keeping their goals grounded.

“We came here without big expectations. So until now I’m satisfied with how it’s going and we want to keep it up this way. Just go match by match — it's really maybe a boring, 'political', answer, but it's really how we think,” Malestein says.

“But I also think it's right,” adds Abbingh. “I think sometimes we also talk about it in a room, and  sometimes you are going through in your head, oh maybe the semi final, but then it's like, no, no. We go back to the basics, we go back to game by game because for now this has been working well. We just try to focus on every game and then we will see later on what will happen.”

When asked how long they will keep playing in pursuit of that missing gold and whether we could see them chasing it still in 10 years, the duo burst into laughter.

“I hope it's 10 days,” Malestein jokes and Abbingh nods.

“Then I have a new milestone and we can say 'Auf Wiedersehen' in a really nice way. No, just kidding. We'll see, we'll see. Let's go game by game and keep giving our best effort. That's the most important thing,” concludes Malestein.

Photos © EHF/kolektiff