Halilcevic wants to bid farewell to Nykøbing with a trophy

The left wing has been regarded as one of the biggest talents in Danish handball in recent years, since her debut for Team Esbjerg at the age of 17.

In 2021, she moved to Nykøbing in search of more minutes on the court, to try and progress further.

Fast forward two years, and it seems she has made the right decision. The 22-year-old Halilcevic is Nykøbing’s top scorer in the EHF European League Women; she could even become the competition’s top scorer as she is currently ranked fourth with 49 goals, but first among players still in the competition.

Halilcevic has come a long way since her first handball days in Skads-Andrup – and she has her older sister Lejla to thank for it.

“I started handball because of my sister. She started to go to training because of her friends and of course, as a little sister, I joined her. My family is my big support. No one plays handball, not even my sister anymore, but they really support me in any way. I am really a family person,” Halilcevic says.

From Skads-Andrup and SGI Handball to Team Esbjerg, and from all younger age categories of the Danish national team to the silver medal at the EHF EURO 2022, Halilcevic’s game has progressed with each year – and not always as a left wing.

“I started off in Skads-Andrup as a wing player. As I was getting older, I switched to a back position, until returning to the wing at the age of 17,” Halilcevic says.

“A lot happened during those years. Being a back player for some years gave me a different perspective on the game and also how things go together on the court, especially in terms of scoring an easy goal.”

Her breakthrough came at age 17 at Esbjerg, where she netted three times in her debut match against Viborg HK.

“My debut was really nice as well as my time in Esbjerg. There was tough competition all the time, even at the trainings. A great experience for me to be among strong players. I had to give my best all the time and I believe I got a lot better just from that. When I moved to Nykøbing, I built my progress through playing time, which I really needed,” Halilcevic says.

Playing in Esbjerg allowed Halilcevic to play side-by-side with some of the big handball names. Who did she look up to?

“Ah, of course Sanna Solberg when I was in Esbjerg. Her way of playing and her style of shooting really left an impact.”

A playful approach to handball, explosiveness, audacity, and counter-attack qualities: those are just some of the epithets she was given by the coaches.

“My explosiveness and my speed are probably the main things that have brought me this far.  Am really fast and I also know how to read the game, where to run and when to stop,” Halilcevic says.

“I still have a lot of things that I really want to get better at. Like in defence, I think I have progressed very well in the last two years, but there is more to come. All that has come from playing international handball and a good number of minutes on the court.

“Sometimes, I really need to calm myself down and remember that someday is going to be my time. I keep forgetting my age and that I have plenty of time to improve and reach the level I wish for. I just need to keep working hard.”

In her first season with the club, Nykøbing finished fifth in the Danish league and earned a place in the EHF European League Women 2022/23, starting their campaign in the first qualification round.

Nykøbing had a rough start to the group phase with two defeats, but worked their way up and progressed to the quarter-finals and, ultimately, the EHF Finals Women on 13/14 May in Graz, Austria.

“It is really nice that we have made it this far. I think not a lot of people expected that since we started off really bad, with two straight defeats. We just need to find out what was that key thing that was working until now and then keep on doing that,” Halilcevic says.

The wing has contributed 72 goals throughout the season, and 49 since the group phase started. She needs to score at least 11 times in Nykøbing’s two games at the EHF Finals to catch up with the overall leading scorer, SCM Ramnicu Valcea’s Iryna Glibko, who has 60 goals to her name.

“As I player, I'm not always quite satisfied, no matter if we won and played well. I always try to remember the things that I personally could have done better. It is nice to be among the top scorers, but it is really a team effort all the way,” Halilcevic says.

The draw for the EHF Finals has paired Nykøbing with BV Borussia 09 Dortmund, with their semi-final scheduled for Saturday 13 May at 18:00 CEST.

“It is going to be a really hard game. Borussia have really good players, like Alina Grijseels, who has an X-factor. She made the difference in the second game of the quarter-finals (against Neptunes de Nantes), when they made that comeback. So, I think we really need to be prepared and also run with them because they also are a running team,” Halilcevic says.

“On both sides, we have strong defences and good goalkeepers. Also, you only play one game, and not two as in the knock-out stage. So, you really need to be maximum prepared for those 60 minutes. In one match everything is possible.”

Therefore, it is impossible to single out a favourite for Graz.

“It is really hard to say who is the favourite at the EHF Finals. It could go either way, but of course, I need to say us. It would also be fun to have an all-Danish final. In a way, I don’t care about the opponent, I just want to be in the final myself,” the Danish wing says.

Her first EHF Finals have an additional meaning for Halilcevic, as from next season, she will wear the jersey of domestic rivals and current EHF Champions League Women quarter-finalists Odense.

“Leaving Nykøbing was a really tough decision because I am really happy. However, I am really excited to play EHF Champions League again,” Halilcevic says.

“It is going to be such a different experience this time because I think I am actually going to play more and be a bigger part of the team.”

But before she moves to the next destination in her career: “I want to try to get as many trophies as possible. Meaning, I want to go to that final in Graz.”

Photos © Peter Larsen, Copenhagen by Pede