Do not try to stick a label on him: Estelle Nze Minko, the new captain of the French handball team, does not fit into any mold. “She is an atypical player. She has genius, both in attack and in defense. He is an endearing personality, intellectually brilliant. A little quirky too because she is interested in many other things outside of sport.summarizes coach Olivier Krumbholz.
At 31, the player of the Hungarian club Györ, – the most successful women’s hand with five Champions Leagues -, will guide the Habs during the Euro, which takes place in North Macedonia, Slovenia and Montenegro from 4 to November 20. The French start the competition on November 5 with a high-risk match against the Macedonians in Skopje. “This meeting has everything of a trap matchsays Ms. Nze Minko, but I like these atmospheres, it is to live these moments that we do high level sport. »
With the France team, she won everything: the Olympic title in 2021, the 2017 World Cup and Euro 2018. For having participated in the poor European campaign of 2019, where France finished only 13th, she also knows that the slightest complacency is quickly sanctioned in such a high competition.
Relaxation therefore prohibited, especially since the France team has been rejuvenated since the money from the Spanish World Cup eleven months ago. Sometimes irregular in attack, the Habs will need the efficiency of Estelle Nze Minko, who has scored more than 350 goals in selection. Despite her meter 70, a modest height for a rear, she is not used to hiding on the floor. “Handball is not just about size or physical strength, I compensate with my punch and my speed,” she insists.
Seven clubs in thirteen years
Having already worn the colors of seven clubs in her career, the native of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, a small town near Nantes, is one of the most experienced French players. She was only eleven years old when she discovered the hand. “As I like running, contact and ball games, I immediately felt that I had potential”, she says. At 14, she left her family for the Pôle Espoir boarding school in Segré, in Maine-et-Loire. A year later, she started as a left winger with Nantes, in the third division, where she sometimes faced opponents twice her age.
Two years later, she made the leap to Toulouse, in the first division. The club’s bankruptcy caused her impromptu departure to Mios-Biganos, on the Bassin d’Arcachon, where she took on a new dimension as a center half under the direction of coach Emmanuel Mayonnade.
After two full seasons in Gironde, a quick stint in Nîmes then a return to Nantes for family reasons, she obtained her first selection with Les Bleues against Slovakia in October 2013. A meeting which remains, to this day, one of her worst memories. “I put too much pressure on myself, I had a horrible match”, she remembers. However, coach Alain Portes called her back for Euro 2014, where she distinguished herself, even if France only finished 5th.
Two years later, Olivier Krumbholz returns to the head of Les Bleues, and France wins an unexpected silver medal at the Rio Games. In the process, Estelle Nze Minko moved to Hungary, first to Siofok, a mid-table club but with big ambitions. In this seaside resort on Lake Balaton, she lived three dream seasons and ended up captain of the team. Her performances did not escape the leaders of Györ, the prestigious neighbor, who recruited her in 2019.
In a team that brings together some of the best players in the world, her beginnings are complicated, but she does not give up. “In Györ, she forged a winning mentality. We have seen her gain momentum during the last major competitions with the French team,” observes Nodjialem Myaro, the president of the Women’s Handball League. As she begins her fourth season at Györ, she says she does not regret her choice, even if the pressure on the players of the Magyar club is enormous, far from the recklessness that reigned at Siofok.
Feminist and entrepreneur
In a world of high-level sport where the norm is to hide one’s flaws, Estelle Nze Minko stands out with her sensitivity and outspokenness. In 2020, she published on the Internet a forum entitled “In professional sport, there is little room for the “weak”” in which she exposed her weaknesses. “A lot of people think there’s only one way to success, but isn’t that a thing of the past? During my career, I have identified two fundamental factors linked to well-being, and therefore to performance: the feeling of belonging and personal fulfillment”she wrote.
A statement that helps to understand the commitments of the captain of the Blue away from sport. A graduate in communication, passionate about music and singing, Ms. Nze Minko is also a business manager. In 2020, she launched the company “The Vbox”. The idea is to market surprise boxes, like those distributed in supermarkets, but by offering “culture around femininity, things that come out of the woman/beauty cliché”.
Boxes in her image, because Estelle Nze Minko is an active feminist. In particular, she published in 2020 on the website Basic rules a forum denouncing the taboo of menstruation in high-level sport. “The place of women in society is a fight that is close to my heartshe says. I try to use my little notoriety to get things done. » French handball players know that they can count on their captain not to let go of anything between now and the Paris Games in 2024.