Anita Görbicz, one of the most successful Hungarian female handball players of all time, will retire from playing at the end of the season. As of the latest news, she will continue serving Győri ETO KC, the club she has always played for, as sports director.
Anita Görbicz, now aged 37, began playing for Győri ETO KC, a club which she has never left. She has made it altogether eight times to the Champions League’s final, eventually bagging the trophy five times. She won the Hungarian championships thirteen times and the cup fourteen times.
Actually, there is a strong possibility that (some of) these aforementioned numbers would still increase, as ETO KC is considered the favorite of both the ongoing Championships and Cup. A couple of days ago they also finished first in the Champions League group, having easily qualified for the round of 16.
Görbicz has made her mark in the national team too. At the World Championships in 2003, her first international event with the senior team, she was already a key player of the silver-winning squad. This second place was later followed by a WC bronze medal, and two third place wins at the European Championships. It was after the 2017 World Championships when she announced retirement from the national team.
In her biggest individual achievement, in 2005 she was elected World Player of the Year. As a matter of fact, she has also earned the title of Hungarian Handballer of the Year six times in total.
As of the latest news, she will work as Győri Audi ETO KC’s sports director starting July 1st. Commenting on the announcement, she revealed that she had already known that this would be her last season. “… When we spoke of the end of my career, [president] Csaba Bartha said, there was no question that they counted on me off the field too, which on the one hand felt so good, and on the other was in line with my plans (…) It will be a new task for me, but I am not scared of challenges, and I am very happy to be able to continue working for Győri Audi ETO KC (…) Of course, I’m still focusing on the tasks of this season, because we want to win on all fronts with the girls!”
featured image: Anita Görbicz (in the middle) after winning the Champions League in 2017; via Zsolt Szigetváry