After leading Odense Handball to three Danish titles over five years and playing a pivotal role in taking Odense to their first-ever EHF Champions League final, where they ultimately finished as runners-up, Danish international playmaker Helena Elver triggered a clause in her contract in June 2025 allowing her to leave Odense at the end of the season.
Shortly after, she signed a two-year deal with the Hungarian powerhouse Gyori Audi ETO KC, who had beaten Odense in the final. Following a successful first season in the Hungarian capital, she says she has had no regrets about leaving Denmark.
"The right time to leave Odense"
"I was so happy with my five years in Odense. It was a special environment and some great girls who made me feel at home even though I am not from Odense. But it was the right moment to leave; I needed to get away."
"I needed a new challenge to grow as a handball player and as a person. I always wanted to explore what it was like to live outside Denmark, and Hungary was exactly the right place. I am so happy about the opportunity I have been given to play for Gyor."
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 faced three ACL injuries, which delayed her rise to the level she was destined to reach.
"Given the things I have been through, I probably enjoy being able to play handball at a high level today even more. I learned so much about myself in that period. You are capable of so much more than you think, and I wasn't ready to let go of my love for handball. The fact that I am in Gyor now is a minor miracle."
Pressure to win every game
Gyori Audi ETO KC is one of the most dominant and successful women's handball clubs in European history, driven by an ingrained culture where winning is an absolute expectation rather than a goal.
The Hungarian giants have won the Women’s EHF Champions League multiple times, including titles in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025, and hold historic milestones such as becoming the first side to reach 200 wins in the competition.
As club legend Anita Görbicz famously noted, "winning is in their DNA". The club operates under a continuous internal demand where players and staff refuse to get comfortable after lifting trophies, measuring success strictly by competing for and winning every title. Elver also says that playing for such a prestigious club comes with a lot of pressure.
"When you arrive at a club as a playmaker, you also have a greater responsibility to really get to grips with things and ensure you can contribute in ways other than just scoring goals. You need to be a role model, you need to take part in leading the team."
"Of course I know that the expectations are there, especially here at Gyor with the incredible success they have enjoyed over the years, but I try not to think about the pressure on my shoulders and just try to enjoy playing handball. I think the pressure to perform only makes me a better handballer; it's nice to feel that people expect something from you. It signals that they trust your abilities. But if I have a bad day on the court, we also have other players who can step in; we have a lot of quality in different positions."
Strong Scandinavian contingent
After a little more than a year in Hungary, Elver feels incredibly settled at Gyor even though her life has undergone a tremendous transition. "It's not easy arriving in a country where you don't understand the language and have to communicate with teammates I didn't know very well; players who are incredibly skilled and have been doing things really well before I arrived."
However, the strong Scandinavian contingent has quickly made Elver feel at ease in the new surroundings. "The club is run very professionally, and my new teammates have been incredibly supportive in making it a smooth transition. We have many Scandinavians on the team, and that certainly made things easier. If I don't feel happy outside the court, I don't perform well on the court, and it has been great to settle in so quickly despite the challenges."
"I can learn a great deal from the girls and my coaches here. Learning from other cultures, understanding different mindsets and approaches to playing handball is incredibly rewarding. It has been a period of immense personal and mental growth for me, moving to another country and learning how to make things work here. It has been a truly educational and fun experience."
Loves the passion in Hungary
Elver also underlines that she truly enjoys the passion of the Hungarian handball supporters. "It inspires you to do well when you play in an intense atmosphere like I often experience down here. Our supporters are really unique. It was also great in Denmark but during the local derbies down here, you can really feel how much it means for them, and it brings out the best in you."
Elver is not only expected to play a key role for Gyor in their ambitions to retain the Champions League trophy but also for the Danish national team when they take part in the European Championships in less than two months. Optimism is at an all-time high in Denmark after the Danes recorded one of their rare wins over Norway to win the Euro Cup, and Elver says she hopes it will inspire her teammates to overcome the Norwegians once again at the EURO.
"It was definitely a pat on the back to show that we’re at least heading in the right direction. Some of the things we’re working on are clearly paying off, even in friendly matches. So I think we just need to take as much confidence as possible from our win against them and recognize that we don’t beat them very often."
"It’s definitely not a certainty that we will beat them if we face them at the EURO. So we just need to build on the positive signs we showed in Euro Cup final and carry that good feeling into the championships."
Helena Elver and Gyor are in for another tough test Saturday when they face reigning Champions League winners Metz in their own arena in a repeat of last year's final.