Heindahl’s game: Defence is about where the goalkeepers can shine

“More focus on this more aggressive defence and especially the one-against-one, but as a defender — how able I am to have my own player in the defence so that the others can take more care of their own. So, being more aggressive in my defensive play” — as the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 approaches and the EHF Champions League season progresses, this summary from Kathrine Heindahl on her specific focus lately is a cause for concern on the part of her opponents.

Named best defender of the EHF EURO 2022 and Defender of the Season at the first EHF Excellence Awards, for the 2022/23 season, Heindahl is a standout in a competitive field who make their mark at their own end of the court. The Denmark line player also recorded clearly the most blocks of the last EURO, at 14, compared to second-ranked Linn Blohm, with eight.

Heindahl highlights adaptability and what helps her teams’ goalkeepers as the key areas in defence.

“I really like to have a special focus on what my goalkeepers want. I think that you can play really good defence but if the shooting that comes towards your goalkeeper is not what they prefer then it can still be a lot of goals. So, I really like to think of defence as where can our goalkeepers shine the most? Where do they want the shooters to shoot from? Is it better that it's the wings or line player or a shot from nine metres?” says Heindahl.

The defensive specialist and line player has been an instrumental figure in Denmark’s return to the top of women’s handball, which has seen them take four medals in the last two years — silver at the EHF EURO 2022, bronze at the 2021 and 2023 World Championships, and bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games. They also played the semi-final at the EHF EURO 2020, placing fourth.

In Denmark’s team statistics from the EHF EURO 2022, Heindahl had the third most playing time of the whole squad, coming in only behind wings Emma Friis and Trine Østergaard, which reflects just how important she was for the side in that silver medal.

On a club level, Heindahl has made it to three of the last four EHF FINAL4s, playing the 2020/21 edition with CSKA then the 2022/23 and 2023/24 events with her current club, Team Esbjerg.

Heindahl sees the goalkeepers’ preferences as far more important element than who is attacking against her team. But that does not mean that the line-up of the opposing team has no role in determining the defensive tactics.

“It can change from goalkeeper to goalkeeper,” says Heindahl. “Like the backfield players are different in their specialties, there's also big differences in the way the goalkeepers are.

“But it can also change depending who are we meeting and where do we see maybe a weaker point for them. For example, a goalkeeper who thinks she has a really good advantage over one player, then let's see if it's a positive thing to do in this game to let her shoot more, so that you also bring tactical stuff into the defence according to who are you playing against. It can also be if one defence player has a really good feeling about one they stand against — ‘I can have my own player in almost all of the duels.’ I like to change the defence according to my goalkeeper and also, where do we see the biggest possibilities for us to get an advantage?”

Approaching the 150-match milestone for Denmark and having made her European cup debut in the 2011/12 season, 32-year-old Heindahl has been on court experiencing the development of handball into the faster game it is today. For her, as a central defender, the standout change is the type of players she faces — many more backs whose key weapon is speed and agility. 

“The game has become more and more physical. There's so many strong players in the physical play, but also with the speed. It’s just getting faster and faster. I think when my career started, there were more backfield players that were the shooters and that were maybe a little bit bigger than they are today — taller. And I think today, there's so many backfield players that are smaller and really fast on their feet. But you still often see a big central defence, so we still have to manage to find a way to follow the fast feet but still get the advantage of being stronger,” says Heindahl.

Studying other teams before playing them is part of the game, but that works both ways — as Heindahl and her teammates know what to expect from the attack they will be facing, the attackers coming at them have also prepared for their defence. Being able to adapt is crucial, but Heindahl finds it most important that her side has a strong base to rely on. 

“It is a tactical game at both ends,” she says. “You, of course, try to make the right tactical moves against the team you play against, but I also think it's really important to have this base, so that you always have something to turn back into — so that you don't change your whole defence from game to game, but it's more some small technical changes. So even though, for example, they want to put me in a big one-against-one with a small fast player — OK, but how can we manage that without changing the rest of the defence? So, I think it's a lot about confidence in your base defence system and maybe an alternative. But I think it's hard if you have to change your whole defence according to every new team.”

Hearing Heindahl talk about it, it is clear that defence is a complex area of the game — that the defensive specialists are just as much master tacticians as the leading attacking players. With that said, it is not quite as common for players to rush to the defensive end of the court — for young players to dream of making a great block versus scoring the winning goal. So how and why did she develop into such a strong defender?

“I have always had an interest — a big interest — in the defence. But with time, I think the thing I have been working most on is going from this young talent, a bit slower than I am now, but getting these faster feet and my positioning in the defence so that I can create the best possibility to follow the fast feet of the attack players. It's a lot about positioning and how to control the people getting into me. Can I control that they actually put their feet where I want them?” says Heindahl. 

“And then I just think with age and being a lot of years in the handball game on a high level, there's so much about finding some kind of inner peace — that you trust yourself. I really like this feeling also about being the leader in the defence. I think much of the development in the latest years is also to have this overlook and to see, OK, where are the problems? And being able to change it during the game.

“You can have a plan before, but sometimes you have to take some responsibility in changing something really fast during the game. I think it's so much about experience and having more calmness about the defence. And also knowing how many games are in the speed — that often you have really high speed in the first 10, 15 minutes, and then for the last 45, it can be different.”

Heindahl says her most important defensive teacher has been one who was a key defender for Denmark himself — the current assistant coach of the women’s national team, Lars Jørgensen. As a player, Jørgensen won five medals with Denmark, including gold at the EHF EURO 2008. 

“The assistant coach for the national team, Lars Jørgensen, who was also central defender for the men's national team for many years, has taught me many things. And that is especially where to be in the right position and how to stay in that position also when you meet players, for example, faster than I am.

“Also, the way you think the defence — you cannot create a defence where the opponent will get zero shots during a game. So, a lot about controlling the defence to get the shooting where we want them — the defence as a bigger picture to see how can we make it really difficult for the attack to score goals. And a lot of this calmness,” says Heindahl.

“Then the physical coach from the national team, Line Hovgaard, has had a big impact on my footwork. I think a lot of my development in the defence has actually been in the gym — to train myself to have the right position and the right foot position, and where to have my weight on the feet, so I can move more effectively.”

Heindahl has been part of the resurgence of the Denmark national team — the side she grew up watching dominate in every major championship. Heindahl was born in 1992, four years before Denmark’s run of three consecutive Olympic titles started at Atlanta 1996; a year before they played their first of three straight World Championship semi-finals; five years before the sole world title won so far, in 1997; and two years before the team took back-to-back trophies at the first editions of the EHF EURO. The women’s national team was a legendary thing in Denmark during her childhood, and was inspiring for a little girl. For that reason, Heindahl finds it hard to identify one particular role model.

“As a Danish player, there have been so many, because when I grew up, they were just having really good national teams. So, it’s actually hard for me to point out one,” says Heindahl, adding that if she must pick one then it would be Rikke Skov. “I loved watching Viborg when I was younger and she was this badass defence player with a lot of emotions. I thought it was so nice, in general, to see attitude and that people express themselves, and that they cheer and show the emotions — both when it's good and not so good.”

As an expert defender, Heindahl knows precisely which attackers are the most difficult to stop — and there is one standout for her in the game right now.

“At the moment, Henny Reistad is quite difficult, I would say,” Heindahl laughs, referring to the Norway back who is the current IHF World Player of the Year and was MVP of the 2023 World Championship and EHF EURO 2022. “But I have the chance to practice on her every day.”

Reistad has been Heindahl’s teammate at Esbjerg since the Danish line player joined the club in 2022.

“The best way to develop is that you have a challenging training every time — that you really have to be on point every training and then it will be easier in the game. So right now, being on the team with Henny Reistad, it's challenging and it's not every time that you win the defence position, but I hope that it will still actually make me a better player in the defence — that I have to practice on her every day.”

Defence has been Heindahl’s main role for Team Esbjerg in particular in previous seasons. In the national team, she has been playing more in attack compared to on a club level. As a line player, her main joy in offence comes from setting up space for her teammates.

“I have been playing definitely most in defence the last couple of years but now I'm also being more in attack with this new coach Tomas Axner in Team Esbjerg,” says Heindahl. “I love the line player position — about trying to make space for the others. That it’s not so much about if I score the goals, but I really like the feeling that my work has an impact for our attack play, and also that my screenings in the attack can lead to bigger chances for some of my teammates.

“Of course, it's also always nice to score goals, but I think I'm a team person, so I don't care if I score the goal or some of my teammates. The most important for me is to win.” 

Photos: kolektiff images