This weekend’s Final Four in the Women’s Champions League was the last dance for French star Allison Pineau, who will retire after the season. A fourth-place finish with Metz means Pineau will miss a Champions League trophy in an otherwise extraordinary career.
Pineau made her national team debut at just 19 years old. With her 696 goals in 276 appearances, she ranks in the top five for both caps and goals in the history of the French national team. She has won every major international tournament.
At the club level, she has won eight league titles in four different countries. In 2009, she was awarded the IHF Women’s Player of the Year award. Pineau put out an emotional message on Instagram, where she announced that it was time for her incredible career to come to an end.
– The end of an extraordinary chapter in my life. Almost twenty years of loving you, hating you, running away from you on certain days, clinging to you constantly. Thanks to your presence, I have experienced all the emotions — the most beautiful as well as the darkest — which have deeply hurt me. You were the catalyst for my most cherished aspirations, making me an accomplished woman. The kid from Aubervilliers has grown up. What makes me most proud is the woman I’ve become thanks to all our shared experiences. Thank you, handball, says Pineau in a statement on Instagram.
Pineau still has two league games to play before her career comes to an end. Metz has already secured the French league title.