The 2024 European Championship is getting closer and in a series of articles Ola Selby, reporter at GoHandball, picks his 5 best players at each position. Last up: the defensive players.
Here are the players:
Jonathan Carlsbogård, Sweden
He plays mostly defense and not that much offense in his club Barcelona but does so on a very high level. A leader in the Swedish defense and the most important player on that side of the floor. To play as much as he does and at that high level and almost never be sent off is impressive.
Domagoj Duvnjak, Croatia
Maybe at his best when he can create chaos in the Croatian defense. A complete defender who, even though he often looks completely exhausted, plays with a lot of heart. Very hard to pass by on the floor.
Ludovic Fabregas, France
Yes, Fabregas gets the nod here as well, not only as a pivot. It’s hard to find any pivot that is better in defense than Fabregas.
Oscar Bergendahl, Sweden
Just as with Fabregas Bergendahl deserves a spot at two lists: pivots and defensive players. He has no weaknesses in his game and was named best defensive player then Sweden took home the gold medal at the previous European Championship.
Daniel Dujshebaev, Spain
I choose between Dujshebaev, Magnus Saugstrup, and Karl Konan for the fifth and final place on this list. Dujshebaev was my choice because he means more for his team than the other two guys do for their respective teams.