Andrea Lekic: “Winning the Champions League was my biggest achievement”

The match on Saturday lived up to its hype. Both teams led at times, and it stayed tense and level all the way to the end. But it was Odense who had the final word, winning 25:24 and securing their first ever spot at the final tournament — while also marking the end of Lekic’s EHF Champions League journey.

“It was not even in my dreams to finish like this, but that's life. At the moment, I am sad, disappointed, maybe the right thing to say would be crushed. We did not play our best and we need to congratulate Odense.”

“That's life. Ups and downs are part of our sport. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. However, I have so many nicer memories than this one," says Lekic after the intense quarter-final game.

Serbian international and one of the most prolific players is ending her professional career at the end of the season, and the match on Saturday was her last one in Europe's top flight. That epic joyride arrived at its final destination.

“Winning Champions League was one of the biggest things I achieved. But what I will bring from all those Champions League matches and seasons are unforgettable people, friends, memories, celebrations after victories, things that always stay with you. And here, with FTC, definitely memorable fans and the club,” adds Lekic while still trying to comprehend the loss and having played her final European game.

Lekic leaves the Champions League as the third-highest scorer in the competition's history, with an incredible 1,073 goals. In her final season she netted 41 goals in 16 games, proving once again that even in her farewell season she never lost her touch. Only Jovanka Radicevic and Cristina Neagu, both of whom also bid their goodbyes to handball this season, stand ahead of her in the legendary “Club of 1000”.

Andrea Lekic's career stretches across 18 Champions League seasons, leaving her mark in every corner of Europe. With Györi Audi ETO KC, Lekic reached the competition's pinnacle, winning the Champions League in 2013, scoring four goals in two final games against Larvik.

The year before, in 2012, she played her first final with Györ, falling short against Buducnost. She came heartbreakingly close again with Vardar with five straight EHF FINAL4 Women appearances resulting in two finals in 2017 and 2018, both losing to Györ in extra time. And then again in 2023, reaching the final with FTC, but left with silver after losing to Vipers Kristiansand.

In all that glory, the Serbian centre back was a unique player, someone who inspired generations, and a player who always tried to make her teammates shine, not thinking about numbers.

“I really love to assist the line player, that is my specific move,” she says in the EHF series “Handball through my eyes”. If you have ever seen her no-look passes cutting through the defence, you know exactly what she means. She didn't just play the game, she shaped it.

A player who never backed down, pushed forward no matter the obstacles and always tried to be true to herself. That is why she became a role model for the next generations. But her legacy never stopped with what she did on the court.

Even when still competing at the highest level, Lekic worked tirelessly to inspire the next wave of handball players. Through youth camps, Respect Your Talent programme, and her daily example of professionalism and passion, she has given back to the sport that gave her everything.

And throughout it all, she stayed grounded. “Without my teammates, I wouldn't be who I am today. And I met so many amazing, inspiring people along the way. I would like to thank teammates, coaches, doctors, physios, fans, clubs, friends and family who carried me through thick and thin,” Lekic says in her farewell video.

Her story with Serbia was just as remarkable, showing her poetry in motion at Women's EHF EUROs and Women's IHF World Championships. In 2012 she earned a place in the All-star Team as the centre back of the European championship, and a year later she won a silver medal at the World Championship and was crowned the IHF World Player of the Year.

Even when her national team career seemed complete, she returned in 2025, answering the call once more to help Serbia qualify for the World Championship. And she succeeded.

“I'm incredibly grateful and proud to have had the chance to wear the national jersey once again and to feel the most beautiful emotion an athlete can ever experience,” adds Lekic about her last time leading Serbia.

Beyond all the shine, success, medals and trophies, there is Andrea Lekic who still remembers the little 11-year-old girl chasing a ball for the first time in Belgrade and falling in love with handball.

Love that would take her from ORK Beograd where it all began, through Radnički Beograd, Knjaz Miloš, Krim Mercator Ljubljana, Györi Audi ETO KC, Vardar, CSM Bucuresti, Buducnost, back to Krim, and finally FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria. Budapest will be her last stop.

“I never imagined handball would take me this far, and that I would last this long,” says Andrea Lekic in her farewell video after 26 years of playing handball. Few years back, in the special series “This is me” Lekic said something she keeps repeating — even though handball pushed her to her limits, her love never wavered.

“Life in sport is not an easy one but it has so many positive things. I would always choose this path again if I would have a chance,” explains Lekic.

Lekic surprised fans across Europe when the news broke that the 2024/25 season will be her last. Looking at her play, she is far from done, and while she physically is still strong, as she admits it, felt this is the right moment to step down and chase new stories.

“It's hard to part with Andrea the handball player and to go and find the new me. But deep in my soul, I feel that this is the right moment,” says Lekic.

However, it is not entirely over. Not, yet. There is still one more chapter left to write in her book of wonders, a story of chasing a domestic title with FTC against Györ, and playing her last-ever game in her career.

“If I start imagining the last one, I will start crying. But I can imagine it with a trophy in our hands. I still have big dreams in front of me and I hope I will win a trophy with Fradi. I could never imagine a better club to finish my career with,” she says, smiling through the emotions.

When the final whistle blows, there will be goodbyes to the fans, the teammates, the rivals, and all the people she met along the way. But the hardest goodbye will be to the game itself.

“I will miss all of you, but you, handball, I will miss you the most,” says Lekic.

Well, Andrea, the EHF Champions League Women and handball will most definitely miss you.

main photo credit: Uros Hocevar / kolektiff