Vogel’s game: "I don’t fit into a single box"

It was in her hometown of Buxtehude that she first picked up handball. At the age of 14, Emily Vogel — previously known as Bölk, until her marriage to Hungarian water polo player Simon Vogel in 2025 — spent a year in Denmark, where she gained formative experience. Four years later, in 2016, the daughter of the 1993 world champion, Andrea Bölk, became a German international. Since 2020, the back-court player has been part of FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria’s squad.

In any successful career, there are always pivotal moments that shape the path ahead. For Emily Vogel, it was that one year in Denmark. At 14, she joined the handball academy of Viborg HK, where she saw the stars of the three-time EHF Champions League winners on a daily basis — observing how they lived, played and trained. Thanks to the Danish school system, she was able to focus almost entirely on handball for a year, with numerous training sessions, including sessions with and against older boys.

“When I was a child, I wanted to become a handball player. It was only when I was in Denmark that I realised I also wanted to become a professional. In Viborg, I gained a completely different perspective on handball. For the first time, I experienced what professional conditions feel like, and I also matured enormously as a person during that year. Looking back, I certainly laid a strong foundation for all the steps that followed in my career.”

After learning the fundamentals of handball at Buxtehuder SV, Vogel began to refine her future playing style — naturally influenced by Scandinavian handball: faster and more technical. At 16, she made her Bundesliga debut for her home club, Buxtehuder SV, and her path seemed set.

In 2016, at just 18, she played her first match for the German women’s national team. “Before my final year in Buxtehude, it was clear that the next step would follow. With the 2017 home World Championship in mind, the then national coach Michael Biegler asked me to avoid making any major changes.”

The question afterwards was simple: move abroad immediately or join a top German club? In 2018, she followed her instincts and transferred to Thüringer HC.

“When I first played in the Champions League there, I suddenly understood what top-level handball really means. I realised what my coach, Herbert Müller, meant when he said ‘You have to experience it yourself, to have played it.’ Everything is faster, smarter, tougher.”

After a year and a half — and a six-month break due to the pandemic — she moved in 2020 to FTC in Budapest, where she has recently extended her contract until 2028, with an option for another year.

The move to Budapest brought many changes, not least the language. “I wasn’t afraid of the move. Even though having many top players in one team means competing for playing time, and for the first time I had a language barrier with my coach. I was ready to fight my way through in a completely new environment and was excited about the new mentality, the different style of handball, and the ambitious goals of the club.”

From every stage of her career, Vogel has taken something for her playing style. “In Buxtehude, it was mainly small-group combinations that still benefit me today — I played very unconsciously and intuitively there. At Thüringer HC, everything became more systematic; for example, there were set plays designed specifically for my throws. In Hungary, match preparation reached a completely different level, with far more analysis and detail. Training under Gábor Elek was also much tougher, and I began to complement my intuitive game with a more conscious tactical approach.”

Over time, Emily Vogel has become the complete handball player she has always wanted to be — not just a shooter or a defensive specialist. “After so many years, I know what I’m good at. I love playing for and with my teammates. For example, I often get an even better feeling from assists or successful blocks than from scoring a goal myself.

“There isn’t just one box I belong in — I’ve always wanted to be good at everything. In Buxtehude, I sometimes played as right back; in defence, I might be used in the central block or in the half back positions. I see all of that as an opportunity to become more versatile. I want to be a complete handball player — able to contribute with long-range shots, one-on-ones, or assists, helping the team, whether in defence or attack.”

There is one thing Emily Vogel dislikes — evaluating performance purely based on statistics without having watched the game. “Anyone who only looks at numbers and statistics hasn’t understood the game. If it says I scored 50 per cent of my shots, no one sees how many of those came from 15 metres with the clock running down to passive play. Or how many assists I made that didn’t result in a goal. Or that I spent 60 minutes working against the line player in defence and disrupting the opponent’s play.

"Handball is more than numbers — it’s far more complex than it can be captured by statistics alone. It’s about intelligence, ideas, tactics, and defensive energy. For me, handball is a complete construct of defence and attack, and the connection within the team.”

One player in particular left a strong impression on her in Budapest: Andrea Lekic. “She was much more than a teammate — she is a friend, but, above all, a very special personality. I can say she shaped me as a handball player because she understood how the game works, how to read it. It was incredibly fun playing alongside her, because we speak the same handball language. She was always focused on getting the best out of her teammates and making the whole team better.”

Alongside Lekic, who ended her career in the summer of 2025, Vogel also played in the match that still gives her goosebumps: the EHF Champions League semi-final against Team Esbjerg at the EHF FINAL4 2023, in front of more than 20,000 fans in Budapest’s MVM Dome.

“Every time I hear the song ‘Freed from Desire’ in our dressing room today, I think back to that day. It’s such an incredible feeling. Just qualifying for the EHF FINAL4 for the first time, then winning that semi-final — it was unbelievable. Of course, the weekend would have been perfect if we had also won the final against Vipers.”

Vogel scored the winning goal in the semi-final — a dramatic 30:29 — with what she describes as a “completely crazy goal” at the final whistle. “That atmosphere, that experience — it was unbelievable. I definitely want to experience that again.”

With the German national team — where Vogel earned her 150th cap in early March in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers match against Slovenia — the 2025 home World Championship was “exactly the script we had hoped for,” winning silver and being named in the All-star Team.

Attention for women’s handball in Germany rose significantly, also thanks to the “Hands up for more” campaign, a special pre-tournament jersey, and a book about the team’s stars. “I had hoped for a tournament like that throughout my career, especially after missing so many semi-finals — even though the pressure was naturally immense.”

However, the year that ultimately ended with World Championship silver had begun differently than she expected. She was not selected for the test matches against France and, like Alina Grijseels, was removed as captain.

“For many years, I had been in a position where I led from the front as one of the faces of the team, so the decision came as a surprise. In the end, it was simply a training camp and two matches where I wasn’t considered. At the World Championship, however, we had a lot of freedom, which allowed us to play our A-game. And I was more relaxed than ever. After everything I’ve experienced, there isn’t much left that can throw me off course.”

More generally, Vogel hopes that the momentum for women’s handball in Germany will continue. “We challenged Norway in the final, something no other team had managed at that tournament. We won our first medal in years and reached a World Championship final for the first time since 1993. In doing so, we’ve opened the door to the world elite. We’ve grown with our responsibilities — and now we have the chance to establish ourselves and pave the way for many talented German players. This is the right path.”

At 27, the back-court player is definitely not thinking about retiring anytime soon. “The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are an absolutely realistic goal for me. I’ll give everything for that — also to achieve a better sporting result than in Paris.”

And then there is 2032 — with the Olympics in Brisbane and a home European Championship in Germany. Vogel would be 34. “Many players have still competed at a top level at that age. If my body holds up, I stay fit and still enjoy the game, I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Feature photos © Micheller Szilvia & Nasz Nikolett / Fradi.hu, Franziska Braun/EHF archives, Jozo Cabraja &Sasa Pahic Szabo / kolektiff