Herning (Denmark) (AFP)

Omnipresent both in attack and defense, Estelle Nze Minko once again played a crucial role in the Blue's adventure at Euro-2020 concluded on Sunday with a silver medal and the title of MVP, a flourishing cultivated since several seasons in Hungary.

At 29, she has become an essential cog in Olivier Krumbholz's device with her atypical game, her explosiveness and her physique (1.78 m, 67 kg) which could have enabled her to do athletics, especially jumping. or long sprint.

His broad smile and his permanent good humor radiate the blue group at all times, both during matches and off the pitch.

"She's an exceptional player. It's a real pleasure to train with her, to see her on a daily basis. She has a type of game that is really her own. You can see that she is at her best. She is very playful in the field, "said the right winger of Brest and the Bleues Pauline Coatanéa.

In December 2018, under the spotlight in Paris during the Euro at home, the left-back had experienced a moment of grace, attracting the light to her and succeeding in everything she undertook.

She finished the tournament with 83% shooting success, leading French scorer (38 goals) for the first continental coronation.

But curiously, she had not won the title of best player (MVP) of the Euro, a reward which was awarded to her this year at Euro-2020.

- Complicated beginnings in Györ -

In 2018, she had been the "rock star" of the European champions in the den of Bercy, a role that suits this music lover who plays guitar and piano, who sings and who has composed a few tunes. .

"In the end, this level is a part of me. I haven't transcended myself. You have to have it at the right time. I haven't necessarily progressed since, but I haven't lost it", she explains two years later, referring to this month of fullness in 2018.

Twenty-four months later, she changed status again, now playing in the best club in the world, in Györ, where she joined in the summer of 2019 Amandine Leynaud, just like Béatrice Edwige, and since the summer of 2020 Laura Glauser, to form a small French colony in north-western Hungary, not far from the Austrian border.

The first 2019/20 season in Györ was complicated and his performances at the 2019 World Cup were below his standards.

She did not suffer too much from the confinement of spring 2020 which even allowed her to rest.

- Create a business -

"Physically, a cut is always good, because you never actually stop. And mentally, it put me back in. My therapy was rest," she slips.

Restored, she found her game in the club, which has repercussions on the France team.

Admittedly, it has not recovered to the level of the insolent success of 2018, but it has come closer (63%), even if in the final on Sunday, it found itself in difficulty (1 goal in 4 shots).

Above all, she continues her permanent work in defense.

"When the opponents are in attack and they have Estelle in front of them, they are not serene when deciding who to pass the pass. She likes the traps, the game," praises Pauline Coatanéa.

The Brestoise pushes the musical metaphor for her teammate: "We let her express herself and we follow her. She is a bit the conductor", while Béatrice Edwige plays the role of patron of the defense.

The development of Nze Minko finds its source in Hungary, where it has been playing for five seasons now, first in Siofok on the shores of Lake Balaton, then in Györ.

"My environment is perfect for doing high level sport", she emphasizes.

Most of the time, trips to the championship are short, an hour and a half.

"So I'm home at 9 p.m. It's interesting in terms of the pace of life, but also of recovery."

This available time allowed her to embark on the creation of V-Box, a company that offers boxes of feminine products on the internet.

And in Herning during Euro-2020, forced to stay in the hotel's sanitary bubble, she continued to promote it.

© 2020 AFP