Crina Elena Pintea (née Ailincăi; born 3 April 1990) is a Romanian professional handballer who plays as a pivot for CSM București and the Romanian national team. Considered to be one of the best pivots in the world, in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

she was named to the EHF Champions League All-Star Team. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

, she was named to the European Championship All-Star Team. Pintea is also regarded by many as one of the best defenders in the world. In recognition of her performances and achievements throughout the year, she was also voted the Romanian Handballer of the Year in 2019.

Early life

Born in

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county the ...

, in the village of

Podu Turcului Podu Turcului is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, ...

, she is the oldest of four children. She did not practice seriously any sport until age 16.

Career

Pintea moved to

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, centr ...

at the age of sixteen and began her career at Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea before signing for

HC Zalău HC Zalău is a women's handball club from Zalău, Romania, that plays in the Romanian Women's Handball League. On domestic level HC Zalau won three league titles (2001,2004,2005) and Romanian Cup once in 2003. In Europe HC Zalau won the Women's ...

from the academy at the Centrul Național Olimpic de Excelență Râmnicu Vâlcea (CNOE Râmnicu Vâlcea) in 2009 by Gheorghe Tadici. She was also the runner-up of the

2011–12 EHF Cup The 2011–12 EHF Cup was the 31st edition of the EHF Cup. Frisch Auf Göppingen, who were the defending champions, won the title for the second consecutive season, beating Dunkerque HB in the final. Knockout stage Round 1 Round 2 ...

competition. In October 2015, following a lengthy dispute over a new contract, she was signed by

Thüringer HC Thüringer Handball Club Erfurt-Bad Langensalza e. V is a German professional women's handball team from Erfurt and Bad Langensalza. The club has its seat in Erfurt and plays the home matches in the Salza-Halle in Bad Langensalza. They compete in ...

. She then went on to help THC win Bundesliga title in the 2015–16 season, and the DHB-Supercup next season as well. A year later, Pintea signed for Paris 92 in France where she was named in the

Championnat de France The French Rugby League Championship is the major rugby league tournament for French professional and semi-professional clubs. French Championships or French Championship may also refer to: French national championships * Division 1 Féminine ...

Team of the Year for season 2017–18. She joined Győri Audi ETO KC under Ambros Martín's leadership, and helped the club win treble in 2018–19. Győr allowed Crina Pintea to leave the club at the end of the season, honouring a gentlemen's agreement. In the summer 2019, CSM București announced that they have signed Pintea after only half a year with ETO. Pintea made her senior debut for Romania in September 2012 after previously being capped by Romania youth team at under-19 level. She was chosen in Romania's squads for the 2013, 2015 and 2017 IHF World Championships and EHF Euro 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Achievements

;National team * IHF World Championship: **''Bronze Medalist'': 2015 ;European Competitions *

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men ...

: **''Winner:'' 2019 *

EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Prev ...

: **''Finalist'': 2012 ;Domestic Competitions * Romanian National League: **''Bronze Medalist'': 2015 *Supercupa României: **''Finalist'': 2011 *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

: **''Winner'': 2016 *DHB-Supercup: **''Winner'': 2016 * Hungarian Championship **''Winner'': 2019,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

Hungarian Cup The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...

: **''Winner'': 2019

Individual awards

Best Pivot: 2018 *

Carpathian Trophy The Carpathian Trophy ( ro, 'Trofeul Carpaţi') is an annual men's and women's friendly handball tournament organised by the Romanian Handball Federation The Romanian Handball Federation ( ro, Federaţia Română de Handbal) (FRH) is the governing ...

Best Defender:

* All-Star Pivot of the European Championship:

* TV 2 Norway All-Star Pivot of the European Championship: 2018 * Handball-Planet.com All-Star Pivot: 2018 * All-Star Pivot of the

MVP: 2019 * Supercupa României MVP: 2019INTERVIU , Crina Pintea, MVP-ul primului derby CSM București – SCM Rm. Vâlcea: "Eu îmi doresc să fiu puternică, atât!". Cum se simte după fiecare fază cu câte două-trei adversare în spate?
/ref> * Romanian Handballer of the Year: 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pintea, Crina People from Bacău County 1990 births Living people Romanian female handball players Expatriate handball players Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Győri Audi ETO KC players