Tess Lieder (formerly Wester) has already played her last match as a professional handball player. The former goalkeeper of the Dutch national team took a ball to the face last week and will miss the end of the season with her club Borussia Dortmund.
Lieder took a ball to the face last Wednesday during the second semi-final against HSG Blomberg-Lippe and could not continue. She then saw her teammates miss out on a place in the final in the battle for the German championship in the third match.
Borussia Dortmund will play for third place on Friday, but the 32-year-old Lieder will not be in action in that match either. “It sucks. You don’t really want to end like this,” Lieder told NU.nl on Thursday. “But on the other hand, it is what it is.”
Lieder announced in April that she would stop after this season. One of the reasons behind that decision was the many head injuries she had this season. “They had a lot of impact on my life outside of handball,” she said. “Then I started to think: I’m almost 32 and my head has to last a little longer.”
Lieder was for years the face between the posts for the Dutch handball team. She played a major role in winning the world title in 2019, among other things. In total, Lieder won five medals at World Championships and European Championships.
Despite the physical discomfort, Lieder was present in Den Bosch on Thursday at the draw for the World Handball Championship. The 2019 world champion has a role as ambassador at the final tournament that will take place in the Netherlands and Germany at the end of this year.