Difficult to do more opposite, size level, than Nikola Karabatic (1.96m for about 105 kilos) and Luc Steins (1.73m and 70 kilos all wet). However, in November 2020, when they had to find a medical joker to compensate for the long absence of the French international, victim of a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee, it was indeed towards the small Dutch center half. that the Parisian leaders have turned. A surprise, even if Steins had already started to make a name for himself in France. And a total success about a player who has been voted best player in the Starligue – the small name of the French Championship – for the past three seasons.
Arrived in Massy in the summer of 2016 from the Batavian club Limburg Lions, Steins was quick to show off his talent by allowing the Ile-de-France club to move up to the first division, taking the opportunity to win the title of best player of the season – already – from Proligue (D2). In the process, he joined Tremblay where he stayed for two seasons before moving on to Toulouse. Then 23 years old, the Dutch international half-center had then caught the eye of a certain Philippe Gardent, the general manager of the Haut-Garonne formation previously coach of PSG: “It’s the kind of half-center that everyone likes to have”, confided at the time the former Barjot. “He is certainly small, but he has an excellent vision of the game. Technically, he is well above average and he has this ability to improve the game of his partners while performing well on his side.” Qualities that Steins has only improved since, to establish himself as an absolute reference in his position as center half.
A performance that is all the more exceptional in that he does not, strictly speaking, have the physical appearance of the job, his measurements bringing him closer to a winger than a playmaker. But an illustrious example for him may have served as a model: that of Ljubomir Vranjes, world champion and triple European champion with Sweden between 1998 and 2002 from the top of his… 166 centimeters. This did not prevent him from evolving on the back base, where his vision of the game and his demonic supports tormented the mirror cabinets and other opposing Norman doors. As Steins, including Pierre Soudry, who frequented him in Toulouse, said: “He has an atypical profile in his position, that’s obvious. It is clear that this lack of size could have blocked or slowed him down in his progress, but on the contrary he managed to make it an asset. So much so that its size has never been an issue.”
Genetics may also have played a role for this son of a former Dutch Premier League player, while his aunt has a few caps with the Netherlands and his grandfather played a few matches in the ancestor of the current Champions League. Moreover, handball, Luc Steins discovers it very early, at only 4 years old, in a club founded by his mother and his grandfather precisely. Often elusive, endowed with a vision of the game and an exceptional quality of passes, the Dutchman was quick to win at PSG. First signed for a six-month freelance contract, the Dutchman is now linked with the capital club until 2026. Or even more, as he has been able to make himself essential on the field, but also outside.
In Paris, goalkeeper Yann Genty, who rubbed shoulders with him there for two seasons, was amused to see him play alongside Dainis Kristopans, the 2.13m right-back from Latvia. “It always makes me laugh to see him talking to her when he can’t even reach her ear.” For Steins, it’s not all about size: “Whether it’s Kristo’ or me, we’re hard to stop but for different reasons.” No doubt he also drew from certain mockery or doubts born of his lack of centimeters an additional motivation to succeed. “I’ve always had to convince more than the others,” he often explains, with a small smile on his face. Work more, too, he whose professionalism and taste for effort everyone praises. At 28, after having won three French championship titles and having placed the Netherlands on the international handball map (10th in the last Euro), Luc Steins dreams of allowing PSG to win the first Champions League of his youth. history. A quest for the Grail which will first pass, on Saturday, by a semi-final against Kielce (6 p.m.), before possibly being able to challenge the winner of the duel between Barcelona and Magdeburg on Sunday. And the Parisian club learned, in contact with its Dutch “elf”, that nothing was impossible. Especially not to impose yourself among the giants when you are not one yourself.
