Lima herself is an example of the growing number of Portuguese players ready to leave the domestic league and play for teams abroad in stronger competitions.
“The evolution of Portuguese women's handball is basically due to the fact that more and more players are looking to leave the country to become handball professionals,” Lima said.
But also within Portugal things are changing.
“In Portugal people work better and better at training now,” Lima said. “The support for young teams is growing and the younger players today benefit from backing that was unthinkable of a few years ago. All these dynamics can make the difference in a few years.”
While Lima still has many dreams in her career, like playing in the DELO EHF Champions League one day, one wish stands out.
“Without a doubt, the biggest dream I have is to qualify with the national team for a great competition, whether it is a World Championship or an EHF EURO,” Lima said.
So far, Portugal have featured at a major tournament only once _ at the EHF EURO 2008 in North Macedonia, where they finished 16th and last.
That, however, only happened after a miraculous escape in qualification.
Portugal looked down and out after losing the first leg of the play-offs in Poland by nine goals (37:28), but somehow managed to turn the tide by winning the return leg at home by an 11-goal margin: 35:24.
Lima certainly wouldn’t mind if Portugal could create such upset again in the upcoming qualifiers.