Här är listorna på de som kan vinna pris som IHF WORLD COACH.
COACH OF THE YEAR – Men’s team
Christian Berge
The coach of Norway’s men’s team made everybody sit up and take notice when they made it to the semi-finals of the EHF EURO 2016 in Poland and thus achieved the best result of a Norwegian men’s team at a European championship ever. Even though the men’s team did not succeed in qualifying for Rio, it became obvious at France 2017, where they finished second, that the 43-year-old had done an excellent job in 2016.
Didier Dinart
Even though Didier Dinart’s time to shine as head coach of the French men’s team who won the 2017 World Championship on home ground, the 40-year-old took over the French team step by step in 2016 as assistant coach to Claude Onesta. After ranking fifth at the EHF EURO they succeeded in qualifying for Rio 2016 where France claimed the silver medal.
Gudmundur Gudmundsson
After the Danish men finished their Olympic Qualification Tournament on first place, the team of Gudmundur Gudmundsson travelled to Rio where they succeeded in not only claiming a medal but beating world champions France in the final. Thus, the 56-year-old Icelander led the Danish men’s team to the first Olympic gold medal in history.
Dagur Sigurdsson
2015 IHF Coach of the Year Dagur Sigurdsson could not have had a better start in 2016. The German team, coached by the 43-year-old Icelander, surprisingly won the EHF EURO 2016 and directly qualified for the Olympic Games where they claimed the bronze medal. Thus, in 2016 it became obvious that under Sigurdsson the Germans made their comeback and can be counted among the world’s top teams once again.
Veselin Vujovic
Veselin Vujovic and Slovenia had a rather rocky start in 2016. But after a disappointing EHF EURO 2016 campaign, the 56-year-old Montenegrin started over anew and made some substantial changes leading to Slovenia’s qualification for the 2016 Olympics, where they finished sixth. His consistent work in 2016 bore fruits in the beginning of 2017 at the World Championship in France where Slovenia’s men’s team could claim their first medal, finishing third. With RK Zagreb, his club team, he won the Croatian Championship and was able to cause some upsets in the EHF Champions League.
COACH OF THE YEAR – Women’s team
Thorir Hergeirsson
Four-time IHF Coach of the Year Thorir Hergeirsson (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015) made it on the list of nominees for the Coach of the Year award once again. After defending the world championship title in 2015, the next stop was Rio 2016 where hot favourites Norway claimed bronze. At the Women’s EHF EURO 2016 they showed their excellent qualities again and the 52-year-old Icelander could add another European Championship title to his long list of achievements after his team beat Netherlands in the final.
Olivier Krumbholz
In 2016, 58-year-old Frenchman Olivier Krumbholz took over the French women’s team who he led to the final of the 2016 Olympic Games to win silver. At the EHF EURO in December, France were thus among the medal favourites and did not disappoint, claiming the bronze medal. After mixed results in the past years, the Coach of the Year 2010 brought France back to the top.
Evgeniy Trefilov
In 2016, Russia’s women’s team travelled to Rio 2016 after finishing first at the Olympic Qualification Tournament III. 61-year-old Evgeniy Trefilov, who was voted Coach of the Year in 2009, saw his team then play an excellent Olympic tournament claiming the gold medal – unbeaten.
Kim Rasmussen
44-year-old Dane Kim Rasmussen took over CSM Bucuresti in 2015 and it is mostly thanks to his work with the club team that he is among the nominees. The season 2015/2016 could not have been better for the team from Romania, who won the Romanian Cup, the national championship and on top of that, for the first time the Women’s EHF Champions League.
Henk Groener
The Dutch women started strong in 2016, after they surprisingly claimed the silver medal at the 2015 Women’s World Championship, one of the successes that put 56-year-old Henk Groener in the focus of attention already at the last Coach of the Year contest. Unbeaten at Olympic Qualification Tournament I, Netherlands travelled to Rio full of confidence where they eventually finished fourth, losing the match for third place against reigning world champions Norway.