Paris Saint-Germain Handball

Paris Saint-Germain

Full name	Paris Saint-Germain Handball
Short name	PSG, Paris SG
Founded	1941 (1941)
Ground	Stade Pierre de Coubertin
Ground Capacity	3,402
Owner	Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi)
President	Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Manager	Zvonimir Serdarušić
League	LNH Division 1
2015–16	LNH Division 1, 1st
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of Paris Saint-Germain
Football (Men's)	Football (Youth Men's)	Football (Women's)
Handball (Men's)	eSports

Paris Saint-Germain Handball, commonly known as Paris Saint-Germain (French pronunciation: ​[paʁi sɛ̃ ʒɛʁmɛ̃]) and familiarly as PSG or Paris SG, is a French professional handball club founded in 1941, and based in the city of Paris in France. The club is the handball department of Paris Saint-Germain.^[1]

PSG's first team play in the highest tier of French handball, the LNH Division 1.^[1] The Stade Pierre de Coubertin is their home ground. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 3,402 spectators, is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, only a few hundred meters from the Parc des Princes.^[2]

Initially called Patriotes d'Asnières (1941–1942), the club has gone through several name changes: Asnières Sports (1942–1987), Paris-Racing-Asnières (1987–1988), Paris-Asnières (1988–1992), PSG-Asnières (1992–2002), and Paris Handball (2002–2012). After being bought by Paris Saint-Germain owners Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) in 2012, the club became Paris Saint-Germain Handball.^[1]

Since its inception, the club has won 13 titles. Domestically, Paris SG has clinched four LNH Division 1 titles, three French Cups, one French League Cup, a record three French Super Cups and two LNH Division 2 titles. In international club handball, the capital side finished runners-up in the 2016–17 edition of the EHF Champions League.^[1]

History

First titles (1941–2012)

The Parisian club was founded in 1941. Initially, it took the name of Patriotes d'Asnières before becoming Asnières Sports one year later. Asnières Sports was presided by Christian Picard, whose son Gérard Picard took over during the 1975–1976 season and remained president until 2003.^[1]

In 1987, the club's management succeeded in convincing the Paris City Council to partner Asnières Sports and create a major handball team in the capital. This resulted in the Hauts-de-Seine team moving to Paris and being renamed Paris-Racing-Asnières then Paris-Asnières. Relegated in 1989, Paris-Asnières immediately bounced back to the top flight in 1990 after winning the D2 title. At the time, the club's most notable players were future French internationals Jackson Richardson and Patrick Cazal.^[1]

In 1992, the club came under the management of Paris Saint-Germain Omnisport, a partnership that lasted 10 years. This led to another name change, and Paris-Asnières became PSG-Asnières. PSG-Asnières finished second in the LNH Division 1 during the 1995–96 season and then reached the French Cup final in 2001, losing to Montpellier.^[1]

During that time, PSG-Asnières managed to attract several international players such as Stéphane Stoecklin, Denis Lathoud, Gaël Monthurel, Nenad Peruničić and Olivier Girault. The latter set up home in Paris in 1999, playing for the club until 2008 and then coaching the team until 2011.^[1]

Under yet another name, Paris Handball began 2002 with new club owner Louis Nicollin. During the next decade, the club played in the EHF Champions League during the 2005–06 season, and won its first major trophy in 2007 with star player Kévynn Nyokas. Paris Handball registered a 28-21 win in the French Cup final over Pays d'Aix.^[1]

But there were tough times too. At the end of the 2008–09 season, the club was relegated to Division 2. Fortunately, Paris Handball won the LNH Division 2 the very next season and rejoined the top clubs. In 2012, the team narrowly avoided relegation in the last round of play.^[1]

Domestic dominance (2012–)

After being bought by Paris Saint-Germain owners Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) in 2012, the club became Paris Saint-Germain Handball. Under the initiative of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a new management and playing team was assembled. Jean-Claude Blanc was named General Manager; Philippe Gardent signed as first-team manager; and a host of international stars arrived at the French capital, including Didier Dinart, Luc Abalo, Samuel Honrubia, Mikkel Hansen, José Manuel Sierra and Antonio García.^[1]

In the 2012–13 season, PSG Handball claimed their maiden league success, which also meant the club secured a spot in the EHF Champions League. However, PSG were denied the double by Montpellier in the French Cup final.^[1]

Big-name signings kept coming in the 2013–14 season with the arrivals of Daniel Narcisse, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Fahrudin Melić and Gábor Császár. PSG reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history, but failed to keep up the pace with Dunkerque in the league. Despite this, the season finished on a high note, thanks to a victory in the French Cup final against Chambéry, adding a second national cup trophy to the club's honours.^[1]

In the 2014–15 season, new manager Zvonimir Serdarušić and star signing Nikola Karabatić led the capital club to its second league title following a nail-biting battle for top spot against Montpellier. PSG claimed the trophy on the last day of the season, after a win over Tremblay. The league crown rounded off a domestic treble, going alongside the French Cup and the French Super Cup that they had won after beating Nantes and Dunkerque, respectively. On the European stage, PSG's hopes were dashed, for a second time, by Veszprém in the Champions League semifinals.^[1]

PSG continued its winning ways in the 2015–16 season by claiming a second French Super Cup and a third league title. However, the crowning moment was reaching the Champions League Final4 for the first time in its history. Along the way, the club downed THW Kiel at the Sparkassen-Arena, where the German side had been undefeated for four years; topped its group for the first time ever; and trumped Kiel in the third-place play-off. Additionally, Mikkel Hansen set a new record for goals in a Champions League season, with no fewer than 141 strikes to his name.^[1]

Honours

National titles

• LNH Division 1 ^[3]
  • Winners (4): 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

• LNH Division 2 ^[4]
  • Winners (2): 1989–90, 2009–10

• Coupe de France ^[5]
  • Winners (3): 2006–07, 2013–14, 2014–15

• Coupe de la Ligue ^[3]
  • Winners (1): 2016–17

• Trophée des Champions ^[3]
  • Winners (3) – Record: 2014, 2015, 2016

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	1st leg	2nd leg	Aggregate
2016–17	EHF Champions League	Group Stage	Barcelona	33–26	32–35	2nd place
			MVM Veszprém	28–24	29–28
			Flensburg-Handewitt	27–22	34–33
			THW Kiel	42–24	27–28
			Bjerringbro-Silkeborg	32–27	36–30
			Wisła Płock	33–30	29–25
			Kadetten Schaffhausen	34–26	35–25
		1/8	HBC Nantes	26–26	35–27	61–53
		1/4	Pick Szeged	30–27	27–27	60–57
		1/2	MVM Veszprém KC	27-26	-	27-26
		Final	RK Vardar Skopje	23-24	-	23-24

Players

First-team squad

As of the 2017–18 season.^[6]

Transfers

Transfers for the 2017–18 season.

Transfers for the 2019–20 season.

Notable players

Player Position Paris Saint-Germain Nikola Karabatić CB 2015– Daniel Narcisse CB 2013– Mikkel Hansen LB 2012– Luc Abalo RW 2012– Fahrudin Melić RW 2013–2016 Igor Vori P 2013–2016 Gábor Császár CB 2013–2015 Jakov Gojun LB 2013–2015 Samuel Honrubia LW 2012–2016 Antonio García Robledo LB 2012–2014 José Manuel Sierra GK 2012–2014 Didier Dinart P 2012–2013 Kévynn Nyokas RB 2006–2009 2011–2012 Olivier Girault LW 1999–2008 Gaël Monthurel P 1995–1998 Denis Lathoud LB 1994–1996 Stéphane Stoecklin RB 1994–1996 Nenad Peruničić LB 1993–1994 Patrick Cazal RB 1989–1994 Jackson Richardson CB 1989–1991

Youth system

In the past, some of the greatest players in French handball have gone through PSG's youth system, including Jackson Richardson, Patrick Cazal, Bernard Latchimy and Christophe Kempé. Today, academy graduates Jeffrey M'Tima, Benoît Kounkoud and Dylan Garain are all part of the club's first team. The latter two were also crowned world champions with the French national U19 team in 2015. Others, such as French internationals Nicolas Claire and Kévynn Nyokas, now play for other top clubs.^[7]

Reserve team

As of the 2016–17 season.^[8][7]

Notable graduates

Player Position Paris Saint-Germain Dylan Garain LB 2015– Benoît Kounkoud RW 2014– Jeffrey M'Tima LW 2011– Kévynn Nyokas RB 2006–2009 2011–2012 Nicolas Claire CB 2005–2013 Christophe Kempé P 1992–1995 Bernard Latchimy RB 1989–1997 1998–2001 Patrick Cazal RB 1989–1994 Jackson Richardson CB 1989–1991

Club officials

President	Nasser Al-Khelaifi
General Manager	Jean-Claude Blanc
First-team manager	Zvonimir Serdarušić
Assistant manager	Staffan Olsson
Physical trainer	Arthur Yapo
Video analyst	Salim Belmessaoud
Technical coordinator	Thierry Perreux
Logistics manager	Abdoul Diop
Head doctor	Régis Boxelé
Physiotherapist	Jonas Ullrich
Osteopaths	Nicolas Fayet Christophe Dubois
Academy director	Maxime Spincer
Reserve team manager	Romuald Notari
Academy staff [7]	Madiemba Sylla Mario Danial Jean-Loup Forat Denis Peschaud

Source: PSG Handball

Presidents

No.	President	Paris Saint-Germain	Honours
				1	Christian Picard	1941–1975
2	Gérard Picard	1975–2003	LNH Division 2 (2)
3	Jean-Claude Lemoult	2003–2009	Coupe de France (1)
4	Jean-Paul Onillon	2009–2012
5	Nasser Al-Khelaifi	2012–	LNH Division 1 (3) Coupe de France (2) Coupe de la Ligue (1) Trophée des Champions (3)

Managers

No.	Manager	Paris Saint-Germain	Honours
				1	Patrice Canayer	1990–1994
2	Risto Magdinčev	1994–1997
3	Nicolas Cochery	1997–2000
4	Boro Golić	2000–2003
5	Maxime Spincer	2003–2004 2011
6	Thierry Anti	2004–2008	Coupe de France (1)
7	Olivier Girault	2008–2011	LNH Division 2 (1)
8	François Berthier	2011–2012
9	Philippe Gardent	2012–2015	LNH Division 1 (2) Coupe de France (2) Trophée des Champions (1)
10	Zvonimir Serdarušić	2015–	LNH Division 1 (2) Coupe de la Ligue (1) Trophée des Champions (2)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paris Saint-Germain HB.

• PSG Handball : site officiel
• Paris Saint-Germain Handball - LNH
• Paris Saint-Germain Handball - EHF