For 18 long years Algerian handball had to wait for this success: After having won the Men’s African Championship the last time in 1996, in January 2014 they could celebrate a triumph on home soil. In front of almost 10,000 enthusiastic fans in the capital Algiers, Algeria won the final of the continental championship and stole the crown of defending champion Tunisia, who lost with a score of 21:25. Previously Algeria had shown its superiority in the preliminary round and also in the semi-finals, where they won against Angola with a score of 27:23. Coach Rida Zegueli had prepared the team perfectly but had to take some bad news after the celebrations (in total 7th title in Africa): At the age of 36, team captain Hichem Boudrali ended his career after the success at the African Championship – knowing full well that the team could count on younger players who want to stand for success on international level. Many Algerians raised their level by playing in the French league – and thus raise the level of the national team. But one player stands out: Goalkeeper Slahdji Abdelmarek, an excellent support, not only during the African Championship. At the WCh in Spain, Algeria narrowly missed the eighth-finals, in comparison with Egypt, but could celebrate a victory at the President’s Cup for the first time in the history of the federation – and left teams such as Korea, Montenegro or Qatar behind. Now the Algerian team hopes to reach the knock-out stage in Qatar where a lot of Algerian fans are expected.

 

World Championship campaigns: 1982: 16., 1986: 16., 1990: 16., 1995: 13-16., 1997: 17., 1999: 15., 2001: 13., 2003: 18., 2005: 17., 2009: 19., 2011: 15., 2013: 17.

Olympic campaigns: 1980: 10., 1984: 12., 1988: 10., 1996: 10.

African Championship campaigns: 1976: SILVER, 1979: BRONZE, 1981: GOLD, 1983: GOLD, 1985: GOLD, 1987: GOLD, 1989: GOLD, 1991: SILVER, 1992: BRONZE, 1994: SILVER, 1996: GOLD, 1998: SILVER, 2000: SILVER, 2002: SILVER, 2004: 4., 2006: 6., 2008: BRONZE, 2010: BRONZE, 2012: SILVER, 2014: GOLD

Qualification for Qatar: African Champions

Coach: Rida Zegueli

Key players: Messaoud Berkous, Slahdji Abdelmarek