Many people had written off the “golden generation” in 2013. After two gold medals at the Olympics (2008, 2012), World Championships (2009 and 2011) and European Championships (2006 and 2010) each, France disappointed at the 2012 ECh (11th place) and then for the first time since 2007 failed to reach the semi-finals at the 2013 WCh in Spain. But at the ECh in Denmark the team of the two-time IHF World Handball Coach of the Year, Claude Onesta, rose like a phoenix from the ashes. In a rarely shown dominance France went through the tournament without any problems and virtually crushed Denmark in the final. World star Nikola Karabatic was “revived” and thus France had the outstanding player, who quite rightly was awarded Most Valuable Player. Onesta did it again – but also initiated the smooth change of the “golden generation”. World stars such as former team captain Guillaume Gille or defence specialist Didier Dinart (nowadays assistant coach of Onesta) said “adieu” and ended their careers in the national team. But Onesta succeeded in integrating previously unknown talents such as Alix Nyokas or Valentin Porte, who showed an outstanding performance in the ECh semi-finals and final. Furthermore there are players like William Accambray or Cedric Sorhaindo who form the “middle generation” – and of course three former World Handball Players who have been representing quality “made in France” for more than a decade: goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, Karabatic and Daniel Narcisse. But the most important key player is yet the almost 40-year-old Jerome Fernandez, who had already been part of the national team in 2001 (like Omeyer) when France won the WCh. “Our team never has enough, no matter how many titles we have won. We are always hungry for trophies,” said Onesta describing the continuous motivation of his team, which has been called “the experts” by now. In Doha we can definitely count on the host of the 2017 World Championship.   

 

World Championship campaigns: 1954: 6., 1961: 8., 1970: 12., 1990: 9., 1993: SILVER, 1995: GOLD, 1997: BRONZE, 1999: 6., 2001: GOLD, 2003: BRONZE, 2005: BRONZE, 2007: 4., 2009: GOLD, 2011: GOLD, 2013: 6.

Olympic campaigns: 1992: BRONZE, 1996: 4., 2000. 6., 2004: 5., 2008: GOLD, 2012: GOLD

European Championship campaigns: 1994: 6., 1996: 7., 1998: 7., 2000: 4., 2002: 6., 2004: 6., 2006: GOLD, 2008: BRONZE, 2010: GOLD, 2012: 11., 2014: GOLD

Qualification for Qatar: European Champion

Coach: Claude Onesta

Key players: Thierry Omeyer, Nikola Karabatic