The IHF are pleased to announce the nominees for the World Coach of the Year 2018 award, with five leading coaches of either national or international club teams in the running for the award in each category: male team and female team.

A total of five nationalities are represented among the 10 candidates, with France enjoying the strongest showing – which is of little surprise considering that 2018 saw both senior national teams win medals at the European championship and two French sides contest the Men’s Champions League final.

The nominees for 2018 World Coach of the Year are:

 

Male teams

 

Jordi Ribera (ESP) – coach of Spain men’s national team

- Led Spain to their first ever European title in January 2018

 

Didier Dinart (FRA) – coach of France men’s national team

- Guided France to the EHF EURO 2018 bronze medal

 

Patrice Canayer (FRA) – coach of French club Montpellier HB

- Won his second Champions League title with Montpellier in May 2018

- First coach to win the Champions League after progressing from the lower-ranked preliminary Groups C/D

- Selected as the Champions League 2017/18 All-star Team coach

 

Kristjan Andresson (ISL) – coach of Sweden men’s national team

- Led Sweden back to the European championship final, winning their first medal (silver) in 16 years

- Achieved qualification for the 2019 World Championship

 

Thierry Anti (FRA) – coach of French club HBC Nantes

- Reached the Champions League final in Nantes’ second season in the top European competition

 

Female teams

Olivier Krumbholz (FRA) – coach of France women’s national team

- Led France to their first ever European title in December 2018

 

Ambros Martin (ESP) – coach of Romania women’s national team, coach of Hungarian club Györi Audi ETO KC up till end of 2017/18 season, now coach of Russian club Rostov-Don coach

- Won his fourth Champions League title with Györ in May 2018

- In December 2018, guided Romania to the European championship semi-finals for the first time since 2010 (fourth place)

- After his transfer over the summer, Martin’s new Champions League team Rostov-Don were undefeated until the end of the year

- One of few coaches to lead a top-level national team and a Champions League side

 

Helle Thomsen (DEN) – former coach of Netherlands women’s team (until end of December 2018)

- Guided the Netherlands to their second consecutive European championship semi-final, after first doing so in 2016

- Claimed the EHF EURO 2018 bronze medal with the Netherlands – her third straight European championship medal with two different teams (bronze with Sweden in 2014, silver with Netherlands in 2016)

- The only female coach at the Women’s EHF EURO 2018

- Led Romanian powerhouse club CSM Bucuresti up till the quarter-final stage

Ljubomir Obradovic (SRB) – coach of Serbia women’s national team

- Guided Serbia to 11th place at the Women’s EHF EURO 2018

Thorir Hergeirsson (ISL) – coach of Norway women’s national team

- Led Norway to fifth place at the Women’s EHF EURO 2018

In order to cast your vote, please click HERE. Voting closes on 21 May 2019.