Guðmundsson and Iceland part ways

The most successful coach in the history of the Iceland men's handball team, Guðmundur Þórður Guðmundsson, has ended his third stint on the bench of the European side by mutual agreement with the Icelandic Handball Association (HSI).

Gudmundsson had his first stint as the Iceland men's national team coach between 2001 and 2004, returning between 2008 and 2012, which produced the biggest-ever performances for the European side, finishing in second place at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and third place at the EHF EURO 2010.

He returned to the bench of the Iceland men's national team in 2018, taking over a new and exciting generation that showed plenty of promise.

"When Guðmundur took over the national team for the third time in 2018, the goal was to bring the national team back to the forefront, to be among the eight best national teams in the world. At the European Championship 2022 in Hungary, that goal was achieved when the team finished in 6th place," said the HSI in a statement.

However, the last edition of the IHF Men's World Championship in Poland and Sweden saw the Iceland side finish in 12th place, which was simply disappointing for the head coach, who spent 14 years on the bench of the Iceland national team.
Guðmundsson is the only coach in the history of Icelandic handball who has won a medal at a major tournament with the Icelandic men's national handball team.

"He is also the only handball coach in history who has led the national team of two different nations to the finals of the Olympic Games, the Iceland national team that won the silver medal. On behalf of HSÍ, we would like to thank Guðmundi for a very well done job as national team coach of the Icelandic men's national handball team over a period spanning 22 years," added the HSI's statement.