Former IHF CCM Lecturer Manuel Montoya Fernández passes away

The International Handball Federation has learnt with great sadness and sorrow of the passing of Manuel Montoya Fernández, a former IHF CCM Lecturer and a coach who helped the development of the Spanish men’s handball in the early 1990s and at the start of 2000s.

Montoya Fernández wrote history for Spanish club BM Granollers, being the architect of the back-to-back wins in the Men’s EHF Cup in 1995 and 1996, a period when the Spanish team was almost impossible to win against in the competition.

Afrer leaving Granollers in 1997, Montoya Fernandez also coached at Pilotes Posada Academia Octavio and Handbol Adrianenc, before returning to Granollers for a second stint between 2002 and 2007.

The coach also served as an assistant for Valero Rivera for eight years, first at Spain men’s national team, where he helped win the gold medal at the 2013 IHF Men’s World Championship and the bronze at the 2011 IHF Men’s World Championship, then for the Qatar men’s national team, where the pair won the silver medal at the 2015 IHF Men’s World Championship.

After leaving Qatar in 2018, Montoya Fernandez also served for less than a year as the Romania men’s national team coach, between 2018 and 2019, and also was the head coach of the men’s national team of the Islamic Republic of Iran between 2021 and 2022, retiring from handball after holding this position.

“A fantastic coach and an excellent person,” was the description posted by the Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM) about Montoya after his untimely passing at the age of only 64 years old.

The International Handball Federation would also like to express its condolences to the family and friends of Manuel Montoya Fernández in this difficult moment.