Iker Romero will be the new handball team boss: a restart for Austria!

Iker Romero will be the new handball team boss: a restart for Austria!

Wien, Österreich - From summer 2024, Iker Romero will be the new team boss of the Austrian handball men. The 44-year-old Spaniard follows Aleš Pajovič, who has successfully managed the team in the past six years. Romero was officially presented in Vienna in the House of the Sea and receives a contract for three years, in which he will continue to act as a coach of SG BBM Bietigheim. He says of his double function that he receives proven elements from the team, but also wants to implement a new system. He sees improvement and development potential in the team and is looking forward to the challenge.

Successful careers shape Romero's past. With 200 caps for Spain and numerous international medals, including a world championship title in 2005, he has gained a lot of experience. He was also able to win two Champions League titles with FC Barcelona, ​​which underpins his impressive career as a player. According to Kleine Zeitung , ÖHB President Markus Plazer has expressed his joy about the commitment of Romero. In addition, Pajovič will remain trainers until the last two European Championship qualification games 2026 before switching to his new club Flensburg-Handewitt.

The next challenges

One of the first major challenges for Romero will be the European Championship qualification, which is held in Turkey and Graz against Switzerland. The European Championship finals 2026 takes place in Scandinavia, where the Austrian team could compete under Romero's management on a large stage. Sports director Patrick Fölser emphasizes Romero's experience both as a player and as a trainer and is confident about his future work with the team, as in Krone

Romero, who has been working as a (co-) trainer since 2017 and has been training SG BBM Bietigheim since 2021, has recently led the club to the Bundesliga. His successor Pajovič was not involved in the selection of his successor; Sports director Fölser made the decision in coordination with the entire team of the ÖHB.

outlook for the future

Romero is convinced that he can make positive changes and finds that the team around Pajovič has already formed a strong unit. He is ready to make his contribution to the further development of Austrian handball. In view of the challenges that lie in front of the team, it is essential to create good prerequisites in order to be competitive at the EM 2026.

reminiscences to the international handball scene are not only awakened by Romero's obligation. Parallels are also shown in Italian handball: Bob Hanning, the national coach of Italy, faces similar challenges. Hanning, who also has a comprehensive experience in handball, will participate in the structure and development of Italian handball. He sees his commitment as motivating and strives to regularly qualify the Italian team for World Cup and EM tournaments, as in rbb24 Reading is.