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Alfreð Gíslason

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This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Alfreð.

Alfreð Gíslason
Alfreð Gíslason in 2024
Personal information
Born (1959-09-07) 7 September 1959 (age 65)
Akureyri, Iceland
Nationality Icelandic
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Left back
Club information
Current club Germany (manager)
Senior clubs
Years Team
0000–1980
 KA
1980–1983
 KR
1983–1988
 TUSEM Essen
1988–1989
 KR
1989–1991
 Bidasoa Irún
1991–1995
 KA
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
 Iceland 190 (542)
Teams managed
1991–1997
 KA (coach-player)
1997–1999
 VfL Hameln
1999–2006
 SC Magdeburg
2006–2008
 Iceland
2006–2008
 VfL Gummersbach
2008–2019
 THW Kiel
2020–
 Germany
Medal record
Men's handball
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Coach

Alfreð Gíslason (born 7 September 1959)[1] is an Icelandic handball coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the German men's national team. He won titles in Iceland, Germany and Spain as a player before starting his coaching career in 1991 with Icelandic team KA as a player-coach. He later coached German club SC Magdeburg, where he won the Bundesliga and the EHF Champions League, the Icelandic men's national team and German club THW Kiel, where he won six Bundesliga, six DHB-Pokal and two EHF Champions League titles.[2][3] Alfreð was the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1989 and inducted into the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland Hall of Fame in 2019.[4][2]

Club career

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Alfreð began his senior handball career at local club KA.[5] In 1980, he transferred to fellow Icelandic team KR, where he spent three years and won the Icelandic Cup in 1982, before moving to German club TUSEM Essen in 1983.[6][7] Alfreð won the Bundesliga in 1986 and 1987, and the DHB-Pokal in 1988 with the team.[8] He returned to KR in 1988 for one season and later joined Spanish club Bidasosa Irún in 1989, where he won the Copa del Rey during a two-year stint.[9][10] He returned to KA in 1991 as a player-coach and won the Icelandic Cup in his last season as a player.[5] Alfreð retired after the 1995 season.

International career

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Alfreð was capped 190 times and scored 542 goals for the Icelandic national handball team.[6] He competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics, where Iceland placed sixth and eight respectively.

Coaching career

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Alfreð began his coaching career as a player-coach for Icelandic club KA upon his transfer to the club in 1991.[5] He won the Icelandic Cup in his last season as a player in 1995 and went on to win the cup a second time in the following season, in addition to the Icelandic League Cup.[5] Alfreð won the Icelandic Championships in 1997 and became the coach of German club VfL Hameln that same year.[5][8] In 1999, he joined Bundesliga team SC Magdeburg, where he won the league, the DHB-Supercup, the EHF Cup and the EHF Supercup in 2001.[4] The team won the EHF Champions League and the EHF Supercup in the following season.[11] From 2006 to 2008, he coached both the Icelandic men's national team and German club VfL Gummersbach.[12] He led the Icelandic national team at the 2007 World Championship and the 2008 European Championship.[6]

Alfreð with Iceland in 1989

Alfreð became the coach of German club THW Kiel in 2008.[13] He led the team to six Bundesliga and DHB-Pokal titles each, five DHB-Supercup titles, two EHF Champions League titles, and one EHF Cup and IHF Super Globe title each across eleven seasons with the club, in addition to becoming the first coach to win the EHF Champions League with two different teams.[4][11][12][14]

In 2020, Alfreð became the coach of the German men's national team and led the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2020 European Championship.[15][16] The national team placed sixth at the 2020 Summer Olympics and twelfth at the 2021 World Championship. At the 2022 European Championship, Germany finished seventh, and placed fifth at the 2023 World Championship. Alfreð led the national team to a fourth-place finish at the 2024 European Championship in Germany and won the silver medal in the men's handball tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[17][18]

Personal life

[edit]

Alfreð was married to Kara Guðrún Melstað until her death on 31 May 2021.[19]

Honours

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Player

[edit]

KR

TUSEM Essen

Bidasosa Irún

KA

  • Icelandic Cup: 1995

Individual

Manager

[edit]

KA

SC Magdeburg

THW Kiel

Individual

  • Bundesliga Coach of the Season: 2002, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2019
  • German Handball Coach of the Year: 2001, 2009, 2011, 2012
  • Icelandic Coach of the Year: 2012

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alfreð Gíslason". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (28 December 2019). "Alfreð tekinn inn í Heiðurshöll ÍSÍ". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Alfred Gislason". THW Kiel. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (7 September 2019). "Alfreð Gíslason sextugur í dag – Þáttur um ferilinn á Stöð 2 Sport". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Alfreð Gíslason gerður að heiðursfélaga KA". Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Alfreð Gíslason í Heiðurshöll ÍSÍ". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 28 December 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  7. ^ Lelgemann, Thomas (15 January 2023). "Handball-Bundestrainer Alfred Gislason: "Ich habe Klaus Schorn viel zu verdanken"". Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Alfred Gislason – der Gegenentwurf zu seinem Vorgänger". Stuttgarter Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  9. ^ Olazabal, Borja (5 April 2016). "Alfred Gislason no olvida al Bidasoa". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  10. ^ "El exjugador del Bidasoa Irun y actual seleccionador de Alemania Alfred Gislason recibe amenazas xenófobas". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 17 March 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Alfred Gislason extends his stay in Kiel". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  12. ^ a b ""DANKE ALFRED": Spectacular farewell game for Alfred Gislason in Kiel". Handball Planet. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Icelandic Handball Coach Recruited by Kiel". Iceland Review. 1 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  14. ^ "The Era Gislason". Stregspiller. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Alfred Gislason is new German NT coach". Handball Planet. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Spain take second straight European title". International Handball Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  17. ^ Gahan, Courtney (8 January 2024). "Palicka leads Sweden to bronze". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Olympics: Germany lose to Denmark in men's handball final". dw.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  19. ^ Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (3 September 2021). "Alfreð tjáir sig í fyrsta sinn um fráfall eiginkonu sinnar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 September 2021.
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