Aleksander Donner ( uk, Олександр Доннер, first name also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

as Oleksandar, Oleksander or Oleksandr); 1948 – 24 August 2013) was a Ukrainian

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, best known for his spell at Portuguese team ABC Braga (1991–2004). Donner is considered the most accomplished coach in Portuguese handball and is credited with the success of growing the nation's handball in the 1990s.

Career

Donner's career started in the 1980s when, as a player in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

's "CKA" and

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

's "Zari," he helped Vladimir Gladchencko build famed Astrakhan's "Dinamo".Umer Aleksander Donner
. Handball Federation of Russia (in Russian). 25 August 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2014. Before signing for ABC Braga in Portugal, Donner was the assistant coach of the Russia national team, whose main coach at the time, Vlatschenko, recommended him to the board of directors of the Portuguese team. Donner left Russia for Portugal in 1992. At ABC Braga, Donner won 8 league titles, 7 Portuguese Cups, 5 Super Cups and 1 Portuguese League Opening Cup. Under his guidance, in 1993–94, ABC Braga reached the final of

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...

but lost to Spanish team Teka Cantabria. From 1996 to 2000, Donner coached the Portugal national team. After leaving ABC Braga, he coached another Portuguese league teams, such as

Madeira Andebol SAD Madeira Andebol S.A.D., known until 1998 as Academico Funchal, is a Portuguese handball club from Funchal. Its women's team has won the national championship a record 15 times since 1994, and it is a regular in the EHF Cup and Cup Winners' Cup's ...

and Benfica. Overall, teams coached by Donner gained eleven championship titles.

Death

Donner died of a heart attack on 24 August 2013, in

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

, at the age of 65.

References

1948 births 2013 deaths Sportspeople from Lviv Ukraine articles needing attention Ukrainian handball coaches Handball coaches of international teams S.L. Benfica (handball) coaches Ukrainian male handball players Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal {{Ukraine-handball-bio-stub