Alain Portes (born 31 October 1961) is a French

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 ...

player and coach, who competed in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. He have formerly coached the Tunisian national team, France women's national team and Algerian national team.

Player career

Son of a former international handball player, he began handball in the club founded by his father before being spotted and recruited from the juniors by

USAM Nîmes Gard USAM Nîmes is a French team handball, handball team based in Nîmes, that plays in the LNH Division 1. Crest, colours, supporters Naming history Kit manufacturers Kits Results *LNH Division 1: **''Winners: (4)'' 1988, 1990, 1991 ...

. He spent his entire career there, winning four French championship titles and three French cups. He stopped his career in 1994 after a final vice-champion title, the club being demoted to the lower division following a bankruptcy. He had his first experience with the

France men's national handball team The France national handball team is supervised by the French Handball Federation, and represents France in international matches. It is the first handball team to have held all three titles twice (the Danish women' ...

in 1983 and participated in its long construction under the leadership of

Daniel Costantini Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

who led France from the bottom of Group C worldwide in the early 1980s to the top of the world hierarchy. For Alain Portes, this will translate into a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Coaching career

In 1995, he became a coach in the other Nîmes club, the women team of HBC Nîmes, with whom he won the first European title in the history of French women's handball, namely the 2001 Challenge Cup. In 2004, after 9 years at the head of the club, Alain Portes leaves the D1 to supervise the emerging Training Center. In 2006, he was chosen to take the reins of his former club,

. He managed to hoist the club in 5th place in 2007 and 2008, the two best results of the club since the title of vice-champion in 1994 in which he participated. In early June 2009, he signed a three-year contract with the Tunisian men's national team. After three weeks of preparation, he obtained with Tunisia the 3rd place at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

. In February 2010, he won the

African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship (french: Championnat d'Afrique des Nations; abbreviated as CHAN), known as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial African national association football tourname ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

by beating the Egyptian team in the final with a score of 24–21. Title which he kept two years later, having Algeria 23–20 in the final of the 2012 edition which allowed him to qualify for the

2012 Olympic games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Finally, at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he narrowly lost to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in the quarterfinals. He qualified with the Tunisian team to the round of 16 of the

2013 World Men's Handball Championship The 2013 World Men's Handball Championship was the 23rd World Men's Handball Championship, an international handball tournament that took place in Spain from 11 to 27 January 2013. This was the first time Spain hosted the World Men's Handball C ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

after a good performance by beating the team of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

25–23 in the first round. Alain Portes 20150319

On June 11, 2013, he took over from

Olivier Krumbholz Olivier Krumbholz (born 12 September 1958) is a French handball coach of German descent for the French women's national team. He brought the French team to victory at the 2003 World Women's Handball Championship in Croatia, and has later coached ...

at the head of the French women's team. With a team under reconstruction, he made an excellent start to the 2013 World Championship before losing in the quarterfinals against the Polish team. Subsequently, the French women stumble twice at the gates of the semi-final, either at Euro 2014 (5th place) or at the 2015 World Championship (7th place). In July 2017, he signed a 3-year contract as a coach with the Grand Besançon Doubs Handball. However, he put an end to it at the end of the 2017–2018 season primarily for personal reasons (his family stayed in the Gard) and not because of the poor results of the club. In December 2018, Alain Portes sets sail for the Arab world by signing until the end of the 2018–2019 season for the Qatari club

Al-Duhail SC Al-Duhail Sports Club ( ar, نادي الدحيل الرياضي), formerly Lekhwiya SC, is a Qatari sports club, best known for its football team, which plays in the Qatar Stars League. The club is based in the Duhail district in the city o ...

, defending champion and qualified for the

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

that he won. In May 2019, he was named coach of the Algerian national men's team. He managed to qualify for the 2021 world championship after obtaining the bronze medal at the 2020 African championship hosted by

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Player Honours

National Team Honours

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

: ** ''Bronze Medal'':

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Club Honours

* French League: ** ''Winners'': 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993 *

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

: ** ''Winners'': 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993

Coach Honours

National Team Honours

: ** ''Quarter-finals'':

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

African Men's Handball Championship The African Handball Nations Championship is the official competition for senior national handball teams of Africa, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the African champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tourname ...

: ** ''Winners'':

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

** ''Third Place'':

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

World Women's Handball Championship The IHF Women's Handball World Championship has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1957. European teams have won every time except 1995 where South Korea won as the first team outside Europe and 2013 where Brazil won ...

: ** ''Quarter-finals'':

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Club Honours

Women's EHF Challenge Cup The Women's EHF European Cup is an annual team handball competition for women's clubs of Europe. It was known as the EHF City Cup until the 1999–2000 season and the EHF Challenge Cup until the 2019–20 season. It is currently the third-tier com ...

: ** ''Winners'': 2001 *

: ** ''Winners'':

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Individual Honours

* Elected in 2002 the best French left winger of all time by the FFHB * Selected in the "Europe team" in January 1993

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portes, Alain 1961 births Living people French male handball players French handball coaches Olympic handball players for France Handball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in handball Sportspeople from Béziers Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Handball coaches of international teams