Saint-Raphaël Var Handball, is a

team 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 ...

club from

Saint-Raphaël, Var Saint-Raphaël (; oc, Sant Rafèu ) is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern France. In 2017, it had a population of 35,042. Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies a larger and older town, F ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, that plays in the

LNH Division 1 LNH Division 1, doing business as Starligue and currently known as Liqui Moly Starligue for sponsorship reasons, is the premier men's professional handball league in France. It is administered by the Ligue Nationale de Handball, under delegatio ...

. Saint-Raphaël Var handball, or SRVHB, is a French handball club based in Saint-Raphael in the Var region, founded in 1963. The first team has been playing in Division 1 since the 2007–2008 season and has been coached since 2019 by Rareș Fortuneanu assisted by Wissem Hmam, both former players of the club. Even if the club has not won a title apart of the French D2 Championship in 2007, it has accumulated places of honor including a French runner-up title in 2016, three League Cup finals, a Champions Trophy final in 2015 and an EHF European Cup (C3) final in 2018.

History

The original club was founded in 1959. It was after the disaster of the Malpasset dam in Frejus on 2 December 1959 that the leaders of the two cities merged the volleyball sections of the football clubs of the two cities, the Etoile Sportive Fréjussienne and the Stade Raphaélois to create the Association Sportive Fréjus Saint-Raphaël, commonly known as ASFSR. It was in 1963, at the initiative of René Cenni, that the handball section was born. Marcel Tafani was then appointed president of the section. In 1971, the handball section created a women's team and found a home in a sports hall inaugurated on 7 November 1972 during a match against Draguignan: the Esterel sports hall. In 1974, the town of Fréjus created the AMSLF. The Raphael section, freshly promoted to National 3, was destabilized by the loss of many elements and went down to the regional championship the following year. Three years later, in 1977, the club lost its inter-municipal status. It lost its "F" and became A. S. S. R. for Association Sportive Saint-Raphaël. Over time, the club grew and evolved. It reached the National 3 level in 1983, National 2 in 1992 and National 1 in 1994. In 1995, the section separated from the communal club and the club was created under the name Saint-Raphaël Var Handball. The club finally reached the elite in 2004 but was relegated the following season to D2. The Palais des sports Jean-François-Krakowski was inaugurated in 2005 during a gala match against Chambéry. The club returned to the LNH two years later, in 2007, after winning the D2 championship. Since his return in elite, coach Christian Gaudin has made the club one of the best in France, finishing 4th in 2010 and 2011 and 3rd in 2012. The club also reached the League Cup final three times (2010, 2012 and 2014), losing three times to Montpellier AHB. On March 18, 2014, the club's president announced, a year in advance, the end of Christian Gaudin's contract. He was replaced by Joël da Silva, from Toulouse, who allowed the club to reach a new level by returning to 3rd place in 2015 and becoming vice-champion of France in 2016. Under his orders, the club also reached the final of the EHF European Cup in 2018. With his contract set to expire in June 2019, Joel Da Silva has been replaced by his assistant Rareș Fortuneanu as coach. The former Romanian international, who played for Saint-Raphaël, has been assistant coach for the last 4 seasons. His assistant, Wissem Hmam also knew the SRVHB as a player. In October 2020, Jean-François Krakowski decided to retire after 33 years at the head of the club and was replaced by Emmanuel Murzereau.

Prize list

Season by season review (from 2001)

European record

Evolution of the SRVHB budget

Current squad

Squad of 2022-2023 season

;Goalkeepers * 1

Vincent Gérard Vincent Gérard (born 16 December 1986) is a French professional handball player for Istres Provence Handball and the French national team. In the 2020 Olympics he was selected into the All-Star Team. Club career Gérard began playing handb ...

* 16 Mickaël Robin ;Wingers ;LW * 20

Raphaël Caucheteux Raphaël Caucheteux (born 9 May 1985) is a French handball player for Saint-Raphaël Var Handball and the French national team. He was part of the French team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 European Men's Handball Championship Th ...

* 97 Drevy Paschal ;RW * 10 Martial Caïs * 24 Arthur Vigneron ;Line players * 8 Jonathan Mapu * 36 Johannes Marescot ;Back players ;LB * 15 Nik Henigman * 17

Benjamin Bataille Benjamin Bataille (born 25 July 1992) is a French handball player who plays for Saint-Raphaël Var. References External links Benjamin Batailleat European Handball Federation Benjamin Batailleat Ligue nationale de handball The Ligue Nationale ...

;CB * 5 Mihailo Vojinovic * 9 Chema Márquez * 28 Sergio Pérez Manzanares ;RB * 19 Benjamin Hallgren * 32

Adrien Dipanda Adrien Dipanda (born 3 May 1988) is a French handball player for Saint-Raphaël and the French national team. He participated in the 2016 European Men's Handball Championship and 2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR te ...

( c)

Transfers

:''Transfers for the 2023–24 season'' ;Joining ;Leaving *

(GK) ''(to

THW Kiel THW Kiel is a handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 22 titles. 2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed the treble, win ...

)''

Club-related players

In '' 'bold' '', players currently at the club. * Aurélien Abily : from 2009 to 2018. *

Arnór Atlason Arnór Atlason (born 23 July 1984) is an Icelandic retired handball player and the current assistant coach of Aalborg Håndbold. Career Arnór proved to be one of the best players in his position during the 2008 Olympics, scoring 4 goals agains ...

: from 2013 to 2016. *

Xavier Barachet Xavier Barachet (born 19 November 1988) is a French handball player, two-time World champion and European champion with the French national team. Since 2006 he plays for Saint-Raphaël Var Handball in the Ligue Nationale de Handball. On 1 Janua ...

: from 2013 to 2014 since 2017. * Johan Boisedu : from 2007 to 2010. *

: since 2007. *

: since 2012. * Slaviša Đukanović : from 2007 to 2017. * Dan Rares Fortuneanu : from 2004 to 2013. * Christian Gaudin : from 2003 to 2006. *

Wissem Hmam Wissem is a unisex Arabic given name. Notable people with the name include: * Wissem Hmam (born 1981), Tunisian handball player * Wissem Hosni (born 1985), Tunisian long-distance runner * Wissem Ben Yahia Wissem Ben Yahia (born 9 September 1984 ...

: from 2014 to 2018. * David Juříček : from 2011 to 2013. *

Miroslav Jurka Miroslav Jurka (born 7 June 1987) is a Czech 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 ...

: from 2013 to 2019. * Nicolas Krakowski : from 2007 to 2021. * Geoffroy Krantz : from 2011 to 2018. * Alexander Lynggaard : from 2013 to 2020. *

Heykel Megannem Heykel Megannem (born 28 February 1977) is a Tunisian handball player who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics tournament where Tunisia lost in the quarterfinals. He was also the flag bearer of the Tunisia sports team at the 2012 Summer Olympics ...

: from 2009 to March 2013. * Nicolas Moretti : from 2007 to 2013. *

Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...

: from 2013 to 2015. * Yohann Ploquin : from 2009 to 2013. *

Mihai Popescu Mihai Popescu (born 15 March 1985 in Găești) is a Romanian handballer who plays for French team Saint-Raphaël Var Handball and the Romanian national team. He was given the award of ''Cetățean de onoare'' ("Honorary Citizen") of his home ...

: since 2016. *

Daniel Sarmiento Melián Daniel Sarmiento Melián (born 25 August 1983) is a Spanish retired handballer, who last played for Wisła Płock Wisła Płock Spółka Akcyjna (''Wisła Płock S.A.''), commonly referred to as Wisła Płock (), is a Polish professional ...

: since 2016. * Alexandru Șimicu : since 2015. * Jan Stehlík : from 2009 to 2017. * Arthur Vigneron : since 2012.

Individual distinctions

Top scorers in the history of SRVHB in the league

In '' 'bold' '', players currently at the club. - ‘'updated on April 30, 2020'' -

Gallery

Players

Joël Da Silva et ses joueurs-20160323.jpg , Joël da Silva and his players during a timeout. Slaviša Ðukanovic-20160323 5.jpg , Slaviša Đukanović, last bulwark of defense. Wissem Hmam avec Alexander Lynggaard-20160323.jpg ,

and Alexander Lynggaard. Arnór Atlason-20160323 3.jpg ,

and Alexandru Șimicu.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Raphael Var Handball French handball clubs Sport in Var (department)