Slovenia became a member of the International and European Handball Federations after declaring independence in 1991. With over eleven thousand registered players, the handball clubs of Slovenia have successfully participated in the European Cup competitions and quite a few of the national team players come from the very successful Champions League club Celje Pivovarna Lasko.
The national team of Slovenia started to participate in international competitions on a gradual basis. The first medal to come back to Slovenia was the bronze medal taken at the Mediterranean Games in 1993. The biggest success for the national team came in 2004, when Slovenia played host to EHF Euro 2004 and the team took the silver medal on home soil. The national team of Slovenia are thrilled to, once again, be part of this top event, having being part of every EHF Euro bar one. Although they have not managed to recapture their former glory of 2004, the national team is looking forward to each and every match.
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THE COACH
Zvonimir Serdarusic
Zvonimir "Noka" Serdarušić was born in Bosnia Herzegovina and is a former national team player who played for the national team of the former Yugoslavia and participated in the 1976 Olympiad playing all matches and scoring 17 goals. He is one of the best handball managers in the world; nevertheless, making his name in the game was not without tribulation. His playing career spanned 14 years and in this time he played for Bosna Sarajevo, though most of his time as a player was spent in Germany playing for the likes of THW Kiel and Reinickendorfer Fuchse Berlin.
It was at this point that Serdarusic´s career as a coach took off with the team Velez Mostar in the former Yugoslavia, In 1989, he returned to Germany and coached VfL Bad Schwartau, before moving on to SG Flensburg-Handewitt and most famously THW Kiel for approximately 15 years. In 2009, He said goodbye to Kiel and headed to Slovenia, for a new challenge coaching the men´s national team.
PAST PERFORMANCE
1994 | European Championship in Portugal | 10th Place |
1995 | World Championship in Iceland | 18th Place |
1996 | European Championship in Spain | 11th Place |
1996 | Olympic Games in Atlanta | Did Not Qualify |
1997 | World Championship in Japan | Did Not Qualify |
1998 | European Championship in Italy | Did Not Qualify |
1999 | World Championship in Egypt | Did Not Qualify |
2000 | European Championship in Croatia | 5th Place |
2000 | Olympic Games in Sydney | 8th Place |
2001 | World Championship in France | 17th Place |
2002 | European Championship in Sweden | 12th Place |
2003 | World Championship in Portugal | 11th Place |
2004 | European Championship in Slovenia | SILVER |
2004 | Olympic Games in Athens | 11th Place |
2005 | World Championship in Tunisia | 12th Place |
2006 | European Championship in Switzerland | 8th Place |
2007 | World Championship in Germany | 10th Place |
2008 | European Championship in Norway | 10th Place |
2008 | Olympic Games in Beijing | Did Not Qualify |
2009 | World Championship in Croatia | Did Not Qualify |
GETTING TO AUSTRIA
Slovenia qualified after ranking second in group five. During the qualification tournament, Slovenia suffered two defeats by Germany. Slovenia will meet Germany once again in the Preliminary Round in Innsbruck.
