Handball Bundesliga
As of: June 22, 2026 2:10 p.m
No title, sixth place in the table and missing the European Cup for the first time in 33 years: the German handball record champion THW Kiel reacted to the sporting decline and released coach Filip Jicha on Monday. According to NDR information, Börge Lund will be his successor.
The THW officials gave themselves two weeks after the last match day to analyze the situation. Last Saturday they first informed Jicha and then the players and staff about the coach’s release. After seven years, this marks the end of the collaboration between the Kiel handball Bundesliga team and the Czech, who will be able to say goodbye again in the Ostseehalle at the beginning of the season.
“He can leave the stage with his head held high,” said Viktor Szilagyi. It was a difficult human decision, “but the THW needs a fresh start,” said the managing director.
Former THW professional Börge Lund is the top candidate
The separation does not come as a surprise. The “Zebras” have had a messed up season; in the second half of the season they often did not achieve the expected successes against teams from the bottom half of the table. Defeats in Stuttgart and Minden as well as draws against Eisenach and Leipzig with a meager record of just 17 wins in 34 games do not fit the self-image of the Schleswig-Holstein club, which is used to success.
Former THW professional Börge Lund is considered the top candidate to succeed Jicha. The 47-year-old Norwegian has been training the top Norwegian club Elverum Handball since 2020. Between 2007 and 2010, Lund wore the Kiel jersey as a player.
Six titles in seven years under Jicha
The 44-year-old Czech took over the position as coach at THW in 2019 from current national coach Alfred Gislason, for whom he had previously been an assistant coach. Under him as head coach, the team triumphed once in the Champions League (2020), became German champions three times (2020, 2021, 2023) and won the DHB Cup twice (2022, 2025). It was only in October that the club extended Jicha’s contract, which originally expired at the end of the season, until 2028.
As a player, the former world handball player won the German championship seven times, the Champions League twice and the DHB Cup five times with the club between 2007 and 2015.
Economic pressure from missing the Champions League
The economic pressure has increased for the record champions due to the disappointing performance last season. Because the squad – Julian Köster and Domen Makuc are coming for the new season – was put together not only for the Bundesliga and DHB Cup, but also for the Champions League. However, the Schleswig-Holstein team missed the premier class for the third time in a row last season. It wasn’t even enough for the consolation of reaching the moderately lucrative European League.
The former chairman of the supervisory board, Marc Weinstock, had already pointed out at the end of last season that missing the Champions League would lead to significantly lower income. In addition, the sporting gap to the competition has continued to grow – 22 points are missing from champions SC Magdeburg.
At THW Kiel, the doubts in the analysis were greater than the belief that there could be an upward trend again under Jicha.
