Clap for Italy
Handball European Championship: debacle for German coach Hanning
Updated on 01/17/2026 – 09:21 amReading time: 1 min.
The German coach of the Italian handball players made a mistake at the European Championships. Bob Hanning’s team lost heavily against Iceland.
Bob Hanning received a heavy slap in his first European Championship appearance as Italian national coach. The partially overwhelmed Azzurri, who are competing in a European Handball Championship for the first time since 1998, were literally overwhelmed by Iceland at the start of the preliminary round and went down 26:39 (12:21). Many experts consider the Icelanders to be medal candidates.
The former DHB vice-president Hanning, who is also managing director of the German champions Füchse Berlin, took over the Italians last year. The aim is to make the team a permanent guest on the international stage again and to make the sport more popular in our own country.
The Italians’ other opponents are Hungary on Sunday and Poland on Tuesday. Only the best two teams in each preliminary group qualify for the main round. Hanning had announced the second phase of the tournament as his goal – even if the southern Europeans were outsiders.
Things went much better for top favorite Denmark. The Olympic champion and world champion handball player Mathias Gidsel won his opening game against North Macedonia 36:24. If both teams qualify, the Danes could face Germany in the main round. The co-hosts have been waiting for a European Championship title since 2012.
