Saint-Raphaël Var Handball

Saint-Raphaël Var Handball, is a team handball club from Saint-Raphaël, Var, France, that plays in the LNH Division 1. 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 from 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, where they lost to German club Füchse Berlin. 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 2023-2024 season

Transfers

Transfers for the 2025–26 season

Club-related players

Individual distinctions

Top scorers in the history of SRVHB in the league

In 'bold', players currently at the club. Updated on April 30, 2020.

Other personalities linked to the club

In 'bold', players currently at the club.

Coaches

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Anić : coach from ? to 2004.
• France Rudy Bertsch : coach from 2004 to 2005.
• France Christian Gaudin : coach from 2005 to 2014.
• France Joël da Silva : coach from 2014 to 2019, assisted by Rareș Fortuneanu.
• Romania Rareș Fortuneanu : coach since 2019, assisted by Wissem Hmam.

List of presidents

• Marcel Tafani : 1963-1965
• Jacky Soler : 1965-1974 then 1976-1977
• Alain Sanchez : 1974-1976
• Maurice Odin : 1977-1984
• Guy Rivard : 1984-1987
• Jean-François Krakowski : 1987-2020
• Emmanuel Murzereau : since October 2020

Organigram of SRVHB

Saint-Raphaël Var Handball (SAOS)

• Director's office Chairman of the board : Emmanuel Murzereau Board of directors : Emmanuel Murzereau, Jean-Pierre Gaspari, Frédéric Tibéri, Alain Bessou and Pascal Bacchi General Manager : Émeric Paillasson Supervisory Board (12 members), chaired by Jean-François Saulay
• Technical staff Coach : Rareș Fortuneanu Assistant coach : Wissem Hmam Sports manager of the formation center : Romain Conte Logistics manager : Pierre Luhern
• Medical staff Club doctor : Dr Michel Ducasse Physiotherapist : Thomas Montagnon and Mickaël Joulin
• Association (Saint-Raphaël Var Handball Association) President : André Gongora Communication manager : Valentine Dumont-Musso
• Permanents members of the structure Administrative manager : Patricia Garcia-Gaspari Communication / Press Manager : Kelly Texier Marketing Manager / Club of Partners : Adrien Protais

Gallery

Players

• Saint-Raphaël Var Handball in March 2016
• Joël da Silva and his players during a timeout.
• Slaviša Đukanović, last bulwark of defense.
• Wissem Hmam and Alexander Lynggaard.
• Arnór Atlason and Alexandru Șimicu.

External links